The first sustainable pastry competition is looking for candidates

Mathieu Dubus | 5/27/24, 11:08 AM

After the chefs, it's the pastry chefs' turn to be invited to the first sustainable pastry competition. The Cuisine Durable foundation, created by Olivier Ginon, is calling for entries for this first sweet edition.

In alliance with Pierre Hermé Paris and Valrhona, chef Olivier Ginon's "Cuisine Durable" foundation wanted to put the issue of sustainability and product seasonality to the fore. While sustainable cuisine is already at the heart of restaurant commitments, for boutique pastry chefs it's still a bit abstract. It's a situation the three organizations hope to change with this competition. According to them, it's a way of "enhancing the value of their local producers and suppliers".

How does the competition work?

Candidates will first go through a preliminary stage before hoping to be selected for the final. Before June 28, 2024, they will have to fill out a dossier, including a complete cake recipe for eight people. The criteria? They're fairly simple: respect seasonality (end of June), and adhere to a set of sustainable practices. For example, waste management, the origin and method of production of ingredients, energy management and even packaging will be monitored.

Once this phase has been completed, eight candidates will be selected for the final, to be held on October 14, 2024 at the CFA de la gastronomie in Marcy-l'Étoile (69). Their mission will be to once again make a cake for eight people, but this time in duplicate. They will have five hours.

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