Out of 600 young professionals under 25, she emerged victorious: already in charge of desserts at Vienna's Café Central, the young Anna Saurer wowed everyone with a delicate chocolate sculpture. But what does the future hold for her?
The news
"Flora and fauna" is the name of the gecko made of pure chocolate hanging from a chocolate ring, which crowned the 23-year-old Austrian Anna Saurer as the "Best Pastry Chef in Europe" at EuroSkills 2023, as reported by Rolling Pin. EuroSkills, which took place this year in Gdansk, Poland, is the European championship of food skills that has been bringing together around 600 qualified young professionals under 25 every two years since 2008 to compete and demonstrate their skills in 43 different disciplines to earn the title of "the best in Europe."
The young Anna, who has been working as a pastry chef for some time - first in Tyrol, her homeland, and for a year at Café Central in Vienna - was accompanied to Gdansk by her colleague Veronika Schmidt. In fact, all the young professionals are supported by over 600 experts who provide their skills and technical expertise to assist the young contestants during the three days of the championship. Before the official competition, they receive modules with the themes to prepare and train for, but in reality, anything can happen on the day of the competition, and this year, Anna was given the three ingredients with which she created "Flora and Fauna."
"I wanted my creation to be joyful and colorful above all. This gold medal is simply incredible; it's a joy, also because I was surprised: I didn't even expect to stand on the podium. Winning the European Championship is an indescribable feeling. I will never forget the last minutes of the competition when the team started cheering. Then, at the final whistle, all the pressure disappeared. This title also belongs to Veronika, who accompanied me. Without her support, I would never have come this far. She always encouraged me. I would also like to thank my boss for giving me the opportunity to attend many training sessions," said the young pastry chef to "Das lebensmittel handwerk," the first independent Austrian magazine for companies in the food sector.
Cover photo: @Schmid
