Local chocolatier places second in competition
Lionel Clement, chef chocolatier at Wynn Las Vegas, took second place in the World Chocolate Masters Competition in Paris on Friday. As the American representative, he competed against chocolatiers from 18 other countries.
The masters involved two major competitions for each contestant. In addition to the creation of a master showpiece, which they had three hours to build and which was judged on decorative merit, each also contributed to a round of tastings of hand-dipped pralines, chocolate pastries, desserts and molded pralines, all of which were judged for flavor and texture. Each contestant also was required to decorate a haute couture hat.
The winner of the masters competition was Japan’s Shigeo Hirai, sous chef of the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo; third place went to Michaela Karg of Cafe am Kreuzgang in Feuchtwangen, Germany.
Pascal Janvier of Los Gatos, Calif., a judge for the selection of the American representative, helped coach Clement for the competition. He predicted earlier this month that Clement would do well, but that the Japanese selection would be tough to beat.
"The thing is going up against the best in the world, no matter how good you are," Janvier said then. "The Japanese guys are really, really strong. They spend months and months just working on that, quitting their jobs. Not everybody can afford to do that."