At the Americas Continental Selection, which was held this past July in Santiago, Chile, each team needed to create confections in three categories. Previously, we covered two of Team U.S.A.’s three tasting presentations based on their theme – Casino: “Lucky Sevens,” the frozen dessert; and “Sleight of Hand,” the restaurant-style plated dessert. Now we will look at the third tasting test – the frozen lollipops.
Team U.S.A.’s frozen lollipops presentation was called, “Neon Lights.” This is the first year the organization included this test in the competition. It will also be included in the grand finale next January in Lyon.
For the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, each team must create 26 frozen lollipops for the Jury tasting and 10 mock lollipops for the official portrait shoot and to present to the public.
Each of the frozen lollipops must be identical in composition and finish as well as prepared entirely in the contest laboratories (kitchens). They must not include any coloring agents including titanium dioxide (E171) or iron oxides (E172).
The lollipops either must be presented to the Jury individually or in two displays of the team’s choosing. Whether they are carried individually or on a presentation base, the lollipops must be able to be transported safely over to the Jury table without incident.
The 10 mock lollipops must be composed entirely of edible products and be identical in every way to the ones presented to the Jury. As with the other tastings, the mock lollipops must be incorporated into the presentation buffet. They may be on a base or placed there individually, but they must be able to be held at room temperature.
Unlike the ones served to the Jury, each team may bring the mock lollipops already finished. However, they must be presented to the Jury the day before they compete for inspection. Additionally, the mock lollipops must be on a separate presentation base ready for integration into the dessert buffet.
For the Americas Continental Selection, Team U.S.A.’s frozen lollipops – “Neon Lights” semi-circle of strawberry pate de fruit surrounded by a lemon sorbet and enrobed with a layer of strawberry inspiration glaze and an outer coating of strawberry clear glaze. Resting on top of the flat surface is a hazelnut praline made from cookies and nuts held together with chocolate. The lollipops were garnished with a rosette of vanilla chantilly cream, a pulled sugar decoration, and lime zest on top of the dessert.
The confection was placed on top of a clear stick with a casino chip in the middle. Five “Neon Lights” frozen lollipops were placed on a burgundy half-moon presentation base with one base saying “Casino” and the other saying “Royal” in gold 3-D letters.
The evolution of “Neon Lights”
Team U.S.A., along with 19 other countries will be competing at the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie on 20-21 January 2023 in Lyon, France. In addition to the U.S.A., at this time the other teams set to compete are Canada, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Morocco, Mauritius, Tunisia, Chile, and Argentina. The Asian Pastry Cup Continental Selection will be held next month and the Middle East selection will follow.
