Team Philippines, led by the Pastry Alliance of the Philippines (PAP), won the Best Ice Sculpture at the prestigious Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie (World Pastry Cup) held in Lyon, France, last Tuesday.
Chef Vicente Cahatol stunned the judges with his rendition of an Aeta hunter bearing his freshly killed catch on his shoulders. Cahatol’s impressive carving techniques easily wowed the foreign judges. He was the crowd favorite that beat 20 other entries in the category.
This was the first time the Philippines qualified for the esteemed competition; it ranked 12th out of 21 participating countries, beating China and Latin America. The overall champion was Italy, followed by Japan and the United States.
Cahatol, 36, was part of a three-man contingent that included chefs Rizalino Mañas, 28, and Brian Dimayuga, 24— all from Makati Shangri-La.
The lead chef, who works as the hotel’s chief kitchen artist, hails from Paete, Laguna, home of the country’s foremost sculptors. He’s been
carving since age 12 and can work on anything, from ice and chocolate to butter, wood and Styrofoam.
Apart from the ice sculpture, Cahatol also showcased his chocolate sculpture using a 10-kilo block of Valhrona chocolate.
PAP’s unprecedented feat in France came after it won in the Asian Pastry Cup (APC) last year in Singapore. APC has been acclaimed as a major platform for brilliant pastry chefs in Asia, and functions as the official contest to preselect Asian teams to compete at the World Pastry Cup.
The PAP support team and coaches in France included chefs Penk Ching, Jackie Ang-Po, Miko Aspiras, Buddy Trinidad, James Antolin, Peachy Juban and Dan Basilio.
