we get back we need to choose the third member of the team for the world competition which will be ice carving. We have a shortlist of possible candidates who will go through some intense ice carving training over the next eight weeks; then we’ll start to work on the taste elements first. For the world final it’s similar to the European, so a chocolate dessert, a fruit mouse cake, a sugar showpiece, a chocolate showpiece, an ice carving and an ice cream cake. The showpieces are to a maximum of two metres in height which is a lot taller than the European competition. What are your goals for the World competition and who will be your biggest competitors? Being back to back winners of the European cup and scoring the highest marks in all categories just shows how the British Pastry industry is improving. The top seven teams from the last three events on aggregate automatically qualify for the world competition. Tough competitors will definitely be Spain, Italy and Japan. We’d love to win obviously – you always have to aim high – but realistically a top seven placing would be fantastic. Last year we were ninth and that was the highest ever, so to come in the top seven would be great. Of course you have a day job as well while all this is going on; what does your role at Rococo Chocolates involve?
I’m the head chocolatier and have been with the company two years now and my role is to run the chocolate production. This involves production of our award winning range of ‘Couture’ chocolates, pralines, Marshmallows and specialities. I’m still in the kitchen on a weekly basis and have a fantastic small team that work with me. We supply our four Rococo shops and also to a select number of five-star hotels and Michelin-star restaurants. As well as day-to-day production I’m also involved in product/recipe development and concept design. In the last two years I’ve also helped to write the Rococo book, ‘Mastering the Art of Chocolate’. I also give regular demonstrations and teach at the chocolate school at our Motcomb Street shop. It’s a very varied job – there’s never a dull moment! You’re right in the middle of this huge journey from the UK Pastry Open to the European Cup to the world finals of the Coupe du Monde; can you sum up what being part of this 
competition means for you? I still feel a little bit shell shocked by the whole process! I entered the UK Pastry Open to push myself and improve, and there aren’t that many competitions where you get to represent your country in the culinary world. I took that decision knowing it would impact on my life, but it’s such a small industry that every single person in it can make a difference. It’s all about promoting the UK pastry industry. We’re hoping that one day one of the national papers or one of the television companies will want to follow the progress of the team and publicise it even more. That’s the goal of the committee – how can we publicise the UK pastry industry more and get the kind of support the other top countries receive. I, Nicholas, Martin [Chiffers] and the whole committee do this in our own time for the love of Pastry whereas some other countries are paid to compete for the glory of the country.
