Kirsten Tibballs, who Masterchef proclaims ‘the queen of chocolate’, is one of Australia’s most celebrated and internationally respected pastry chefs and chocolatiers.
Kirsten represented Australia at the World Pastry Championships in Las Vegas, where she was recognised as the best in the world for her handmade chocolates, as well as winning gold in the Pastry Olympics in Germany. She has also been a judge at the World Chocolate Masters in Paris, The Patisserie Grand Prix in Japan and The World Chocolate Masters National selections in London.
Kirsten makes regular appearances on TV, including Everyday Gourmet with Justine Schofield, and has presented numerous chocolate challenges on Masterchef to test and inspire the contestants.
She regularly contributes recipes and articles to a number of the world’s leading pastry publications including so good.., Pastry and Baking North America, Pastry and Baking Asia Pacific, Baking Business and Australasian Baker. Kirsten self-published her first cookbook, Chocolate to Savour which won an award from Gourmand for Best Photography in the UK.
As an ambassador for leading chocolate manufacturer Callebaut, she regularly travels throughout Europe and the Asia Pacific demonstrating her craft.
To transfer her knowledge to other passionate foodies and professional chefs in Australia, Kirsten established Savour Chocolate and Patisserie School in Melbourne in 2002. Savour School has a state of the art facility in Brunswick and plays host to renowned international chefs each year. Savour is in fact the only cooking school in Australia that is solely dedicated to teaching the art of chocolate and patisserie.
Many of the school’s students have gone on to open their own boutique chocolate shops and patisseries around the world.
@KirstenTibballs
