A childhood enthusiasm for chocolate has led to a prestigious award for a Jersey chef working at a Michelin-starred restaurant in England.
After impressing the judges with both the look and taste of the creations she presented in the course of a seven-hour final, Emma Preisig was named 2025 Junior Chocolate Master.
Former Beaulieu Convent student Emma, who won the Jersey Young Chef of the Year competition ten years ago, won praise for entries described as “creative visions grounded in British heritage, flavours, art, culture, and produce”.
Fields of Gold
After leaving school, Emma worked at the Ocean Restaurant at the Atlantic Hotel and gained a 1st Class honours degree in Culinary Arts Management from University College Birmingham.
She now works as a Pastry Demi Chef de Partie at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons near Oxford, which was founded by renowned chef Raymond Blanc in 1984 and has consistently been ranked among the UK’s best restaurants, including the Michelin Guide.
Giving her reaction after receiving the trophy, Emma said: “It’s still taking a while for the news to sink in and I don’t think I’ll ever quite believe it.”
“It’s been such an amazing opportunity and experience that has been so invaluable – I have learnt so much throughout the process, whilst meeting some amazing people along the way,” she continued.
“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions”
“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions over the past six months of practice, research, testers and plenty of ideas – the competition has really helped me to push myself to learn so many new skills and gain knowledge to achieve something I really never thought would be possible.”
The competition was organised by the Callebaut Chocolate Academy UK, one of a global network of such academies established by the Belgian chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut.
Previously, having been confirmed as a finalist for the event, Ms Preisig described her strong interest in good food and home-grown produce from en early age, with chocolate a particular passion.
“I spent many Sundays baking and cooking with my parents, and throughout secondary school it became apparent my passion could be turned into a career and I could do what I loved every day as a job and get paid for it,” she said.
Sources of inspiration
“Since then I have worked in various sections within kitchens learning as much as I could, but it was only after spending more of my time in the pastry section and one of my colleagues teaching me the process of making chocolate bon-bons, was where my love for chocolate creations really sprung into action.”
Among her sources of inspiration, she cited her family friends, as well as “walks at home along Jersey’s coastline, visiting bakeries, restaurants, chocolatiers and farm shops”.