Gumnut Patisserie’s Adrian Pagano has been perfecting his recipes and presentation ahead of an international desserts competition.
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Adrian will be competing in the Savour Patissier of the Year from May 27 to 29, against some of the best patissiers in the world.
Baking up against people from seven different countries, it’s a been a long road of preparation for Adrian.
“I’ve been preparing while working full time, there’s been lots of 18 and 20 hour days but it’s an exciting time,” Adrain said.
The patissier is the first from Gumnut to compete in the competition, which is an achievement in itself. However, Adrian has set himself another challenge, and hoped to place in the top five among the 30 other competitors.
“I’ve never competed in a competition at this level before so I don’t know what I’m up against, but placing in the top five would be amazing- even placing in the top 10 would be great,” he said.
As part of the competition Adrian will need to produce two entrements, one large tart and eight individual tarts- all identical, 16 eclairs and 16 plated desserts.
Adrian said he incorporated spice through his recipes, including cloves, ginger, nutmeg and star anise.
“I’ve been trying a lot of different things, especially over the last few years, so I came up with these recipes that are a little bit spicy to add depth,” he said.
Adrian first began working at Gumnut Patisserie 16 years ago cleaning tables, before starting and finishing an apprenticeship and ultimately becoming a patissier.
But his love affair with cooking has been around from a very early age.
“Some of my earliest memories are of mum and grandparents cooking in the kitchen and I had always wanted to cook,” he said.
“It’’s just been something that I’ve always really enjoyed doing.”
The winner of 2018 Savour Patissier of the Year will receive a $15,000 cash prize, a trip to the Ravifruit studio in Hong Kong for three days training and assorted patisserie equipment.
The event will be judged by four world class chocatiers and pastry chefs, each of them famous in their own right.
The competition will be held Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre and is free for spectators.