A PASTRY chef has achieved success in an international cooking competition.

For the past ten years, Christopher Zammit has been putting Eastbourne on the catering map with his numerous achievements in national and international pastry competitions.

Team UK reached the eighth position with Chris’s Chocolate Display forming part of the Marvel in London theme, being awarded fifth place out of 22 countries competing in the final of the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie 2017.

A pastry chef by profession, a partner in a catering business and a specialist in chocolate displays, Chris has been entering and winning competitions in all aspects of pastry work since he decided to settle in Eastbourne and raise his family there.

His award-winning presentations include works in pastillage, wedding cakes, miniatures in chocolate, butter sculptures and chocolate showpieces.

Having studied the use of chocolate and chocolate displays under the well-renowned names of Ruth Hinks and Martin Chiffers, he was encouraged to participate in the 2015 UK Pastry Open, winning both the Chocolate Showpiece competition and the Entremet Taste competition and is the reigning champion in both disciplines.

His success at the UK Pastry Open initiated his selection to Team UK for the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie 2017, the prestigious competition which, every two years, brings to Lyon, France, the crème de la crème of pastry chefs from all corners of the globe.

He puts his merit in this competition down to the various chocolate components that were sculpted and created by him instead of being commissioned elsewhere.

Every two years, the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie brings together the best young pastry talents in the world.

After a selection process involving more than 50 national rounds and four continental selection events in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, 22 teams qualify for the final.

Chris is now dedicating his time to doing consultancy work as a chocolatier both locally and abroad.

His work outside cooking competitions involves lecturing at catering colleges, tutoring and giving demonstrations at specialist workshops.

Chris’s ambition now is to participate in the World Chocolate Masters, which according to their own definition is “the only competition in the world dedicated to the individual creativity of chocolatiers and pastry chefs with chocolate”.