Mohan De Silva back to top
Team Captain

Mohan De Silva has ascended from his humble beginnings to become a world-renowned pastry chef. He began as an apprentice in the Inter-Continental Hotel in his native land of Sri Lanka where he trained in culinary arts and hospitality. In 1975, Mohan traveled to the western world with his family where he worked at the Southampton Princess Hotel in Bermuda.

He then traveled to Freeport, Bahamas in 1978 where he became the Pastry Chef of the Princess Hotel. Through the early 80's, Chef De Silva accepted the challenge of managing three Marriott Hotels, as pastry chef in Saudi Arabia.

Working his way back westward, he spent some time at the Homestead Hotel in Hotsprings, VA. Mohan then embarked on his most prestigious assignment: he became Executive Pastry Chef of New York City's Marriott Marquis in 1985 as part of the hotel's opening team. He remained in the Big Apple for 9 years until venturing to the City of Brotherly Love in 1994 as the Executive Pastry Chef of the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel. At present Mohan is the Executive Pastry Chef at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel in Washington D.C.

Mohan has won over 30 medals in domestic and international competition. He won his first Culinary Olmypic medals in Frankfurt, Germany in 1992. He also received two St. Michaels' gold medals for Pastry Excellence at the New York Culinary Arts and Restaurant Show. Mohan became Marriott Team Captain in 1998 where he lead his team to two silver medals in the Hotelympia London. He was selected team captain again for the 2000 Culinary Olympics where he led his team to the gold. Mohan enjoys pastry competitions because it is his chance to learn new techniques from others in addition to showcase his skill.

Fabrice Bendano back to top

Fabrice was born in Paris, France. He began his culinary career at the age of 16. Fabrice started his apprenticeship at the Intercontinental Carlton Hotel and earned his CAP de Patisserie (Chocolate, Confiserie and Ice Cream) in Cannes, France.

After graduating, Fabrice was drafted in the French military where he was assigned and picked for the dessert production at the Officers restaurant. Once he completed his draft, Fabrice worked at several Michelin Star restaurants such as La Belle Otero in Cannes, France, Taillevent in Paris, France, and Le Louis XV in Monaco with the renowned and infamous Chef Alain Ducasse. In 1998, Fabrice left France and traveled to London, England where he worked at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel for 1 year. While in England, Fabrice received an opportunity from United States. He was asked to join Les Halles restaurant in Washington, DC area for the Executive Pastry Chef position. Fabrice accepted the position and moved to the United States. Since he relocated, Fabrice worked at Citronnelle and is currently working as the Executive Pastry Chef at Bistrot Du Coin.

Julie Jangali back to top

At a very young age, Julie Jangali traveled to the states with her parents from her Native Country, Iran, to start a new life in the Western world. Julie has always been inspired by her uncle who owns his own Iranian Pastry Shop. This was Julie's first experience with food. Although Julie has had the passion for the Culinary field, she decided to give college a chance at The American University in Washington DC where she earned a B.A. Degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Art.

Upon graduation, Julie started working in a law firm; however, she still had a burning desire to become a pastry chef. As a result, she left the law firm and enrolled herself in L'Academie de Cuisine's Pastry Arts Program. During this time, Julie had the opportunity to join the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington D.C. Julie has partaken in several fundraisers. She has also done several showpieces for events such as the recent presidential inauguration dinner.