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Luminaria’s Pastry Chef Andrea Clover Takes First Place
at the 18th Annual Chocolate Fantasy Chocolatier Competition & Fundraiser
Release Summary
- Sixteen pastry chefs and culinary students competed for New Mexico’s ultimate chocolatier title.
- Chef Clover spent nearly 200 hours and used 125 pounds of dark chocolate to create a two and half foot tall rendition of ‘The Deceptive Conqueror’ scene.
- Chef Clover’s sweet confections can be sampled daily in Luminaria.
SANTA FE, N.M. – Mar. 11, 2010 – History has never tasted as chocolaty sweet as it did at the 18th Annual Chocolate Fantasy Chocolatier Competition hosted at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque on Mar. 6. The event’s theme – A Greek Odyssey – challenged 16 New Mexico pastry chefs and culinary students to create a chocolate rendition of a person, place or event of significance in the Greek Odyssey. A first year entrant with a passion for chocolate, Andrea Clover molded 125 pounds of dark chocolate to create a two and half foot tall rendition of “The Deceptive Conqueror’ scene, which depicted Greek warriors exiting the infamous Trojan Horse and preparing for their surprise attack on the City of Troy. Clover’s chocolate masterpiece took first place in the ‘Best Taste-Most Artistic’ award in the Restaurant, Caterers and Artists category.
The competition featured three entry categories: 1) students and schools, 2) restaurants, caterers and artists and 3) hotels and casinos. All entries had to be comprised of 80 percent chocolate and be 100 percent edible. The New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation invited a team of culinary experts outside of the region to judge the competition. Participants were judged on creativity, use of theme, taste and composition. While the entries themselves were for display only, guests were able to indulge in the chocolate samplings that were free flowing that evening.
“This entry took nearly 200 hours over a three month period to create, but winning first place made it all worth it,” said Clover. “The pastry talent New Mexico harbors is amazing, each entry was exquisite. I am humbled to have won among such a talented group of pastry chefs and aspiring students.”
Event proceeds help the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation financially support the cultural, educational and scientific programs and purposes of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. This chocolatier competition is one of several fundraising events it hosts to provide identified services to enhance the programs and mission of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science.
For chocolate aficionados who did not attend the event, Clover serves a campfire chocolate peanut butter smore fondue for two daily in Luminaria that offers a sweet sampling of Clover’s chocolate talents. For more information about pastry delights available in Luminaria, please visit www.innatloretto.com.
Inn- and Spa at Loretto
The 134-room Inn and Spa at Loretto is a boutique hotel epitomizing classic Santa Fe architecture and style with warm Southwest colors and tones. The prestigious Inn was inspired by the famed Taos Pueblo (a national historic landmark) and sits adjacent to the historic Loretto Chapel, known for its miraculous spiral staircase. The hotel, one of the most photographed buildings in town, features the Southwestern inspired Spa at Loretto with six treatment rooms, the popular Living Room Bar and Luminaria Restaurant & Patio.
Destination Hotels & Resorts
Inn and Spa at Loretto is one of more than 30 independent, upscale hotels, resorts and conference centers by Destination Hotels & Resorts, the fourth largest independent hospitality management company in the country. To protect and preserve the unique communities in which the company operates, Destination launched Destination Earth, an environmental sustainability program in 2008. New for 2009 is the 582-room Terranea Resort situated on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in southern California. The 102-acre ocean front resort will feature a 25,000-square-foot destination spa, three swimming pools, three restaurants and a Todd Eckenrode-designed par three golf course. In addition to Terranea in the greater Los Angeles area, Destination operates properties in key metropolitan areas and resort markets including Washington, D.C., Denver, San Diego, Santa Fe, Aspen, Palm Springs, Houston and Lake Tahoe. Destination is a subsidiary of Los Angeles-based investment, development and management firm Lowe Enterprises. For more information on the properties in the Destination Hotels & Resorts collection, please visit www.destinationhotels.com
