Food & Wine | The Chicago Restaurant Pastry Competition

If you’re like me, then you can’t get enough of the food craze sweeping the social media and television worlds in the form of competitions. Lucky for us all, The Emmy Award Winning Chicago Restaurant Pastry Competition brings another foodie driven nail biting competition directly to you in their latest web series. Now showing episode three of four (video found below) the finale will stream live on April 21st for us all Internationally!

Michaela Hapk SPD

With chefs from all over the world competing for a final chance, the final four have been picked and competing for three episodes leading to the finale. Canada is represented in this international competition by non other then Chef Michaela Hapak from Splendido Restaurant right here in Toronto. In Episode 3, titled “Signature Plated Desserts”, our competitors are given five hours to prepare eight portions of their original plated dessert. Not an easy task to say the least!

Our home grown chef prepared her dessert, The Nutty North. “The bottom layer is a hazelnut financier with a hazelnut panna cotta with a verjus and himrod grape jelly on top. The himrod grapes are from British Columbia so I’ve included them on top as well. They’re fresh and slightly roasted. There’s also a hazelnut caraway streusel, rehydrated vanilla sultanas, toasted hazelnuts, and shaved nuts, and you have a spruce ice cream”.

All in all I’ve loved watching the first three episodes and cannot wait for April 21st to come!  Episode 3 can be found below and all other episodes online at www.jmpurepastry.com/VIDEO.html

Good luck Chef Michaela and may the best delicious dessert win!

Photos: Chicago Restaurant Pastry Competition

Cheers!

Daniel Desforges