Category Archives: Chocolatier of the Year

Ayaka Yamamoto

Ayaka Yamamoto

The Ritz Carlton Orlando Grande

A native of Tokyo, Japan, Ayaka Yamamoto decided to go to a sweet route because her father is an executive chef in Tokyo and she had a dream that to be a pastry chef.

She graduating from pastry school 2008 in Tokyo. Straight out of school she landed a position at 1 star Michelin, Chez Matsuo French restaurant where she worked every station—from plated dessert, wedding cake, basic of pastry and chocolate artistic work.

After two years Ayaka joined the team at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hotel where she acted as a pastry lead cook for three years. She worked under 4 world pastry champions including executive Chef Goto, especially she learnt highly skills of sugar work, boutique pastries and baking pastries.

Her next move to took her to the Ritz Carlton Orlanod Grande Lakes in Florida, There she creates pastries with a clean modern aesthetic, incorporating specialty Japanese products to share her culture with a wider American audience.

Laurent Vals

Laurent Vals

Laurent Vals Handcrafted Chocolates

Born in Paris and raised in the town of Perpignan, located in the south of France, Laurent Vals was 16 years old when he began his professional education at “l’Ecole Hoteliere du Moulin a Vent”. He received his diploma as a chef, and then going on to receive a second diploma, as a pastry chef.

At the age 20, Laurent began an international career as a chef, traveling to the United States to work in Charleston, South Carolina. By age 25, Laurent was working in restaurants in Paris and New York City. Then, five years later, at age 30, Laurent returned to the east coast of the United States. In 2001, he settled in Newport, Rhode Island, where he started a “second” career as the pastry chef of the Chanler hotel and spiced pear restaurant Then, in January of 2008, he started a small on line retail store for bonbons only : Laurent Vals chocolates also nicknamed “lava confections” by the locals.

Darcy (Bishop) Thrasher

Darcy Bishop

Cero’s Candies

Darcy (Bishop) Thrasher is co-owner and head confectioner at Cero’s Candies in Wichita, KS. Cero’s Candies has been in continuous operation since 1885. Prior to purchasing Cero’s, Darcy was a production and continuous improvement supervisor at a prominent manufacturer of small aircraft. Candy making and pastry work was a hobby and an opportunity arose to purchase the historic candy shop. She and her mother purchased Cero’s Candies in 2010.

Her cooking philosophy is “looking back to go forward” which works cohesively with handed down recipes and creating new flavors and techniques. Darcy’s resourcefulness resulted in her updating of the current menu, remolding of her shop, and her award winning innovative style.

Darcy is a graduate of Indiana University and has an MBA from Baker University. She graduated top of her class at Ecole Chocolate School as a Professional Chocolatier.

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Charity Teague

Charity Teague

Hyatt Regency Tamaya

Charity Teague is the Pastry Chef at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort. She designs elegant wedding cakes, extravagant desserts and is a two-time winner of the annual Chocolate Fantasy Competition, winning First Place in Sculpture and Best of Show in early 2015. She has designed and created the annual holiday gingerbread village display several years in a row where she treated locals and tourists alike to majestic large-scale gingerbread structures celebrating the culture and traditions of New Mexico. Her timeless confections are the culmination of countless tender moments she has shared with her family, her friends, and even complete strangers. She is the baker’s baker. As the big picture reveals itself, Charity’s life dedication to cake and to chocolate, is really a lifelong dedication to the celebration of people, of life and of love. She continues to widen the eyes of chocolate lovers with her artful execution of fantastic flavors.