Easter egg competition 2024 winner announced
The competition took place at One Monte-Carlo, in the Salle Cocteau © Milla Lanciego
Invited by the Société des Bains de Mer de Monte-Carlo (SMB), the jury had the difficult task of choosing between the five competing pastry chefs. Monaco Tribune takes you behind the scenes.
Easter is just around the corner. And that means eggs!
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On 11 March 2024, five teams from Monegasque patisseries competed to win the prize for the season’s best Easter egg. The winner has the honour of being Monaco’s signature egg. It will then be replicated and put on sale to the public. A major responsibility for the jury, comprising members of the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) establishments’ management. Experts on the subject, the Prince’s Palace chef Christian Garcia and chocolatier Pascal Lac were also invited to judge the creations.
New edition, new theme: «Monte-Carlo: a Blue, Pink and Red Spring». Blue for the sea, pink for the famous Rose Ball, and red for passion. The competitors had to be ‘on-theme’, and of course tickle the critics’ taste buds. “I think there could be a few surprises when it comes to the tasting,” said Chef Garcia.
Blind tasting
This year, there was a change to the rules. Before finding out who was behind the creations, the jury had to taste and grade them. Time to find out whether the different teams had met the required criteria: originality, theme and weight compliance, transport practicality, not forgetting visual and taste appeal. A brief outline of the recipe and history of each piece was also provided. And it was only after ranking the different eggs, that the pastry chefs’ identities would be revealed.
“The weight limit of 430 gr is tricky, it’s hard to express yourself freely in an egg this size. And the three colours aren’t always easy to achieve on chocolate pieces. Good luck everyonel!” said Chef Lac. The competition was on!
And the winner is…
Cue drum roll… Pôle Sucré, for its «Le Jardin du Casino». A first for the pastry shop, located at One Monte-Carlo, and taking part in the competition for the first time! “I’m going to be 56 soon, and this is the first time I’ve entered a contest. I think we pulled it off!” smiled creator Pascal Tenailleau.
Representing the legendary Monte-Carlo Casino, with sweet touches of Menton lemon, the egg was not an easy one to make. “The hardest part was to come up with the idea, because the theme was quite complex. Knowing how to put the colours together was also a difficult task, they needed not to be too bright,” he said. “It took us a day, all in. Initially, I wanted to take inspiration from Fabergé, the Russian jeweller, and then the Spring idea won out,” added his teammate Xavier Panaget.
That said, Pascal and Xavier had decided to take the easiest route. “We work a lot on the Monegasque theme, we often represent the Casino on our creations, so it seemed natural to go with what we know best,” Pascal said.
Tempted?