Route 66 Casino Hotel Executive Chef Gilles Desnous won a sweet victory on March 10th at the 26th Annual Chocolate Fantasy benefiting the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation.
Every year a different theme is selected, and this year’s theme was “Da Vinci Creations” celebrating the arrival of the world-renowned traveling exhibition, Da Vinci the Genius. A huge part of the Chocolate Fantasy event is the culinary competition judged by a panel of recognized food professionals. Chocolatiers from around the state created magnificent edible chocolate sculptures, truffles and a new category, cake.
Route 66 Pastry Chef Rita Norris entered the new cake category with her creation entitled “The Italian Polymath.” The cake featured some of Da Vinci most notable works of art including the Vitruvian Man and Mona Lisa. Executive Chef Gilles, a Chocolate Fantasy veteran, created an exquisite sculpture comprised entirely of chocolate entitled “Renaissance Experiments.” This sweet sculpture paid homage to the painting, sculpture and decorative arts of the Renaissance period.
Executive Chef Gilles was awarded 2nd place for his “Renaissance Experiments” sculpture, and 3rd place for his truffles. LDC is proud to have our chefs participate in an event that allows them to create culinary spectacles of this magnitude. Congratulations to Executive Chef Gilles and Chef Rita for the incredible amount of work, in both planning and execution for their magnificent chocolate creations.
Fore more information on the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation, CLICK HERE.