At a reception held in conjunction with the National Restaurant Association expo last month, The French Pastry School (FPS), Chicago, honored its alumni, many of whom have gone on to open their own businesses after graduating. More than 250 attendees were on hand to listen to guest speakers that included City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Cheryl Hyman; FPS alumnus Brady Braden, owner of B True Bakery, Chicago; and FPS co-founders Jacquy Pfeiffer and Sébastien Canonne, MOF. The school also celebrated its recent expansion, which will house teaching kitchens and facilities designated for the new L’Art du Gâteau, The Professional Cake Decorating & Baking Program that begins Aug. 30.
To commemorate the Chicago Blackhawks’ win of the National Hockey League’s 2010 Stanley Cup, Pfeiffer and Canonne, along with master cake artist Mark Seaman and pastry chef instructor Joshua Johnson, created a chocolate replica of the trophy. The actual Stanley Cup is made of silver and nickel alloy, is about 3 ft. tall and weighs almost 35 lbs. The FPS version is made out of pure chocolate couveture and colored cocoa butter, is 6 ft. tall and weighs nearly 50 lbs., which includes the cup, the base, a hockey stick and a giant puck featuring the Blackhawks logo. As with the real cup, the chocolate version features the names of the players and coaches engraved on the side.
The sculpture took more than 150 hours to create and was presented to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley during a press conference. Blackhawks team members invited the chefs and chocolate Stanley Cup to be a part of a private dinner celebrating the win.