Lollipops resembling bees complete with fragile glass wings made of honey and realistic mushrooms made of chocolate were a few of the nature-inspired sweets at the Academie Culinaire de France first-ever North America Pastry Championship.<\/p>\n
After a diligent selection process from dozens of applications, four teams of two were selected to compete in the inaugural bake-off, with one last-minute dropout.\n<\/p>\n
Hosted by the Specialty Food Association\u2019s 69th Summer Fancy Food Show, the remaining three teams \u2013 each fitted with one helper from the Institute of Culinary Education \u2014 went t\u00eate a t\u00eate in an open pavilion at the Jacob Javits Center last week. Working with the theme of \u201ccelebrating the unique flavors of North American terroir through sustainable pastry creation,\u201d the two-day event was broken up into three categories: vegan, lollypop (sic) and the masterpiece.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/pastrycompetition_emariplating.jpg\" "\\"First-ever")
Pastry chefs Chainey Kuykenadall (l.) and Em\u00e1ri Kidd, from Virginia and North Carolina, respectively, plate their vegan dessert on day one of the competition.Photo ET Rodriguez ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/pastrycompetition_purplelollipop.jpg\" "\\"First-ever")
Nicholas Parsy, pastry chef at Bar Georges in Montreal, prepares the sweet clover and raspberry lollipops for the competition.Photo ET Rodriguez<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to do a traditional pastry competition,\u201d said Sebastien Baud, president of the Academie Culinaire de France, established in 1879 with 80 chapters across the globe. \u201c[The competitors] did the work to find sustainable produce from their own state, [but] their creation has to be sustainable as well. It\u2019s not just the food, it\u2019s also the material they use to present their dish.\u201d<\/p>\n
On day one, the bakers had four-and-a-half hours to prepare and present their vegan dessert and lollypop (sic) to a jury of judges, four for technicality and four for taste. The esteemed panel included competition president, Dominique Ansel of his eponymous bakery in SoHo and Pascal Guillotin, jury president and president of Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Culinaire Philanthropique.<\/p>\n
On day two, the teams had three-and-a-half hours to present their masterpiece \u2013 one large central cake surrounded by 18 identical miniatures.
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An esteemed panel of eight judges graded the desserts in 10 categories focused on the themes of terroir and sustainability.Photo ET Rodriguez\n<\/p>\n
Team 4 \u00a0\u2014 Emari Kidd, pastry chef at Omni Hotels in Asheville, North Carolina and Chainey Kuykendall, sous chef at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond \u2013 focused on ingredients from Appalachia for their vegan corn cake with popped sorghum.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorghum is the syrup of the South. We used to use that before maple syrup,\u201d said Kidd to the panel of judges as they dissected the dessert in front of them. The team won third place overall. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Team 1 \u2013 Nicolas Parsy, pastry chef at Bar Georges in Montreal and Paul Peyrat, pastry chef at Renoir Restaurant at Sofitel Montreal \u2013 presented their vegan dessert of a meringue made with potato and pea protein in replacement of the egg whites. It was cylindrically shaped and filled with a rhubarb compote grown by the Tremblay family of Quebec and harvested by the bakers themselves. The dish was as tasty to the palette as it was to the eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis experience allowed me to rediscover the importance of proximity to nature and solidarity between people,\u201d Parsy wrote in his application, each which were meticulously detailed and available to the judges during the competition.<\/p>\n
Team 3 \u2014 Jeremy Billy, pastry chef at Group la Tani\u00e8re and Yves Marie Rolland, pastry teacher at Fierbourg Hotel Schools in Quebec, had an advantage on the competition as the two have about 40 years of experience combined and won competitions before, including Pastry Chef of the Year in 2023.<\/p>\n
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Inspired by nature, Team 3 put out a bevy of lollipops, including ones resembling bumblebees, pictured in the process of being made.Photo ET Rodriguez ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/pastrycompetition_cakeforest.jpg\" "\\"First-ever")
Team 3, Jeremy Billy and Yves-Marie Roland\u2019s elaborate cake forest with a focus on maple syrup, an ingredient native to their homeland of Quebec.Photo ET Rodriguez<\/p>\n
Their masterpiece was an enchanted forest of cakes surrounded by lush moss, mushrooms made of chocolate and hands also made of chocolate made to look like old tree bark.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were modeled from my own hands,\u201d said Rolland while holding out his hands with a smile.\n<\/p>\n
The team chose the forest theme due to Canada\u2019s recent uptick in forest fires with 2023 being the most destructive on record, according to the Canadian Climate Institute.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always looking for new techniques and new ideas,\u201d said Stephane Cheramy, judge and president of the USA World Cup of Pastry. \u201cIt also needs to taste really good because sometimes we forget it\u2019s about food first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each round was judged in 10 categories, including storytelling, connection to the land as well as the team\u2019s ability to work together.\n<\/p>\n
After two days of tasting, grading and deliberating, Team 3 won first place with the most creative and innovative desserts. All teams received kitchen appliances, varying cash prizes and a crystal trophy shaped like a chef\u2019s hat, named after the late Roland Mesnier. The culinary writer and member of the Academie Culinaire de France served as executive pastry chef to the White House for 25 years since 1980. He died in 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very nice because we met some nice people here and when you participate in this contest or whatever you want to participate in, it\u2019s always to meet people to be part of the family support,\u201d Rolland of Team 3 added.<\/p>\n
The biggest challenge for all the chefs was working in an unfamiliar space, but all agreed the camaraderie was the best part.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the win,\u201d said Billy laughing, who also fought back tears when his team was announced as the winner.
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/pastrycompetition_winners.jpg\" "\\"First-ever")
Pastry chefs Jeremy Billy (l.) and Yves Marie Rolland took the first place cash prize of $5,000 and bragging rights at the Academie Culinaire de France first-ever North America Pastry Championship.Photo ET Rodriguez\n<\/p>\n
For next year, the academie plans to make changes to the competition. The lollipops will be swapped for something else and the vegan dessert nixed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI received some feedback that it\u2019s not really the fashion anymore,\u201d said competition president Baud. He also hopes to expand to six teams and wants to see desserts with more height. \u201cIt was good, but it was all flat. So, we would like to see a little bit more going higher.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glasses of champagne and wine flowed freely as the competitors toasted to their wins on June 30th with their sights set on their next pastry battle.\u00a0
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At the first-ever North America Pastry Championship, everyone was a winner.Photo ET Rodriguez\n<\/p>\n