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Javier Mercado - Captain
Originally from Puerto Rico before moving to the mainland USA when he was young, Chef Mercado has had many cultural influences in his pastry career. He started his culinary career as a general chef, but soon found that it was the pastry section that interested him most, so he enrolled in a course at pastry course at Johnson and Wales. After graduating he worked for several large hotel groups in both the USA and Caribbean including Ritz Carlton, Starwood and Westin. His next career move was as Assistant Corporate Pastry Chef for Albert Uster Imports in Maryland.
Chef Mercado made a big career change when he went “across the pond” to England in 2003 where he became a pastry chef instructor at the prestigious Westminster Kingsway College in central London. As well as teaching at the college he also travels worldwide demonstrating both sugar and chocolate work. He is passionate about entering competitions, and as well as competiting himself, he has also been a consultant to numerous other individuals and teams, both in Britain and abroad.
John Costello
Currently working as a Chocolate Innovation Chef at Park Cake Bakeries Ltd, Oldham, Manchester, UK. After leaving school at 15 I worked for Slatterys Patisserie in Manchester whilst completing bakery, confectionary and patisserie qualifications (up to level 3) at Salford Bakery School. Furthered my knowledge by attending short courses in Belgium and Switzerland, working at Confisure Progien in Biel Switzerland in 1998.
I moved to London in 2000 to teach chocolate and patisserie at the National Bakery School in London. After leaving I worked as a freelance demonstrator/tutor for companies including Cadburys, Callebaut, Squires Kitchen and many small start up businesses until moving back to Manchester in 2007.
I have participated in numerous competitions. Including 1994 & 1996 UK Bakers Of The Future, 2006 World Chocolate Masters UK heats, and numerous medals for chocolate, confectionary and pastry.
Chris Loder
Chef Loder started his culinary career in Australia before moving over to Europe to gain pastry experience working in first class establishments in London and Paris. He worked for Fauchon and at the Hyatt 5* Charles de Gaulle in Paris. In London he worked at the Langham Hilton Hotel was Head Pastry Chef for the Sheraton Park Tower Hotel which are both 5* establishments.
After Europe, he returned to Australia where he founded and was director of a highly successful wholesale pastry business in Sydney which had sales of over $50,000 per month.
However, he missed Europe, so in 2003 he moved back to London where he worked as Head Pastry Chef for Sodexho in the HSBC Tower (famous for being one of the tallest buildings in Britain) before becoming a pastry chef lecturer at Westminster Kingsway College in central London. At the college, Chef Loder is responsible for the pastry section within the “Realistic Working Environment” kitchen, which serves paying customers in the college restaurant and is designed to prepare students for work in a real working kitchen, rather than just being a classroom.
