Local chef heading to Paris for chocolate contest

He is to chocolate what Michael Phelps is to water, but the similarities end there. Phelps needed to schlep only one streamlined swimsuit to the Olympics in Beijing, while Lionel Clement is moving 550 pounds of chocolate and equipment to Paris for the 2009 World Chocolate Masters.

Clement, chef chocolatier at Wynn Las Vegas, will represent the United States at the masters, sponsored by chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut, Oct. 14-16. He'll be one of the contestants -- or "selections" -- from 19 countries, including France, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

And therein lies what Clement, 30, sees as his greatest obstacle.

"They do this contest in France," he said. "All the people from Europe, they're closer than us."

Clement created some preliminary pieces for his master showpiece -- "You stick all the pieces together. You don't start from scratch." -- and shipped them and his chocolate supplies to France, to arrive before he does.

"I don't know how it's going to look," he said. "If everything is broken, it's going to take longer. You never know. That's one of the things that's really hard for us. I was thinking about the guy who represents Canada or China or Mexico. They have to ship, like me. That's what people don't really understand," because the European competitors can bring theirs in by car or train -- on their laps, if they wish.

The masters involves two major competitions for each contestant. In addition to the master showpiece -- which is judged on decorative merit -- they must each contribute to a round of tastings, involving hand-dipped pralines, chocolate pastries, desserts and molded pralines, which will be judged for flavor and texture.

"And they're gonna give us a hat that we're going to have to decorate," Clement said. Yes, a real hat -- haute couture, no less -- and yes, decorate with chocolate.

Clement said the most difficult part is the timing.

"Because the first day, you have only three hours to build your master showpiece," he said. "The next day, you have only eight and a half hours to set up everything on time. You have to be very organized and know exactly where you're going and how to do it. You don't have time to ask yourself what's next. You're alone. You're on your own."

Which doesn't really concern Pascal Janvier, master pastry chef and chocolatier and owner of Patisserie Fleur de Cocoa in Los Gatos, Calif. Janvier was one of the judges for the U.S. semifinals, and has helped coach Clement.

"He made a very big impression first when he arrived at the competition in Chicago for the selection," Janvier said. "We almost knew that he was going to win just by looking at the way he was organized. Everything was so neat. That's the way we work, but for a young guy, that's usually not the case. His artistry is very good, too. That made a big difference."

Janvier said Clement's ability to stay calm under pressure also is a plus.

"He's very cool in his head," he said. "He's very mellow. He never rushes; everything is so organized. We see guys arrive in the morning and it's a panic and they forget where they put something. That won't happen with him."

"He's good at everything," agreed Frederic Robert, executive pastry chef at Wynn Las Vegas, who has been Clement's boss since the chocolatier came to the resort three years ago. Robert said Clement is very skilled about the preparation of chocolate, and has brought his organizational skills and new techniques -- "new vision" -- to the chocolate room.

"He loves his job," Robert said. "He's very excited about what he's doing, very happy to share everything. He has passion and is a good representative for this country."

Clement recalls with a laugh that he wasn't always passionate about chocolate.

"When I graduated in France I went to Paris and was hired by Lenôtre," Clement said of the patisserie empire that was presided over by legendary Gaston Lenôtre. "I got the choice between working in chocolate or doing pastry. And actually I didn't really like chocolate when I studied. I decided to try chocolate."

At Wynn, he's in charge of the chocolate room and has a staff of six.

"Every chocolate that we make at the Wynn comes from me and my staff and my kitchen," he said.

Janvier knows Clement is up against tough competition.

"The thing is going against the best in the world, no matter how good you are," he said. "The guy to beat is really the Japanese guy this year. The Japanese guys are really, really strong. They spend months and months just working on that, quitting their jobs. Not everybody can afford to do that.

"What's going to make a difference is details. And you never know what the judge expects; we think it's so great because we've never seen it before. It doesn't matter how good you are, it's how good you are that day."

Still, Janvier is sanguine.

"I'm confident," he said, "he's going to do really well."

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.