Callebaut Patissier of the Year 2024 Announces Its Finale Chefs Line-Up

Mumbai, 11/3/24: Callebaut, renowned for producing the Finest Belgian Chocolate, concluded the regional qualifying rounds of its flagship event, Callebaut Pâtissier of the Year 2024 for India in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. The third edition of the competition aims to create a platform in India that enables chefs in the country to craft their signature creations and showcase their creativity.

Each round announced two winners who qualified to compete in the finale event, which will be held in Mumbai in May 2024.

Representing the West region are Chef Nilesh P Dewulkar, Pastry Chef of Sofitel BKC, and Chef Yash Chhabria, Co-founder of Cacaobleu Haute Chocolaterie, Mumbai. Chef Anshul Grover, Pastry Chef, Indian Habitat Centre, and Chef Millan Shoran, Chef De Partie, JW Marriott Aerocity will represent the North region. Last but not least, Chef Sandeep Sharma, Commis Chef - JW Marriott Kolkata, and Chef Krishanu Dey, Chef De Partie, Ritz Carlton Bangalore will represent the South region.

"The Callebaut Pâtissier of the Year event is a prestigious event for chefs and chocolatiers to showcase their expertise and make a mark nationally. The 2024 theme ’Craft Your Signature’ is aimed at encouraging creativity and originality. The qualifier rounds were highly impressive, and we witnessed excellent designs and unique styles of creating signature dishes using the Callebaut chocolates. Now, we eagerly look forward to the magic our six finalists will unfold at the finale event in Mumbai.”

Chef Pratik Deshmukh, Head of Chocolate Academy Mumbai

“Callebaut’s aim is to enable chefs to craft at their best! With CPY, we are going a step further and providing a platform for talented Indian pastry chefs in India to showcase their craft to the larger community nationally and globally. Through the qualifiers, we’ve seen some really innovative thinking from the chefs in terms of bringing together flavour pairings and textures to represent their individual journeys. Callebaut Patissier of the Year upholds our commitment to supporting the chef community with not only great tasting chocolate but also a platform to showcase their signatures crafted using our Finest Belgian Chocolate”

Dhruva Jyoti Sanyal, Managing Direction, Barry Callebaut Cocoa & Chocolate Ingredients India

After the intense qualifying rounds, the action is set to shift to Mumbai for the finale rounds. The 2-day finale will challenge the contestants to craft great tasting, signature dishes that reflect their originality across bakery, pastry, confectionery, and showpiece categories.

Chef Romain Renard, Head of Chocolate Academy Dubai, and Chef Arvind Prasad, Founder & Executive Pastry Chef at Whitecaps International School of Pastry and Indian ambassador for Callebaut Chocolates, will join Chef Pratik Deshmukh as the jury for the final event to be held in May 2024.

The qualifying events were organized in association with The Chocolate Academy as “Knowledge Partner,” Kitchen Aid as “Appliance Partner,” BW Hotelier as “Media Partner” & Zee Zest as “Lifestyle Partner.”

About Callebaut® (www.callebaut.com):

For more than 100 years, Callebaut® has been crafting chocolate in the heart of Belgium and is still one of the rare chocolate makers to select, roast, and grind cacao beans into its own secret and exclusive cocoa mass – the most important ingredient for chocolate couverture. Callebaut® was originally founded in 1850 in Wieze, Belgium, as a family brewery. The founder's grandson Octaaf produced the first chocolate bars in 1911 and began making couverture chocolate for Belgian chocolatiers soon after. Callebaut® has been supplying craftsmen all over the world since 1950 with its Finest Belgian Chocolates, which are still today made 'from bean to chocolate' in Wieze. Callebaut® is part of the Barry Callebaut® Group, the world's leading high-quality chocolate and cacao manufacturer.

----