New UK Pastry Team announced

[caption id="attachment_177819" align="aligncenter" width="470" caption="Credit: James Gifford Mead"][/caption]

Barry Johnson and Nicolas Belorgey have been selected for the UK Pastry Team to represent their country in the European Pastry Cup 2014.

Barry Johnson, head chocolatier at Rococo Chocolates, was selected as team captain and will represent the UK in the chocolate category. Nicolas Belorgey, a teaching chef at Le Cordon Bleu London, was selected in the sugar category.

Speaking of the decision, today at Yauatcha restaurant in Soho, UK Pastry Team president, Martin Chiffers, said: “They’re both good guys, fully committed, and with some practice I hope they’ll do well.”

Speaking exclusively to The Staff Canteen, Barry said: “I’m pretty ecstatic to be honest. To be given the honour as team captain to represent your country is amazing.

“Nick and I have got our work cut our work cut out over the next couple of months to get to the European Cup but we’re both completely dedicated to it. It’s very exciting times.”

Nicolas added: “I’m really happy and pleased to team up with Barry today. He’s a great professional.

“We’ve had a lot of support from the industry throughout the country. We’ll do our best in Geneva and we’ll try our hardest. I can’t wait to get started and make the country proud.”

Barry won the UK Pastry Open at the Restaurant Show earlier this month and Nicolas represented the UK in the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie 2013 in Lyons earlier this year.

Both chefs will go on to compete in the European Pastry cup 2014 which will take place in Geneva and will also act as the selection process for Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie 2015.

The pair now have several months of hard work and practice to prepare for next year’s competition. Nicolas said: “From now until the competition in Geneva there is going to be on average one rehearsal per week and each rehearsal requires around 30 hours of preparation spread out over the week.”

Benoit Blin, chair of the Club Coupe du Monde UK and executive pastry chef at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, was present for the decision. He said: “I feel extremely proud. This is showing the world that the UK pastry industry is awake. We are there for the long term and ready for action.

“We just need to promote this as much as we can and inspire more guys to enter in two years’ time. The more pastry chefs we’ve got to enter, the more the industry pushes itself, the better skills we accrue and the better pastry chefs we have in our kitchens. It’s a positive circle.”