Young Pastry Chef of the Year 2019 has been awarded to Julien Piveteau who wins this year’s the David Lyell Scholarship, 21 year-old Julien, is a Demi Chef de Partie at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
Julien presented an exquisite menu to the acclaimed judging panel – this year including Mick Burke, Ross Sneddon, Benoit Blin, Mark Poynton, Jerome Dreux and Liam Grimes – during the final which took place at the Claire Clark Academy at Milton Keynes College in April 2019.
All contestants were judged on flavour, presentation, innovation, hygiene and working method. Julien’s winning entry included a chocolate Easter egg, using Felchlin chocolate set with a chocolate ribbon and garnish, presented with a moulded praline flavoured ganache, petit fours and a pâte de fruit.
Julien was credited for delivering clean, visually stunning and creative plates with lots of flavour, achieving wonderful shine and adding his own twist. Claire Clark Academy wrote: “This Mandarin and Chocolate Dessert with a Mandarin Gel, Chocolate Anglaise, Chocolate and Butter Sable Biscuit was visually stunning, intensely Chocolate and fresh with the Mandarin.”
On winning, Julien Piveteau commented: “I am really honoured to have won this prestigious award, I am looking forward to going to Switzerland and working with the talented chocolatiers of Felchlin.”
Anthony Marshall, Executive Chef at London Hilton on Park Lane, added: “It is a marvellous achievement for Julien at this early age in his life to have won such a prestigious award, I cannot put into words how excited we were when we found out the result.
“I think it is very important that young people enter competitions because you learn so much from others and it is a wonderful way of networking as pastry chefs are a dying breed in this country. We are very proud at the London Hilton that we have so many talented people working for the company.”
The Master Chefs of Great Britain’s annual Young Pastry Chef of the Year competition is open to pastry chefs under the age of 23 who are actively working in a hotel or restaurant kitchen, banqueting or within any corporate or event catering environment, or a college student.
On winning, Julien will visit the Felchlin Condirama in Switzerland to attend its in-depth training course, as well as a £250 cash prize and an engraved silver salver.
