WKC chef lecturer wins 2010 Dessert of the Year contest

Woods took the first prize with a winning dessert named 'Exotic Chocolate Indulgence' which comprised of a coconut and passion fruit cake, passion fruit jelly, popping chocolate bomb, lime curd, mango & vanilla sorbet, vanilla foam and sweet pea shoots. Woods, who joined the college in February after working at the five star Luton Hoo Hotel, received many prizes at the competition including a day with renowned Patisserie Chef Pierre Herme, a trip to the Champagne Duval-Leroy Cellars in Vertus in France, a Villeroy & Boch canteen of cutlery as well as his gold medal and trophy. He commented on his win: "To get my name engraved on the dessert of the year trophy has been a goal of mine for a long time; therefore it w s fantastic to finally win this competition after trying twice already. To have my name next to some of the finest pastry chefs in the world is a great honour. "I chose the dessert by careful consideration taking into account flavour combinations, textures but also trying to make the dessert modern with eye catching presentation." The other competition finalists were: Marc Telier - Nadell Patisserie (silver medal), Lucille Darosey - Relais Bernard Loiseau France (bronze medal), Neil Rankin - Roux Fine Dining, Katja Neuber - Wyndham Grand, Daniel Svensson – Paramount, Uveeraj Jone - Hilton London Metropole, Gloria D'Mello - Hilton London Metropole, John Heard - Army Salisbury, Satya Jit - L'atelier Des Chefs. The judging panel from the Association of Pastry Chefs were: Mike Nadell, Ross Sneddon and Robert Mey and the competition was sponsored by Champagne Duval-Leroy, Villeroy & Boch and Nadell Patisserie.