PreGel AMERICA is proud to announce Assistant Pastry Chef & Instructor Ben Shelton received first place honors at the 24th Annual U.S. Pastry Competition presented by Paris Gourmet, on Sunday, March 3, 2013. The event took place at the International Restaurant and Foodservice Show of New York. Shelton achieved the esteemed title of Pastry Chef of the Year with his winning creation titled "Origins," which consisted of three components: a chocolate oriented showpiece and blown sugar; an entremet comprised of chocolate, passion fruit, banana and hazelnut layers; and praline bonbons.
The U.S. Pastry Competition is one of America's most prestigious pastry competitions. The event allows leading pastry chefs to showcase their talents by creating advanced dessert and chocolate bonbon recipes exhibited along with highly technical sugar and chocolate sculpted showpieces. This year's showpiece theme was Women.
During the past year, Shelton prepared for the competition by practicing over 15 hours a week and countless hours on the weekends. Shelton was compelled to do "Origins" – a chocolate art showpiece designed around Eve, the first woman mentioned in the Christian Bible. The young chef describes his choice, "There was no better way to encompass what I thought of women and how to illustrate them than Eve. It just seemed like a good route to go."
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