Cliff House Hotel pastry chef Paula Hannigan has won the Valrhona Pâtisserie Championship 2019, which took place at DIT Cathal Brugha Street in Dublin.
"An Irish Summer"
The theme for the competition was "An Irish Summer". Entrants were required to make a vegan pre-dessert without the use of a mould. They were also asked to design a plated restaurant dessert using at least one couverture from Valrhona’s Single Origin Grand Cru de Terroir range.
Each of the eight finalists had four hours to produce their vegan pre-dessert and plated dessert illustrating the theme of "An Irish Summer".
Hannigan's Dishes
Hannigan's vegan pre-dessert consisted of gorse flowers, sea buckthorn berries, coconut yoghurt and Valrhona passion fruit inspiration couverture.
Her dessert contained chocolates from Valrhona’s Single Origin Grand Cru de Terroir range, barley and Irish milk.
Prize
The objective of the Valrhona Pâtisserie Championship is to promote and advance the standards of pastry chefs on the island of Ireland. As the 2019 winner, Hannigan will receive three days of training in l’École du Grand Chocolat Valrhona, Tain l’Hermitage, France, as well as dinner in a Michelin star restaurant.
© 2019 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.