Vicky Gurovich, from The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, is the newly crowned Huletts Pastry Chef of the Year 2012. The inaugural finals were held at the SA Chefs Academy in Cape Town yesterday, September 10, 2012.
The Pastry Chef of the Year competition recognises and rewards excellence in the highly specialised pastry sector of the hospitality industry.
The winning plate
Vicky was awarded top prize for her creations of granadilla and passion fruit macaroons with poppy seeds, a Valrhona chocolate dessert and a deconstructed trifle, which enabled her to beat off stiff competition from nine other finalists from across the country.
As the winner, Vicky has received a trip to attend a top pastry establishment in Paris, France and she will spend an all-expenses paid week working with the masters of this craft.
‘I am delighted with this award as my fellow finalists came from such fantastic places like The Westcliff in Johannesburg and The Oyster Box in Durban. Pastry cheffing has always been a passion of mine’, commented Gurovich.
Judging the competition
Commenting on the results, Head Judge Patrick Moreau said, ‘I am very happy with, not only the high calibre of entrants at the inaugural Huletts Pastry Chef of the Year awards, but also the talent, creativity and passion demonstrated by all of our finalists during the cook off’.
The judges of the Pastry Chef of the Year 2012 included Jenny Morris, Peter Veldsman, Clare Mack and Patrick Moreau.
The world of pastry and baking has seen a huge increase in interest and attention in recent years.’TV programmes have a lot to do with this”, commented Moreau, ‘But here in South Africa pastry cheffing is now recognised as a specialised skill in its own right. It is the most important dish of the meal for most people and it’s certainly the one everybody remembers.’