Crème de la Crème

Congratulations to Charlotte Robinson, Level 3 Hospitality and Catering student, who was awarded Gold in the WelshSkills final of the Advanced Patisserie and Confectionery competition recently held at Coleg Llandrillo.

Competing against eight candidates, in just two and a half hours Charlotte was required to create four portions of a plated dessert (to include three separate components) and a tempered chocolate garnish.

She chose to make a framboise mousse, set on an almond jaconde sponge which was finished with a raspberry mirror glaze and decorated with Belgian chocolate mosaic and spirals.

Part two was even more gruelling - in two hours she had to create two pairs of marzipan figures to demonstrate her modelling skills and 15 ganache truffles to demonstrate her piping skills. Charlotte decided to create dark chocolate, lime and limoncello truffles and two ‘teddy bear brides and grooms’.

After the competition, Charlotte said, “It was so intense. This is the second competition I have entered and this one was definitely worth it!”

“The brief was particularly challenging and demanded creativity and flair,” says Mark Clement, Learning Area Manager and Patisserie lecturer. “I’m delighted with the outcome - Charlotte has put so much effort into practising for this competition and fully deserves the recognition awarded by the judges.”

Charlotte will now represent the College in the UK Skills Patisserie regional heat at Cardiff and Vale in June 2016.