Stanton Ho Shares Secrets of His Sweet Success with Students

As the former team captain of the United States World Pastry Cup Organization, Stanton Ho can tell you what wins the taste buds of judges.

This was one of the sweet secrets the executive pastry chef for Chocolates á la Carte shared with students at Johnson & Wales University’s Florida Campus during his Jan. 26-28 visit as a Distinguished Visiting Chef® (DVC).

During his classroom demonstrations, Ho said his experiences have taught him that when it comes to making desserts the best ones are simple but perfect. Oftentimes pastry chefs try to create fancy, intricate desserts that visually impress. Ho said that those techniques are not generally wanted in the bakeshop. He told students to master making the basics.

Ho continued to share his knowledge with students throughout his demonstration and discussed everything from how terrain can affect the condition of desserts to how taste varies from geographic region.

Ho is most recognized for his 26-year career at the Las Vegas Hilton, where he was the executive pastry chef since 1984. Ho started his career in several luxury restaurants in Hawaii.

To accompany his career success, Ho has also been the recipient of numerous awards. He has received gold medals for his pastries in the grand buffet, best show pieces, best wedding cakes and most original showpieces in national competitions.

Ho was named captain of the Coupe de Monde de la Pâtisserie, the World Pastry Cup Team, in 1993. In 1995, he was appointed manager-coach and led his team to a third place ranking out of 18 participating nations. Ho was appointed chairman of the United States World Pastry Cup Organization in 1998. In 2001, the United States captured the gold medal in Lyon, France, marking the first time in the competition’s 12-year history that the United States pastry team placed first in the world.

In 1994 and 1995, Ho was named one of the top ten best pastry chefs in the United States by Pastry Art & Design. Paris-Gourmet named him Pastry Chef of the Millennium in 2000, and in 2002, he was named Pastry Chef of the Year at the World Pastry Team Championship.

Ho has been featured in several national and international publications, some of which include Gourmet Magazine, Food & Wine Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, le Journal du Pâtissier (France) and Pasticceria Internazionale (Italy).

This marks the second time that Ho has been honored as a Distinguished Visiting Chef by Johnson & Wales University. He received this honor for the first time at J&W’s Providence Campus.

Tanya Moss, a baking & pastry student, received a $2,000 scholarship in Stanton Ho’s name at a public dinner held on January 27.