Gold Medal-Winning Sugar Artist to Teach at ICE
Peter Gyorgyicsek will lead a three-day sugar showpiece class as part of the Center for Advanced Pastry Studies.
Master Pastry Chef Peter Gyorgyicsek travels the world teaching and competing with sugar art. The Hungarian chef has won gold medals at the IKA Culinary Olympics in Germany, Mini Salon Culinary Competition in South Africa, FHM Culinaire Malaysia and Taverna Culinary Cup in Hungary. He’s also earned gold medals in Australia where he consults.
Chef Peter has always loved sweets. His parents pushed him to become a pastry chef after primary school as he baked with his mom often. Peter’s pastry teacher, Nemethne Regos Eva, taught him to pull sugar without gloves or a sugar lamp and inspired him to pursue the specialty.
“I loved the fact that from a simple ingredient like sugar, we could create colorful, beautiful flowers and many other things,” Peter says.
Today he teaches the basic techniques that he incorporates into award-winning sculptures. “I am always looking for something new and creative,” he says. “I don’t like to make or teach the same showpiece twice. I always change it to make it nicer or better.”
For his upcoming CAPS class, Chef Peter will review thousands of photos and ideas for inspiration. He researches ideas, draws and plans a showpiece to teach and then practices the design. He’ll guide students to create design elements each day before assembling the final showpiece. “I am thinking of something elegant, interesting and modern,” he says. “I like to give little options for the students to be creative and enjoy their work.”
In his own sugarwork, Chef Peter asked judges for feedback when he won a silver medal at the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg and says advice to practice more finally led him to realize his dream of winning gold. “I planned, practiced and visualized my goal: gold, gold, gold,” he shares.
Chef Peter says sugar art is more complex behind the scenes than it seems. “It gives you focus, precision, determination, hand skill, balance of elements and design skills,” he says, encouraging pastry chefs to work with colors and tones, create new things and constantly look for ideas.
The intensive class is for pastry chefs who enjoy artistic projects and fun, whether new chefs looking for extra knowledge or seasoned chefs who like a unique challenge – and won’t give up when they get blisters.
“My job is to balance the skill levels and techniques to make the chefs equally happy and motivated whether they have made competition showpieces before or they only have basic skills in this field,” Chef Peter says.
Register for Sugarwork with Peter Gyorgyicsek and explore more advanced pastry classes for professional development.
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