By Effie Caloutas
Mount Evelyn pastry chef Samantha Butler has been selected to compete for the World Trophy of Pastry, Ice Cream and Chocolate.
The 23-year-old will take part in the Australian selections finale from Monday 10 to Wednesday 12 September at the food industry’s largest trade show, Fine Food Australia.
The three-day competition will see some of Australia’s best pastry chefs travel to Melbourne to battle it out for one of the top spots.
The competition is separated into three categories and Samantha is competing in the pastille and gelato discipline, where her creations will be plated up to a panel of judges, including Jessica Pediment, Luigi Stivalette, Adriano Zumbo and Barbara Castiglione.
“I have done a lot of practice,” Ms Butler said.
The winner of each category will travel to Italy next year to represent Australia at the World Trophy of Pastry, Gelato and Chocolate in Milan.
“I haven’t done anything like this,” she said.
“Hopefully, being young, my ideas will come across and they will like it.”
While at TAFE she was a finalist for the Fonterra Proud to be a Chef competition, for which she cooked a seasonal dessert showcasing pepperberry and macadamia as natives.
“I was captain of the winning team for the state finals for the Victorian TAFE cook-off,” she said.
“I was a finalist for the Thierry Marxs apprentice competition.
“I was awarded second prize for a cake in the Lilydale Show themed cake competition.”
Now a qualified Chef, Ms Butler said one of her greatest achievements was being a finalist for the Appetite for Excellence competition this year.
“It was a really good experience where we competed against some really good chefs,” Ms Butler said.
“It was a good insight into seeing what is happening in the industry at the moment.”
She works at Oakridge Wines in Coldstream as a junior sous chef, after completing her apprenticeship there.
“I have trained on all sections of the kitchen but have a special interest in pastry,” she said.
“I have been part of the pastry team while we were voted ‘best desserts’ by Delicious Magazine.”
Ms Butler has also worked on her own cake business Little Bakes for the past year.
