When Chocolate Turns to Gold

With his creations, world champion pastry chef Benjamin Sellemond could easily delight the palates of discerning guests in Paris, New York or Dubai. Yet he has consciously chosen to remain in his South Tyrolean home village. And so today, it is the entire village of Feldthurns that gets to enjoy his sweet artistry.

The bakery workshop is small and has barely changed since Benjamin and his brothers first learned to walk – on the dough sheeter. “We always had to help our father, and at home we’d dip biscuits.” Today, he sees it as a blessing: “You enter working life with a completely different mindset compared to kids from the city. You can immediately tell if an apprentice grew up on a farm – hard work is something they’ve been raised with.”

For 70 years, the family bakery has been an institution in the Eisack Valley. Its reputation extends far beyond South Tyrol, thanks to craftsmanship and top-quality ingredients: flour from four different mills, hazelnuts from Piedmont, almonds from Sicily, pistachios from Mount Etna, walnuts from South Tyrol. The family personally knows many of their roughly 80 suppliers. 

Skill and experience

The bakery is especially renowned for Benjamin’s instinct for all things sweet. In the world of pralines and pastries, among pastry chefs and confectioners, he is considered one of the best. At just 19, he received an award at the WorldSkills competition in Brazil. At the latest Expogast fair in Luxembourg, he took first place in the “Pastry Art” category at the Culinary World Cup. In 2025, he also secured second place on the TV show Das große Backen – Die Profis, bringing his craft to a wide audience.

But where does one learn such finesse? “Definitely not during standard pastry training – that only covers the basics. The person who taught me the most was Hubert, my vocational school teacher from the Ahrntal Valley. He had a small atelier where he trained people for world championships. He showed me things you would never try in everyday work. I also learned a great deal from Kapila in Dubai, an incredibly talented pastry chef from Sri Lanka who has since become a good friend.”

Today, at 30, Benjamin still has the bright, curious eyes of the boy he once was – but also the calm confidence of someone to whom things seem to come naturally. When asked if anything has ever driven him to despair, he doesn’t mention competitions.

“That was years ago, when the local tourism association asked me to create chocolate using chestnuts for the ‘Keschtnfest’, which our village is famous for. According to the textbook, chestnuts count as nuts – so no problem. But their starches, fibres and textures made it incredibly challenging. I got the whole family involved – everyone had to help. For two or three weeks, we worked like that, often late into the night. In the end, we found a solution.”

Time for new ideas

Benjamin dreams of setting aside one day a week to step away from the daily routine of the village bakery and focus on his chocolate lab. The machines needed to transform cocoa beans into exquisite pralines and chocolate sculptures are still far from being fully utilised. “What I lack is time. My brother Matthias and I always knew that joining the family business would mean a lot of work.”

But Benjamin is patient and full of ambition. “The World Chocolate Masters is the most prestigious competition in the pastry world. Reaching the final is like winning an Olympic medal.” And when he takes part, his online shop should be ready as well.

Until then, locals and visitors alike can enjoy his creations: handcrafted Easter bunnies with airbrushed finishes, macarons, pistachio nougat pralines with orange marzipan, or shimmering white chocolate creations filled with raspberry jelly. The “king of pralines” has no shortage of ideas for sweet moments of happiness – or for the future. In Feldthurns and beyond, there is plenty to look forward to.

Text: Sylvia Pollex
Photos: Thomas Rötting
Year of publication: 2026