Other bakers on the team include coach Mario Fortin from Quebec and Ontario’s Marcus Mariathas, who handles the baguettes and world breads.
Each team at both competitions must also include a “young bakery hopeful,” which is where de Herdt, 20, fits in. At the Louis Lesaffre Cup, the young bakers had to put together a children’s birthday tea, which was judged on quality and “vision of the bakery profession;” de Herdt took first place in that challenge.
“It’s pretty exciting – overwhelming almost, and nerve-racking, but exciting,” she says of the prospect of competing in France. “I’ve learned so much from [the other team members] , and eventually, hopefully I’ll be part of the team. I’ve learned so much just by watching them practice.”
Meanwhile, Holehouse has the ability to flex his creative muscles with the showpiece. Teams are given a different theme at each competition; in Argentina, they were to recreate historic moments from their respective countries.
Holehouse chose to honour Samuel de Champlain’s voyage to North America in 1608, during which he founded New France. He spent about six months planning the showpiece, which depicted de Champlain with his compass, an anchor, a naval ship, a ship’s wheel and a globe using just bread, along with some sugar to glue it all together. “I like to tell a story,” he says.
Holehouse has competed before in international pastry competitions, making similar showpieces out of chocolate and sugar, which are more precise mediums than bread.
“The shapes contract; they warp in the oven. I’m used to things fitting like a puzzle and being very precise. [With bread] , you have to go with the flow and just make things work sometimes.”
Each team member is putting in plenty of hours preparing individually, but they all get together at least once a month to practice as a team. At the World Cup, each team has a couple of hours to prepare on the first day, and then eight hours to bake and assemble on the second day. The Canadians, though, have also booked three days of practice time at a bakery in France prior to the competition to adjust to European ingredients.