Mayor Rahm Emanuel and The French Pastry School (FPS) announced that Mia Engelmann of Whitney M Young Magnet High School won the first-ever Mayor’s Cup Youth Pastry Competition with her chocolate cupcake and chocolate ganache buttercream and fondant skyline appliqué. The inaugural Mayor’s Cup is a mentoring and vocational opportunity that offers youths from all 50 wards with an opportunity to develop and showcase their baking and culinary skills. To be considered, high school students ages 14-19 residing in the City of Chicago submitted their best cupcake recipe and an essay on “What Inspires You to Bake” to express their passion for pastry-making, baking and confectionary arts. Engelmann, a sophomore at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, will receive a full scholarship to the French Pastry School, valued at $23,700. Other finalists received awards such as brand-new baking equipment, high-quality ingredients, and free credits to participate in Continuing Education courses at FPS.

This competition is part of a unique collaboration between the City of Chicago and the internationally renowned French Pastry School of Kennedy-King College at City Colleges of Chicago. Through this unprecedented youth competition, FPS has empowered Chicago students to acquire real-world apprentice experiences and to hone the skills necessary for career opportunities in the fast-growing pastry industry. The French Pastry School pathway delivers students a world-class education and certification in pastry, baking and confectionary arts. The L’Art de la Patissere and L’Art du Gateau programs boast a 91 percent graduation rate, 750 local partners for real-world learning and an average of seven job opportunities per graduate. FPS is housed within the Washburne Culinary & Hospitality Institute, based at Kennedy-King College, the City Colleges’ center for excellence for culinary and hospitality education. For more information, please see www.frenchpastryschool.com and/or contact us at mayorscup@frenchpastryschool.com.