Applications are now available for the 3rd bi-annual Next Generation Chocolatier Competition, the only national competition for chocolatiers in the US. This year, I am acting as the Head Judge.The competition is open to professional chocolatiers and culinary students living and working in the US. This year's theme is "Salty Sweet." ChocolateLife members are among the very first to hear about the competition and have access to the guidelines and application form.The Competition Guidelines and Application form are attached to this post for you to download and read. It's a two-step process. You must first submit an application, which is then vetted. 20 semi-finalists will be selected to submit entries for final judging. The application deadline is August 1, 2008. NOTE: The application deadline has been extended to August 15th. There is no fee to apply.Please use this forum to ask questions about the competition. The competition's organizer, Curtis Vreeland, is a ChocolateLife member and he and I (in my role as head judge) will do our best to answer all of your questions in a timely fashion.


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

updated by @clay: 04/11/15 19:25:26

Hi Clay,I am very interested in entering the competition, but i'm not sure if i'm eligible. I've taken various chocolate courses through Ecole Chocolat and would like to enter one of bon bons I developed for one of the courses - it works perfect with the competition theme! At the moment i'm not a student and I am also not in business for myself. I have been offered a job to work for a chocolatier, but I will not be employed there until after August 1st. Am I eligible to apply?Caroline

Caroline:The organizer of the competition, Curtis Vreeland, is a member of TheChocolateLife. I will forward a message off to him asking him to take a look at your question. In the meantime, it takes only a few moments to apply so why not go ahead? You have nothing to lose and I know that Pam Williams would be thrilled to know that one of her students wants to compete (don't forget to get a letter of recommendation from her - and maybe confirmation from your future employer).:: Clay


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

As an FYI, the winner in the "Best Ganache" category in 2004 was Jeff Shepherd of Lillie Belle Farms in Central Point, OR. Jeff is a member of TheChocolateLife.:: Clay


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

Thank you! I'll definitely apply.

You will need to be employed as a chocolate maker by the date of the judging, which is the first week in October. So go ahead and apply, but be sure to include that recommendation letter. Good luck.:: Curtis VreelandNXT GEN Chocolatier Competition Founder

Love to enter, have my own chocolate business, but alas-- wrong country....

Thanks clay....it was my first contest.

So curtis?-clay?can we enter 2 different pieces? or is it limited to one? I just developed a new one that fits the criteria that is absolutely out of this world good. I mean broke da mouf good.so-can i? pretty please? with sugar and salt on top?

Jeff:There is a bar category and a bon bon category. As far as I am concerned you may enter one piece in each of those categories for a total of two pieces. Does that clarify things?:: Clay


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

yes......I now have to choose which bon bon will kill the competition......just leave them wimpering in wonderment at the majesty of my creations....

hey curtis???I just read the official rules and saw that it wants chocolatiers with under 5 years in business. I assume those of us who participated in 2003 are now disqualified? Me, chris, bethany, kee? make the cut-off 6 years and we are in!

I understood it to mean that there are two categories and the "rising star" part is for those 5 years and less, and the rest is open to anyone making artisan chocolates.

You are correct sarah...now we have to see if we "make the cut"....I sent nude photos of myself in with the bio....probably a bad idea in retrospect....

Clay,I'm finishing my application and have some questions on the bio. Do you want it to focus on chocolates or a complete professional bio? My background was pretty far from the culinary scene until about 3-4 years ago but is part of my story. Just wondering if you wanting to know about our training/experience with chocolate or a complete bio. Thanks. Bill

Bill:Actually, from the contest's point of view we are more interested in your chocolate professional bio. However, personally I am fascinated by the roads people take to get to chocolate. So a quick sketch of your professional life before you turned to chocolate would be great. It won't have any influence on either the selection or judging processes.:: Clay


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

When and where will the competition take place? Is is open to the general public? To watch, I mean.

Hey, so I am a big dork and I can't figure out how to fill out an application that is in Pdf. Can someone clue me in on how to fill out the application part of this thing? D'oh!

Alessandra:The judging process is not open to the public. All of the applications are sent to me as the head judge and I evaluate them. 20 are selected and are invited to participate in the judging. This means that they must supply samples to be judged. The judging will take place in NYC in October, in private. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony - to which the public is invited to attend - in early November.:: Clay


--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/