Former BIA Confectioner of the Year Ruth Hinks, is in the final throes of her preparation for the World Chocolate Masters competition next month.

Following 12 months of hard work and anticipation, Hinks will compete against the 19 other finalists from across the globe.

An initiative by Callebaut, Cacao Barry and Carma, the World Chocolate Masters is an international competition dedicated solely to the art of chocolate.

Taking place from 28-30 October in Paris, Hinks, who was crowned UK Chocolate Master last year, is tasked with making a two-metre-high chocolate showpiece, a chocolate layered cake, a gastronomic chocolate dessert, a moulded chocolate, an enrobed praline and a chocolate globe, all around the competition’s theme: ‘The Architecture of Taste’.

Hinks, owner of the Cocoa Black Chocolate & Pastry School, near Edinburgh said: “For the past 12 months, I have spent 25 hours a week training and have been fortunate enough to receive excellent support from Mark Tilling, the other Barry Callebaut ambassadors and Martin Chiffers. It has been a fantastic journey and I’m looking forward to the event and revealing the efforts of the past 12 months.”