❝ Every culture can interpret its own tradition and taste while making gelato.❞

— Chef Giancarlo Timballo, President, Coppa del Mondo della Gelateria, and Judge, Asian Gelato Cup

The first Asian Gelato Cup is being held in conjunction with FHA2018. Organised by UBM and supported by the Singapore Pastry Alliance, the Asian Gelato Cup is the first official Asian selection for the highly accredited Coppa del Mondo of Gelateria( Gelato World Cup). The Show Daily interviews chef Giancarlo Timballo, president of the Coppa del Mondo della Gelateria, and a judge at the Asian Gelato Cup, who reveals more about how this exciting competition will not only promote gelato making skills, but Asian-inspired creations as well.

FOR this first Asian Gelato Cup edition, are you looking forward to seeing gelato entries with Asian-inspired flavours? Chef Giancarlo Timballo: For us, this gelato market and the Asian traditions are all waiting to be discovered. I am very motivated by this new experience which will give me a better understanding of the professional level linked to the competing nations. My expectations are mainly aimed at unveiling innovative( for European gelato chefs) products / ingredients that combine Asian fruit and spices, which

can give new flavours to the traditional gelato.

All the Asian teams who came to Coppa del Mondo della Gelateria( Gelato World Cup) in the past were highly skilled and professional— revealing that the culture of artisan gelato is growing and thriving in Asia.

What will be the next step for the winners of the Asian Gelato Cup? Will they need to compete in other events or will they be the official Asian representatives to the next Gelato World Cup in Italy?

Timballo: The three winning teams will participate in the 2020 Coppa del Mondo della Gelateria that will be held in Rimini at Sigep. The teams themselves will be allowed to officially register in this competition. The final regulation will be ready by the end of next year.

How do you find the gelato offerings in Asia? How different are the offerings here compared to those in Italy? Timballo: I look forward to answering this question with a deeper knowledge in the next few weeks. Japan, Singapore and South Korea already took part at the Coppa del Mondo della Gelateria and the flavours showcased during the competition impressed me for their low sweetness( that’ s also healthy) and exotic tastes. Every culture can interpret its own tradition and taste while making gelato. Asian ingredients such

as azuki, matcha, gula melaka, kimchi, Asian coconut, mango, botanic and spicy flavours made me curious enough to look deeper into the varied culinary heritage in the region.

Aside from holding prestigious competitions like the first Asian Gelato Cup, what do you think needs to be done to further promote the culture of gelato making in the region? Timballo: This competition will create more awareness of the artisan gelato culture, as well as give us the precious opportunity to establish direct relations with local professionals. It will allow us to find, while exchanging and sharing ideas, new roads for the promotion of traditional Italian artisan gelato worldwide.

The four-day event is happening at Booth C8, between Halls 1 and 2, Singapore Expo.

FHA2018 is hosting the brightest stars of the pastry world who are competing and exhibiting their dessert-making skills at the show’ s Asian Pastry Week, which includes the Asian Pastry Cup( APC), Valrhona C3( Chocolate Chef Competition), the Global StarChefs Pastry Show, and La Crème de la Crème 2018, all happening at the APC Platform, Hall 1, Singapore Expo.

At APC this week, 12 teams from Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria and Taiwan are competing and presenting their most ambitious and complex works of pastry arts. Will the Singapore team, who won in the APC 2016 edition, be able to defend their title? Find out at the APC Platform starting today.

Other pastry competitions happening all week at the APC Platform include the Valrhona C3— Chocolate Chef Competition— where six top pastry chef contestants( each supported by a designated commis) can be seen preparing chocolate plated desserts as well as chocolate bonbons in just five hours and 30 minutes. These chocolate magicians will create desserts using Valrhona’ s Manjari Grand Cru chocolate

produced exclusively using cocoa beans from Madagascar.

At the Global Star Chefs Pastry Show, visitors have the chance to watch star chefs— world champions and those awarded with Meilleur Ouvriers de France( MOF)— prepare a magnificent spread of chocolate and sugar showpieces, entremets, mini pastries, plated desserts, and more.

Chefs slated to entrance audiences with their pastry feats include Philippe Rigollot, MOF and World Champion; Nicolas Boussin, MOF; Yann Brice, MOF; Christophe Renou, MOF; and

Chef Vincent Bourdin, director of the Asian Pastry Cup:“ This year, [ at the Global StarChef Pastry Show,] we want chefs to also have fun and to show off what they can do to a young crowd eager to meet and approach the chefs they could otherwise never talk to.”

Jean Jacque Masse, MOF; and Christophe Domange, World Ice Cream Champion 2018.

Over at La Crème de la Crème 2018 Presentation of Masterpieces, the chefs are tasked to create their interpretation of the theme“ Cream and Chocolate” using French dairy cream and Valrhona chocolates to enhance the taste and quality of their creations. The pastries will all be photographed, compiled into a limited-edition recipe book, and distributed to students and pastry chefs.

Chef Vincent Bourdin, director of the Asian Pastry Cup, says with 12 teams competing this year at the APC, expect a huge battle as the top teams from countries such as Japan and Singapore are being challenged by newcomers.

“ The level and skills of pastry chefs in Asia are growing at a pretty fast pace. I remember the time when only Japanese chefs could compete at a global level,” he says.“ Today, the paradigm has changed, and some pastry chefs from Singapore and Malaysia are beating the Japanese team at international contests. The Japanese hegemony is almost gone. It remains a very strong pastry nation, but other Asian countries are catching up in terms of international pastry standards.”

Will the Singapore team, who won in the APC 2016 edition, be able to defend their title this year? Find out at the APC Platform starting today.

Meanwhile, the C3 competition is all about chocolate desserts.“ C3 is a different ball game. Here, we are concentrating on chocolate desserts— the most popular of all desserts that cannot be missing in any top restaurant menu,” Bourdin explains.“ This is also why global chocolate supplier Valrhona created this specific competition.”

Contestants will create one dessert and one praline with the jury awarding points based on the entries’ creativity, look, balance of flavour, textures, level of complexity, risk taking, quality of execution, as well as organisation, timing and skills of the pastry chefs.

Originally initiated by l’ Ecole Valrhona, C3 is a competition open to restaurant pastry chefs seeking recognition in the art of plated dessert. The competition strives to create a community and creative exchange between

pastry professionals to push the industry forward. C3 is also the Asian selection platform for the international finale during the Annual Star Chefs International Chefs Congress in New York this October.

For FHA2018, APC organisers decided to mix fun with competition by staging the Global Star Chef Pastry Show as well.“ We have created this event with a different angle; pastry shows in the past were always based on competitive challenges,” he says.“ This year, we want chefs to also have fun and to show off what they can do to a young crowd eager to meet and approach the chefs they could otherwise never talk to.”

Bourdin wants to show visitors, especially culinary and pastry students attending the event, another dimension of being a pastry chef. The profession is not only rewarding, but can be glamorous too, he quips.