After four physically and mentally exhausting days, the elated Culinary Academy returned home from the Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg with four silver medals. The 10 strong team also picked up four bronze medals and two diplomas at the battle of culinary giants from 28 countries from November 20-24.

Team manager Fergus Martin, who won a silver medal, says they were chuffed to bits to come home with such an impressive haul. “Although we didn’t bag a gold, which was fantastically difficult, we are immensely proud of our achievements and the fact we impressed such a tough judging panel, especially with the fierce competition we were faced with.”

The Craft Guild’s Culinary Academy, whose patrons are Brakes, Electrolux Professional, Essential Cuisine and Pritchitts, with Oliver Harvey chef jackets supplied by Tibard, finally realised their dream after a six month slog of preparation. After a debrief by World Cup judges on the last day, the competitive arm of the Craft Guild of Chefs was also left with a positive feeling about the future.

“We also learnt a few things – where, in the judges’ opinion, we didn’t display to the best possible advantage or get the glaze quite as good as it could be, which is all constructive and something we’ve taken with us,” says Martin. “I think the whole team would agree it was a truly amazing experience and a real highlight in our careers.”

Sunderland Marriott commis chef Jade Kilty, aged just 22, also got to experience the buzz of the biggest cook off ever after being chosen to assist the team in Luxembourg.

This year’s overall World Cup winners were Singapore in first place, followed by Sweden and the US. In the military section, first place was taken by Sweden, then Switzerland and Germany.

It’s probably best to skirt over the words uttered by Fergus Martin when the Culinary Academy arrived back in Calais following their appearance at the World Cup.

I mean how else do you react when, after four days working round the clock to create world class petit fours, platters and pastries, your minibus keys get stuck in the door?

Having your trusty set of wheels towed on to a P&O ferry when you’ve just driven across Belgium with matchsticks propping up your eyelids is never ideal. Thankfully, in his case, any expletives that threatened to turn the frosty French air even bluer were shortlived.

Very little in fact could bring the Craft Guild’s Culinary Academy team down from cloud nine, especially its manager, who had just watched his small but perfectly formed band of chefs reap success at one of the biggest culinary showdowns – and not just in terms of medals.

“I’m so incredibly proud of what they achieved but, more than anything, for the way they gelled and supported each other,” he says. “It doesn’t always work like this with chefs, who can be quite insular and focused on their own dishes, especially when everyone’s at different stages of their career and are all doing individual entries. This really made quite a special experience.”

The adventure began on Thursday, November 18, with a minibus and two cars, loaded to the hilt with luggage, chef whites and equipment, making the six hour journey to Luxembourg. Arriving at the small, family run Hotel Danys, the team’s first challenge was to turn two spare bedrooms into makeshift kitchens.

“Finding somewhere to stay where we could also practise before the competition was not the easiest of tasks and, aside from our mini-cookers and induction hob, we had little else in there,” says Martin. “The owners however were so hospitable and looked after us incredibly well.”

Early on Friday, it was time to source ingredients at La Provence Gourmande hypermarket. “We didn’t have to hand in any menus for the competition, so were free to chop and change ingredients if we saw anything we liked better,” says Martin. “One of the guys swapped pork for rabbit for example. That’s what’s nice about a small team; you can be that bit more flexible.”

The 11th Culinary World Cup got underway on the Sunday, with more than 2,000 chefs from across the globe clamouring to impress a revered panel of scrupulous judges.

Bernie Engelhardt and Craft Guild vice chairman Christopher Basten kick started proceedings for the academy, winning a bronze and silver respectively. It was at this point, seeing the mammoth competition hall filled with intimidating hot and cold static displays for the first time, that the team’s excitement turned to nerves.

“When we were on our way to Luxembourg, there was a lot of anticipation, but mainly everyone was enormously excited about what was going to happen,” says Martin. “When the team first saw the competition hall however, it suddenly became very real, dawning on everyone they were about to go on to the world stage.

“Winning a gold at this competition is unbelievably hard, and if you drop one point out of the 28 available for each criteria, you won’t make it. There is literally no room for error. I won a silver for example, which is between 90 and 98 marks, and would have had to get 100 for a gold.

“My table was next to a guy from South Korea, whose chefs are really something to aspire to and took a lot of the limited number of gold medals handed out at the competition. They were incredibly intricate and meticulous, and their sugarwork and centrepieces were breathtaking.

“What it did make the academy’s first-timers realise is just how much money is thrown at some of these teams. Certainly America didn’t drive a minibus across Europe to get there like we did. They were flown in by the US Air Force. Many of the oriental teams even had stands with finite detail made specially for their petit fours. It’s astonishing to see.”

While the World Cup was an experience the academy won’t forget in a hurry, anyone who has taken part in competitions knows that while it may be exhilarating, it isn’t necessarily a jolly.

“While employers are supportive, I would say six of our team took annual leave to take part in this competition, demonstrating such a level of commitment,” says Martin.

“Bernie, for example, got to Luxembourg and prepared for three days for his entry on the Sunday, with lots of assistance from the team. After his entry, he then stayed up all night to help some of the others prepare for the Monday, getting straight on his flight at 6am to start work in London at 7am.”

Commis chef Jade Kilty, who was invited along after making the finals in a Marriott Hotels national competition, made a particular impression. “It was a real eye-opener for Jade, who enthusiastically helped in the preparation, despite the fact she was not competing herself,” says Martin. “On the last day, we gave her an engraved knife from the team to show our thanks.”

One of the key characteristics about the Culinary Academy is its emphasis on bringing seasoned competitors and relative novices together for a common purpose. To do this, egos have to be left at the door, not in a sycophantic fashion, but in the true spirit of teamwork.

“Three of our team had never competed on an international platform before, and I was relieved to see the seniors helping the juniors to such an extent, showing them twists on different kinds of dishes and batting off ideas,” says Martin.

“Richard Bowden for example, a seasoned competitor, worked very closely with Matt Edmonds and Andy Wilcock, who may be executive and head chefs, but haven’t had much international competitive experience. The pair spent a lot of the time watching Richard, which turned out to be instrumental in how they put their entries together.

“Wayne Harris, a bit of a pastry expert, also helped and inspired the others with their desserts, even though it was the first time he’d competed at this level. He really took it in his stride. When you have good morale in a team, it pushes people in a positive way.

“The whole thing was a definite learning curve for us and the critiques we received from judges will help us develop for events of this calibre in the future. But first, sleep.”