Line-up change for Team UK ahead of Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie 2015
The official UK Pastry Team for the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie has been finalised after a change in line-up.
The team, which is set to compete in the finals in Lyon in January 2015, now includes Andrew Blas, executive pastry chef at the Café Royal hotel, as Ice candidate, who has taken over from former candidate Nicholas Belorgey, teaching chef at Le Cordon Bleu London.
This was reportedly due to "professional reasons", according to a spokesperson for the Coupe du Monde Team UK.
Team UK was victorious in the most recent regional competition, the European Pastry Championships in Geneva, on 26 January this year, but Chiffers has so far remained cautious in predicting how they will fare in Lyon.
"We've just got to practise, practise, practise," he said in October 2013, when the team was first announced. After the European win, he said: "I would like to win, but it's a very tough competitionâ¦We will do our best and hope for a great result. My ultimate goal would be to get in the top five."
The previous competition, which took place in January 2013, was won by France, with the UK team coming in ninth place. Spain won in 2011.
The contest, which will also include 21 other teams from across the world, including Australia, France, Japan, Singapore and Mexico, demands a sugar centrepiece, an ice sculpture, three ice-cream desserts, and 12 dessert dishes from the teams' home countries.
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