A Chocolate Cake Decorating contest held last Oct. 1, 2010 at The Atrium highlighted Tinapayan's annual Chocolate Festival "Sinful Desires" . It was a jam packed event as onlookers observed 12 teams from different schools in Iloilo City create the most eye catching and visually appealing design for a chocolate cake. As I have shared my "critical" thoughts on the twelve entries , it is time to share the winners of this contest with some insider information and last minute critique.
4th Place
This entry from Central Philippine University was among the most eye catching, for its centerpiece shaped like a hook and would literally catch not only your eyes. Despite its gargantuan "centerpiece" design, it was the simple works on the white fondant that really caught my attention. Simple spirals created something that looked like a lace work from afar making it look elegant, only to be squashed by that hook.
The hook was elegantly shaped but still too big. Upon closer look, I think I saw some foil and concluded this would have been a foil covered styro covered in chocolate for a pure chocolate this big, the hook would literally sink the cake. And figuratively, in my opinion it did. Its size didn't quite made it big enough to land in the top three.
3rd Place
One of the two entries from St. Therese MTC Colleges and my personal favorite. Just by looking at it from afar or up close, one can see the professionalism and the craftsmanship of the design. This is one of the moments that words cannot really express what one is trying to say and by merely looking, it seems the message it well communicated.
A much closer look reveals a shiny finish not only on the fondant base but also on the trimmings. The color combination is very pleasing to the eyes and no matter what design it could have been it would have been as good. Garnering only 3rd place is such a shame for those who were tasked to judge. Nothing personal, of course, since they were "chained" with a criteria, though inside info said that it was less than 1 point that separated the top 3 scores. By the way, this cake design (though somewhat similar design but also made by the same school) got a perfect score of 100 in the 2010 National Food Showdown contest held in Manila last Sept. 10-11, 2010.
2nd Place
Another entry from St. Therese MTC Colleges and my second favorite. This cake was the fist one I saw that used "spray paint"during the contest and just by that I assumed it was cake that would stand out. Indeed it stood out but a fraction of a point shy to become the winner. What made it stood more are the chocolate toppings which at first may look simple but in reality very difficult to achieve. Creating perfect shaped chocolate designs, that are so smooth that it almost shines plus curls that are that thin yet smooth and shiny, is an art that is almost comparable to baking itself.
Though simple, the base trimmings also show a level of difficulty - as uniform thickness, distances and sizes should properly be maintained to have pa perfect finish. And to add more difficulty, I was informed that the one who made this effort is almost one-eye blind. Kudos to this near perfect work despite the short coming.
*** Winner ***
This entry from West Visayas State University seems an unlikely winner and until now, I am hoping that I am just dreaming and will soon wake up. This cake won merely on technicalities which is - creative use of the chocolate sponsor will earn extra points. And there it unfolds before your eyes that indeed they used the sponsor chocolate but there's no creativity that goes with it.
The dirty looking "panels" looked as if it the chocolates were unceremoniously melted in a pan and after cooling they used a wooden ruler as guide when they created those panels. A closer look reveals the roughness of the work done on these panels - there is no finesse or even pride on one's work.
The top designs were nothing spectacular ... let me rephrase it. The top designs were nothing! Now that's much better. A clashing red petals and green leaves design side by side with the white and brown chocolate. I wonder why they didn't use a pink one, it would look good as one of the handkerchiefs.
This is the firs time the school joined any contest and very luck they were they got first place. Yup, luck was on their side and it was only worth fraction. Just like most onlookers said and I'm sure most of my readers would say, the winning chocolate cake is not worth it. As my favorites lost, it would have been better if they lost to a worthy opponent but as the photo shows they didn't.Note: This is not a joke nor you and I are dreaming - this is the actual result of the contest.