Crowning himself champion at the Polish national qualifying round for the 2015 World Chocolate Masters, Chef Lukasz Aniol earned himself a trip to Cacao Barry’s Or Noir laboratory in Meulan, France. There the promising apprentice of Bożena Sikoń got to create his own signature chocolate for the competition assignment called ‘My Or Noir Story’. We caught up with Lukasz and asked him to look back on an exciting day of experimenting with numerous exotic cocoa flavours and aromas.

WCM Communications Team: So Lukasz, tell us a bit about yourself.
What’s your specialty?

Lukasz: “This probably won’t come as a surprise, but I love chocolate. But what I really enjoy most is creating plated desserts. There’s a level of complexity that comes with it and plated desserts give you the opportunity to really show your technique and creativity, whether it is through taste, presentation or the technical level. Plated desserts always inspire me to make them tell a story.”

WCM Communications Team: Was it easy to create your own chocolate in Cacao Barry’s Or Noir lab? And are you happy with the result?

Lukasz: “It was quite difficult to create a chocolate that really represented every aspect of my personality, but I’m very satisfied with the result. And because my chocolate is the result of such a personal venture, I baptised it ‘Silesia’ as a tribute to my Polish heimat.”

WCM Communications Team: How would you describe your ‘Silesia’?
Does it remind you of something?

Lukasz: “What makes my ‘Silesia’ unique is that it’s a really fruity chocolate with a lot of flavour dimensions that present themselves one after the other, a bit like the pages of a book. It makes you crave for more, just like a good book makes you want to keep on reading.”

WCM Communications Team: How did you go about creating your own chocolate?
Were you inspired by a specific experience? A taste? An origin?

Lukasz: “When I arrived at the Or Noir laboratory I had a faint idea of what kind of chocolate I was looking for. I was aiming at something fruity, but no fruit flavour in particular. I wanted my palate to decide for me. And as far as the origin’s concerned: I was happy to find out where my chocolate comes from after the blind tasting.”

WCM Communications Team: And how did you feel when you first tasted it?

Lukasz: “I felt amazing! Tasting it opened up a whole world of flavours and experiences, just like a library.”

WCM Communications Team: And how are you going to prepare for the world final in Paris?

Lukasz: “Well, I have to admit that it has been quite stressful, but the World Chocolate Masters are an amazing experience and an excellent challenge, both personally and professionally. I’m practising day and night to get my competition assignments absolutely perfect. Every detail matters. I can’t afford to slack off. I’m competing against 19 of the world’s best chocolatiers and pastry chefs you know? But the fact that I got selected to represent Poland at the world final is already a great honour. And I’m going to be surrounded by people that are as passionate as me about what they do, so I’m really excited about going to Paris.”

WCM Communications Team: We wish you the best of luck, Lukasz.
And thank you for this interview!

Lukasz: “Thanks! The pleasure was all mine.”