The Other Sugar Bowl

To win the world's top pastry title, chefs must master the art of sculpting spun sugar. By Susie Norris

By Susie Norris | Wednesday, 02 September 2009 | 17:20

Top Pastry Chef Spun Sugar Competition 2009

Chef Kaushik Chowdhury with his sugar sculpture.
Photo credit: JW Mariott Desert Ridge Resort

As with all visual arts, a culinary artwork must rise above the sum of its parts. Is it beautiful? Is it so ugly that it has power? Is it evocative? What does it communicate? An international panel of master chefs and culinary experts kept these questions in mind as they judged giant sugar showpieces that leading American pastry chefs and bakers flocked to Phoenix to melt, color, cast and assemble in the 2009 World Pastry Championship.

Executive Pastry Chef Kaushik Chowdhury of the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa led his team to a gold medal win in the July competition. Since the contest was held at his resort, the victory was especially sweet. "Winning the national championship is an incredible honor. Winning the national championship in our hometown right here at our own resort is icing on the cake," Chowdhury said.

This year's theme was "time," and Chowdhury's team presented a pleasing meditation on natural beauty and the natural passage of time. Its showpiece used emerald green panels of melted, poured sugar inlaid with sugar flowers, which were molded around a warm, violin-colored teardrop. That base was then visited by delicate swan-like birds, shimmering honey-hued fans, rising suns, butterflies and bright green leaf-like accents.

Precision, difficulty and artistry

Each team was also required to present other desserts, because even pastry chefs do not survive on sugar alone. In the 13-hour competition that stretched over two days, the competitors produced cakes, little cakes, frozen desserts, plated desserts and chocolate bonbon assortments, all of which were judged not just on appearance but also on taste. Then, the chocolate sculptures and sugar masterpieces were judged not on taste but on precision, difficulty and artistry. Chef Chowdhury's team exhibited mastery over taste and presentation of the smaller items, and earned high scores for all the components of their sugar showpiece.

The dessert categories are known by their French names, such as "Entremets" (cakes), "Entremets Glace" (frozen dessert) and "Petits Gateaux" (little cakes). This reflects the French origin of the pastry arts, and the heritage of this type of competition. France holds the World Pastry Cup (or Coupe du Monde de la Pátisserie) every other year in Lyons, which celebrated its 20^th anniversary this past January and attracted competitors from 22 countries. Also in France is Bocuse d'Or, the two-day, biennial global culinary contest founded by master chef Paul Bocuse and considered by many to be the Culinary Olympics. It includes all phases of a meal, including glamorous dessert buffets and glorious sugar sculptures.

Sugar sculpture (or "sugar work," as it is known in the trade) is considered the most advanced form of artistry in the culinary world. Molten sugar must be heated to a dangerous 290 degrees, then hand-poured and molded into intricate, fragile pieces that become as breakable as glass. The difficulty level is high. The showpieces themselves must also be high (at least 3 feet, 6 inches tall), with architectural designs that not only defy gravity but also convey delicacy, style, originality and artistic skill. No museums, no private collections and no halls of fame can capture these colorful, towering creations because the sugar from which they are made (or in some cases, sugar's synthetic cousin, Isomalt, also known as Splenda) melts easily, breaks easily and on occasion, gets eaten. Yet the art form attracts chefs from around the world who practice and compete for cash prizes and recognition. Chowdhury, along with team members Melynda Gilmore and Keith Taylor, won $30,000 and will now enter the 2010 World Pastry Championship as Team USA, the reigning champions. In addition, their showpiece dazzled its viewers and conveyed a message of natural beauty in a time-fraught world.

Where to be schooled in sugar work

Ewald Notter teaches sugar and chocolate work at his Orlando, Fla.,-based Notter School of Pastry Arts. He is a world champion of sugar artistry who has served as a judge at the World Pastry Championship and also led the American team to victory when he competed in Coupe du Monde de la Pátisserie in 2000. In 2003, The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences bestowed upon Notter the Five-Star Diamond Award, naming him "one of the Finest Confectionery Chefs of the World." His school is one of the top spots for artists to practice and master this challenging culinary art form, and many culinary schools around the country also offer beginning programs. The 2010 World Pastry Championship will be held in Nashville, Tenn., promising tall sugar and new ideas.