Chef Raena Narae Lee from Delta Hotels Toronto was the pastry winner at the Marriott Masters of the Craft Competition.
Masters of the Craft is a culinary, beverage and pastry competition designed to foster creativity and innovation while highlighting exceptional chefs and bartenders within the company’s food, beverage and pastry community. Pastry was a new addition to the competition this year, bringing attention to a space that has extraordinary talent across the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of brands.
Over the past three months, more than 1,600 exceptional culinary, pastry and beverage professionals from 181 Marriott Bonvoy properties across the U.S. & Canada competed in local and regional Masters of the Craft competitions to prove their prowess through quick-fire cooking, baking and mixology challenges. During the timed, rapid-fire competitions, each contestant was tasked with incorporating a mystery ingredient into a signature dish, cocktail, or pastry which was then judged based on technique, creativity, and taste.
“Each year, we look forward to hosting the Masters of the Craft event to highlight the amazing talent we have within our hotels and restaurants across the U.S. and Canada. We were especially excited to add pastry to the competition this year and give our pastry chefs, in addition to culinarians and mixologists, the opportunity to showcase their passion,” says Matthew Von Ertfelda, senior vice president, Food + Beverage, Global, U.S. and Canada operations, Marriott International. “It’s a priority for Marriott to support pastry artisanship at our properties and celebrate these talented chefs.”
The winning dish by chef Lee was her take on Île Flottante, or “Floating Island,” which has been on French tables for centuries.
Her family origins are of South Korea’s famous Jeju Island, and her dish was inspired by her homeland and her humble culinary learnings as a young pastry cook. Upon presentation, the judges were asked to knock the chocolate tuille to have the coffee-flavoured sabayon spill onto the plate, letting the meringue island flow as they enjoyed the showmanship… an interactive storytell full of heart, passion, and decadent flavour.
The other two winners were:
Culinary Competition Winner
- Jessica Lumbre, JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort.
Beverage Competition Winner
- Heidi Finley, The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota.
