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When ingredient quality, creativity, and craftsmanship meet, the result is extraordinary experiences and dessert artistry!
This week, Martine Espeland and assistant Synva Knapstad Gjerde won silver in the Global Pastry Chef Challenge in Wales. Congratulations!
We are proud to support Martine and her team on their journey, alongside excellent partners who also share a passion for quality, craftsmanship, and the small details.
Dessert: Martine Espeland
Photo: Nortura PROFF / Nadin Martinuzzi
Martine Espeland's journey into the world of competition began early. Inspired by her brother Aron, who himself competes in the culinary field, she quickly developed a taste for the environment and the challenges it entailed. Since 2020, she has been a part of the Norwegian Culinary Team, and in 2024, she made history when she achieved a perfect score with her dessert Peach Table at the Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart.
Behind these results lies a strong focus on detail, precision, and quality. Together with assistant Synva Knapstad Gjerde, Martine spends countless hours developing techniques, flavors, and expressions where everything must work together – from texture and temperature to the visual overall impression. In competitions, she must deliver a cake, a dessert for six people, and a chocolate sculpture, all under strict time constraints and high demands for perfection.
For Martine, dessert artistry is not just about taste, but about creating experiences. She often draws inspiration from Norwegian ingredients and seasons, and is dedicated to the craftsmanship behind every single detail. She describes her work as a balance between creativity, technique, and the feeling one wishes to convey through food.
In May, Martine and her team participated in the Global Pastry Chef Challenge in Wales, where they secured an impressive silver medal. The competition brought together some of the world's foremost pastry chefs, and this achievement marks another highlight in her career.
Through the collaboration with Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik, Martine's dessert universe finds a natural setting. The tableware highlights the details in the arrangements and emphasizes the interplay between aesthetics, craftsmanship, and quality – values that are strong both in the kitchen and in the porcelain tradition.
When working with competition desserts, stability and precision are crucial. Martine focuses on raw materials and ingredients that provide consistent and reliable results, while also allowing for creative expression. For her, it is important to be able to fully concentrate on taste, technique, and presentation.
Among the elements she works extensively with are meringues, macarons, and other details that require accuracy and consistency. The result is desserts with delicate textures, balanced flavors, and a visual expression that harmonizes with the serving.
Mix the dry ingredients together.
Whip everything in a stand mixer until stiff.
Then fold in the icing sugar little by little.
Pipe onto baking paper and dry in the oven at 90 °C for about 1–2 hours.
Depends on the size.
Store in a dry, airtight container.
