Gary MacLean protégée Wendy Lo wins Coup de Pates' Chefs at Play

Wendy Lo from City of Glasgow College has won the Coup de Pates' Chefs at Play Award following an intense four-way cook-off last Friday at the ARYZTA Food Solutions Customer Innovation Centre in Covent Garden, London.

She created a dish called taste of spring - a sweet Coup de pates tartelette case, filled with honey blossom mousse, topped with elderflower and strawberry jelly and lemon curd, garnished with fresh strawberries, blueberries and pistachio nuts.

The winning dish will now be recreated by Coup de Pates team of development chefs for sale at the Taste of London festival in June.

Lo beat competitiors Aaron Kenny from Combined Services who created an Orelys and lime frappe tart; Jennifer Brummitt, owner of The Sweet Life sandwich bar who made a traditional mojito tart; and Alice Prothero from University College Birmingham who served a margarita taco.

Chef ambassador James Tanner added: “What a fantastic showcase for young pastry talent in the UK. The pressure was on, yet all around we saw cool heads, professionalism, sublime skill and, most importantly, smiling faces. The passion and innovation really showed in the four final creations â€" in the end, Wendy’s handle of flavour and her insistence on simplicity paired with seasonality, shone through. Congratulations to all four finalists, you’ve done yourselves and your mentors proud. I can’t wait to see Wendy in action yet again at Taste of London.”

Coup de pates’ Chefs at Play competition invited chefs aged 18 - 23 to submit a paper recipe idea for the patisserie and food on-the-go category. Chefs had to use one of eight base products sourced from Coup de pates’ semi-prepared range within the recipe.

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