In 2013, Mexican pastry chef and chocolatier Luis Robledo represented his country as a competitor in the World Chocolate Masters finals. His chocolate showpiece even earned him the Social Media Award. This year, the owner of chocolate boutique Tout Chocolat is back, but he is playing a whole different part: he’s partly responsible for choosing the next Spanish Chocolate Master as jury member for the Spanish WCM preselections. From competitor to jury member: we asked him how he felt about that whole new way of perceiving the World Chocolate Masters.

WCM Communications Team: How did you experience being a jury member during the Spanish qualifying round, given that you were a WCM competitor during the 2013 finals?

Luis: “It's always a great responsibility to judge your colleagues. It's very important to be fair and objective, especially because I have competed myself and I know what they're going through during the competition. At the same time, you have to be aware of the fact that the winner will represent Spain in the world finals in October, so it's vital to choose the right candidate.”

WCM Communications Team: Was there something surprising about the Spanish WCM qualifying round?

Luis: “I liked some of the flavour combinations that the candidates came up with. Ingredients like soy, fennel, carrot and tomato were part of the recipes throughout the tasting session. It was all very inspiring.”

WCM Communications Team: How did the winner interpret the ‘Inspiration from Nature’ theme?

Luis: “In my opinion the interpretation of the theme is always very subjective and in this case the winner, Pepe Isla, had a very personal approach to it. Pepe was inspired by Angkor Wat, a Cambodian temple complex, and he used Asian influenced flavours that resulted in a very strong taste and artistic presentation.”