On 25 January, six Swiss chocolatiers and pastry chefs got up their courage and entered the Chocolate Academy Centre in Bern to earn the much-coveted title of Swiss Chocolate Master. But only one came out the victor: 38-year-old Géraldine Müller-Maras, director of the Atelier du Chocolat at Maison Cailler.

Nicole Beckmann, Samuel Romagné, Olivia Abrach, Mickael Lysakowski and Grégoire Maury all made a remarkable display of their creativity and chocolate expertise, but in the end, none of them was a match for Géraldine Müller-Maras. Crowning herself Swiss Chocolate Master, she has the honour of representing Switzerland during the 2015 World Chocolate Masters final in Paris, during the Salon du Chocolat.

The podium:

First place: Geraldine Müller-Maras
Second place: Nicole Beckmann
Third place: Olivia Abrach

Individual awards:

Best moulded praline: Géraldine Müller-Maras
Best Chocolate to Go concept: Nicole Beckmann
Best Cake of the Day: Olivia Abrach
Best chocolate showpiece: Mickael Lysakowski

The Swiss-Australian Geraldine Müller-Maras is no newcomer to the world of chocolate. Her wanderlust spirit as a professional culinary globetrotter has taken her all over the globe: she worked as commis pastry chef at Mosimann's in London, was hired by the Jardin des Sens in Montpellier (France) and the MS Hanseatic, the only 5-star expedition ship in the entire world, has taken her to see every bit of sea stretching from the Caribbean to the Antarctic. Then, after a stopover in France, she spent eight years seeking new challenges as a pastry chef in Australia.

In 2012, Geraldine Müller-Maras and her colleagues were awarded with the 'Gourmand World Cookbook Award' in the 'Best in the World' competition for 'SOMTUM: a Meeting of Flavours, Tastes and Cultures'. In the same year, she returned to her Swiss roots and has worked as director of the Atelier du Chocolat at Maison Cailler.