After nine gruelling hours, Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School student Rebecca Cairns was announced the winner of Foodservice australia’s Chocolate Grand Prix.

Speaking on behalf of the judging panel, adriano Zumbo said the competition was extremely close, with only two points separating Rebecca and runner-up Kye Lim from Burch and Purchese Sweet Studio.

Other finalists were Blanc Patissier co-owner/sous chef Ben haslett, Le Cordon Bleu Sydney pastry teacher angelo Roche and Cacao Fine Chocolates chocolatier elaine Young.

Rebecca said she was honoured to take out the coveted title after eight months of preparation.

“the theme of the competition was origami, so all competitors had to create a piece with that theme in mind. My inspiration came from the origami paper crane and I chose to include a large crane as the main structure of my piece and everything else developed from that,” Rebecca said.

“I also included dragonflies, a lotus flower and cherry blossoms, as well as essential elements associated with other Japanese art forms, including a samurai sword and calligraphy.”

Rebecca is keen to pursue a career in chocolate and thanked her supportive employers for assisting her to boost her profile in the industry.

“Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School have helped me train and prepare for this competition. there couldn’t be a more supportive or encouraging group of people to work with and I’m lucky to be able to learn from such highly skilled and talented pastry chefs.”

the talented chocolatier will travel overseas to train at the Callebaut chocolate academy of her choice where she will learn from some of the world’s best.