Cecille’s Winning Trip of a Lifetime

Cecille Youngs, the 2024 winner of The Chef’ Forum Student Pastry Chef of the Year (SPCOTY), enjoyed an unforgettable culinary adventure in France, courtesy of Andros Chef.

Her journey began with a special lunch in the heart of Bordeaux at the prestigious InterContinental Grand Hotel de Bordeaux. There, she met Gaetan Fiard, Chef Pâtissier at the hotel and the two Michelin-starred restaurant Le Pressoir d’Argent Gordon Ramsay.

Cecille then explored the Andros factory, witnessing the company’s dedication to quality and innovation in fruit products. She toured the experimental orchard, where Andros tests new growing techniques, and visited the factory to understand the meticulous processes involved in creating the Andros Chef range of renowned fruit-based products. A kitchen demonstration allowed Cecille to experiment with ingredients, sparking new ideas for her future career.

Reflecting on her trip, Cecille told The Chefs’ Forum: “The trip to France with Andros Chef was truly amazing. The culture, food, and service were notable, but most of all, I was able to see behind the scenes and discover how Andros produce their products. This was mind-blowing. I got to see everything from start to finish – the growing, the testing in the labs, all the way through the process and into packaging. It made me appreciate the high-quality products I’m using even more.”

Cecille’s Chef Lecturer at West Suffolk College, Stuart Ascott, who joined the trip, added:

“We were very privileged to go on the trip to Andros; they were such gracious hosts and so welcoming. It was an amazing trip with memories that will stay with us forever.”

Also on the trip was our SPCOTY Head Pastry Judge, Franciane Tatari who accompanied Cecille and Stuart on this excellent study tour.

Franciane said:

“The trip was beautiful, so well organized by Andros and it was lovely to visit the research orchard in the Lot region of France.  I hadn’t realised the scale of the brand, its global presence and the sheer enormity of the range of purées and other fruit ingredients available to pastry chefs around the world.  It was lovely to see how happy Cecille was to participate and I can already tell that she has a very bright future ahead of her.”

The Chefs’ Forum would like to take this opportunity to thank Andros for laying on this trip for our SPCOTY winner and look forward to working with this market-leading fruit ingredient brand going forward.

To discover the range of top-quality fruit ingredients for yourself, visit HERE.