Ten pastry chefs from eight countries are competing in Alicante for the title of best chocolate cake in the world

ALICANTE. Ten pastry chefs, eight countries, and one goal: to make their chocolate cake impress the judges. Alicante Gastronómica will host the final of the third edition of the Paco Torreblanca International High Pastry Award on October 2nd, a competition that will bring together professionals from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Spain in Alicante.

The competition will pit a new generation of pastry, chocolate, and dessert professionals against each other. Their challenge will be to create what the competition considers the best chocolate cake in the world, a creation that will have to impress a jury made up of some of the biggest names in the industry.

Among them will be Paco Torreblanca, Alain Chartier, Oriol Balaguer, Carlos Mampel, Raúl Bernal, Jacob Torreblanca, Kiko Moya, Rafael García Santos and Manuel Villanueva.

From Latin America to Alicante

The seven Latin American representatives have reached the final after overcoming the various qualifying tests held since June in their respective countries.

Argentina will be represented by Luciana Germelli, 25, a pastry chef specializing in chocolate and head of Chocolate and Pastry at Betular Patisserie. Trained at the Argentine Institute of Gastronomy, she has developed 14 chocolate collections and has specific training in artistic chocolate and advanced confectionery.

Uruguay will be represented by Juan Martín Grassano Bernasconi, a pastry chef, cook, baker, and teacher. Since 2010, he has been a tenured professor at the Gato Dumas Institute in Uruguay, and much of his career has been linked to cacao, chocolate, and contemporary pastry. He has also trained at institutions such as École Ducasse and Espai Sucre.

From Chile comes Nadia Castillo Pumarino, pastry chef, teacher, and founder of Dulcívoro in Santiago. She has worked in fine-dining French restaurants such as Lameloise and Le Chassagne and has participated in international competitions like the Copa América de Pastry in New Orleans and the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie in Lyon. Her specialties include caramel sculpture.

Colombia's representative will be Jonathan Alexander Buitrago Arcila, a pastry chef and chocolatier trained in Bogotá. His career combines competition, entrepreneurship, and training, with titles such as 2015 Junior Pastry Champion and 2018 National Champion of 'Cacao Made Art'.

Representing Ecuador will be Jean Carlos Padilla Vélez, a pastry chef and executive with over 15 years of experience. In addition to his work in the culinary sector, he has served as an instructor, chef exhibitor, and judge at various gastronomic events. His training includes courses and collaborations with professionals such as Antonio Bachour, Paco Torreblanca, Jesús Escalera, and Frank Haasnoot.

Mexico will be represented by Rubén Alan Díaz González, a chocolate chef specializing in pastry who works at Puratos Mexico as a chocolatier and technical and gastronomic ambassador. His expertise encompasses chocolate making, confectionery, product development, and innovation.

Completing the Latin American representation is Cristian Joel Jiménez Cajahuarina, from Peru, who specializes in cake decorating and chocolate making. He began his professional career in 2018 and in 2025 won first place in the Best Chocolate Cake Competition organized by the D'Gallia Institute in conjunction with the Torreblanca International School of High Pastry, which earned him a place in this competition.

Three Spanish candidates

Spain will have three representatives: Daniel Luque, Lucía Gisbert and Marianna Camps.

Daniel Luque has over 15 years of experience and has worked in the pastry kitchens of the Hotel María Cristina in San Sebastián and Oriol Balaguer in Barcelona, ​​as well as at establishments such as the Hotel Torralbenc and Club Allard. He currently runs his own business, Dani Luque Pastelería, in Donostia-San Sebastián.

Lucía Gisbert combines research and development of new products with teaching at the Hofmann School of Cooking and Pastry in Barcelona. Her career has also included stints at establishments such as Enigma, Volta – Miiro Borneta, and L'Escaleta, specializing in restaurant desserts, contemporary pastry, chocolate, and confectionery.

The third Spanish representative will be Marianna Camps, a pastry chef, chocolatier, and teacher who has worked at L'Atelier in Barcelona since 2022. Among her accolades is the first prize for Best Easter Chocolate Figure in Catalonia, which she won in 2023.

With these ten finalists, Alicante Gastronómica will become, during its first day, the stage for a competition that will focus on chocolate, technique and creativity from a dozen professionals from both sides of the Atlantic.