Chef Josh Johnson/Guittard Chocolate
In the high-stakes arena of international pastry competition, where chocolate is both medium and message, mastery is nonnegotiable. As Team USA prepares for the next Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, it has called on Chef Josh Johnson—renowned chocolatier and former competitor—to guide its chocolate strategy with skill, vision, and unwavering focus.
Pastry Team USA 2015 – Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie Bronze Medal winners/Paul Strabbing
Club Coupe du Monde Team USA has officially named Chef Josh Johnson as its Chocolate Coach for the 2027 competition in Lyon, France. It’s a return to the world stage for Chef Johnson, who helped secure a bronze medal for the U.S. as a competitor in 2015. This time, he’s guiding the next generation of pastry talent from behind the scenes—with a deep well of knowledge, decades of experience, and a lifelong reverence for chocolate as both ingredient and art form.
Chef Johnson, who currently serves as a pastry chef with Guittard Chocolate Company, is known throughout the industry as a meticulous craftsman and a generous mentor. At Guittard, he works closely with Executive Pastry Chef Donald Wressell, who serves as the team’s training operations director, to create innovative chocolate recipes for the San Francisco-based company.
For Chef Johnson, this new role is a natural evolution of a career built on both technical mastery and a genuine passion for sharing knowledge. “Chocolate has this unique duality—it’s a medium for creativity and a discipline that demands respect,” he said. “Coaching the team is not just about getting the shine on the showpiece just right—it’s about building trust, developing intuition, and pushing limits in a way that’s sustainable and inspiring.”
His journey to becoming one of America’s leading chocolatiers began humbly, in his uncle’s bakery, Ambrosia Pâtisserie, in Illinois. The early immersion in pastry arts lit a fire that has yet to dim. From there, Chef Johnson sought out some of the most rigorous training available, learning from pastry icons including Chefs Sébastien Canonne, M.O.F., En-Ming Hsu (vice-president of Pastry Team USA), and François Payard.
Photo: Paul Strabbing
His résumé reads like a greatest hits of American pastry: executive pastry chef at Everest in Chicago, co-founder of Cocoa Bean Fine Desserts in Geneva, Illinois, and an instructor at The French Pastry School, where he specialized in chocolate candies, entremets, and intricate chocolate showpieces. He also led production at Destination Kohler, developing menus and overseeing high-volume pastry operations with precision and flair.
In the competitive sphere, Chef Johnson is no stranger to the spotlight. He competed in the 2011 National Pastry Team Championship, earning gold with teammates Chefs Wressell, Scott Green, and Della Gossett. A year later, he took silver in the World Pastry Team Championship, also winning Best Dégustation. His 2015 Coupe du Monde appearance—under the guidance of pastry greats Ewald Notter and Wressell—cemented his status as a world-class competitor.
That same year, Dessert Professional Magazine named him one of the Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America.
Pastry Team USA 2015 | Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie/Paul Strabbing
Now, as Chocolate Coach, Johnson is tasked with preparing Team USA for a competition unlike any other. Held biennially in Lyon, the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie assembles the best pastry chefs from across the globe to compete in a grueling 10-hour event that tests the limits of artistry, technique, and endurance. The chocolate coach’s responsibilities go far beyond refining recipes; Johnson will oversee the creation of complex chocolate sculptures, mentor team members through months of rehearsals, and ensure that every element of their performance is dialed in down to the millimeter.
The path to Lyon is long and exacting. Over the next two years, Chef Johnson will work closely with fellow coaches, sculptors, and team members to refine each element of the presentation—from molded chocolates to the towering chocolate centerpiece that anchors the final display. His coaching will combine the tactile—tempering, casting, finishing—with the philosophical: how to tell a story in sugar and cocoa butter.
Photo: Paul Strabbing
It’s that storytelling aspect that continues to drive Chef Johnson. “Chocolate invites you to tell a story through texture, temperature, and taste,” he said. “When done well, it’s not just food—it’s memory, emotion, even theater.”
In a competition where margins are razor-thin and expectations sky-high, Johnson’s multifaceted approach—rooted in experience, fueled by curiosity—could be just what Team USA needs to ascend the podium once again.
The countdown to Lyon has begun. And with Chef Josh Johnson leading the chocolate charge, Team USA is poised to make its mark.
For more updates on Pastry Team USA and the road to the 2027 Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, visit pastryteamusa.org and follow @pastryteamusa on social media.
