StarChefs.com Announces Its First Annual International Pastry Competition at the International Chefs Congress

NEW YORK, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading international and US pastry chefs will gather September 20-22, 2010 in New York City to compete at the first annual StarChefs.com International Pastry Competition to be held in conjunction with the fifth annual StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress. Over three days, twenty of the industry's top pastry talent will go through two elimination rounds, culminating in three finalists competing for a grand prize: a stage in a top pastry kitchen. The competition, and this year's Congress, will take place at one of New York's greatest landmarks, the Park Avenue Armory.

Designed specifically with the fine dining restaurant pastry chef in mind (but not to the preclusion of any other working pastry chef), this competition focuses on elements critical to the execution of a well-rounded dessert menu. The StarChefs.com International Pastry Competition will give pastry chefs an opportunity to be evaluated for talent and techniques used in an everyday restaurant setting in competition with their peers. In contrast to the usual template for pastry competitions that focus on large-scale pulled sugar and chocolate showpieces, this competition will focus on showcasing plated desserts in the first two elimination rounds and then incorporate more advanced techniques for the three finalists. Participants will be judged on presentation, creativity, taste, and theme. A who's who of pastry innovators, including Elizabeth Falkner, Jacques Torres and Johnny Iuzzini, will judge and oversee the competition.

"Many pastry chefs have been precluded from the pastry competition world due to costs, commitment, and the unforgiving nature of the events themselves," says Antoinette Bruno, StarChefs.com CEO and Editor-in-Chief. "We want to spotlight the talents that fine dining restaurant pastry chefs bring to their menus and the creativity that wows us on the plate. Our competitors will be judged on components used in daily service: a pre-dessert, a plated dessert, a cake/entremets, an after-dinner bonbon, and a small chocolate presentation piece."

The first annual StarChefs.com International Pastry Competition is open to any working pastry professional who submits a completed application package by June 30, 2010. Application forms, submission directions and FAQs can be found online at www.starchefs.com/pastrycompetition starting May 10.  

Sponsors of the first annual StarChefs.com International Pastry Competition include founding title sponsor PreGel, and supporting sponsors Wisconsin Cheese, John Koerner & Company, Carpigiani, Hobart, Irinox, Waring Commercial, Bravo, iSi North America, and The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley.

About PreGel

For over 40 years, PreGel has been the worldwide leader in specialty dessert ingredients. PreGel develops, manufactures and distributes natural ingredients, toppings and fillings of the highest quality from Italy, including flavors, powders and pastes used in gelato, frozen yogurt, pastry and other specialty desserts. PreGel directly sells to restaurants, gelato cafes, coffee shops, frozen yogurt shops, bakeries, pizzerias, hotels, resorts, grocery stores and universities, as well as a few distributors. PreGel believes in blending Your Passion with Our Ingredients. For more information, visit www.pregelamerica.com.

About StarChefs.com

StarChefs.com™, the magazine for culinary insiders celebrating its 15-year anniversary in 2010, has been serving the restaurant industry since 1995. StarChefs.com's original culinary content is driven by in-person tastings and interviews across the world. Its mission is to catalyze culinary professionals' success and give them the tools they need to overcome their specific challenges. In addition to featuring top chefs, pastry chefs, sommeliers and mixologists, StarChefs.com's Culinary JobFinder is the leading job board connecting culinary and hospitality professionals to careers in the foodservice industry. StarChefs.com features more than 27,000 published pages of original, chef-focused culinary content and generates monthly traffic of over 20 million hits per month, and it was recently nominated for Best Web Site for Food and Nutrition by the James Beard Foundation.

Tickets and admission to the StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress and the first annual StarChefs.com International Pastry Competition are limited to foodservice industry professionals. To purchase tickets go to www.starchefs.com/icc or call 212.966.3775.

SOURCE StarChefs.com