By Richard Gorelick The Baltimore Sun

11:30 a.m. EST, January 22, 2013

Watch Four Seasons Baltimore executive pastry chef Chris Ford in the first episode of the Chicago Restaurant Pastry Competition, a web-based video series.

Ford competes against three other chefs in the competition, a single-day event where finalists are asked to make eight servings of an original, creative, plated dessert. The chefs also compete in a mystery challenge where they are asked to push the envelope of frozen, plated desserts.

This is the second year for the competition and web series, which focused on Chicago-based chefs the first year. The Season 2 premiere episode, "Meet the Chefs," introduces Ford and his three competitors.

Ford says this about his aesthetic: "I like it to be a little bit more on the floral side. So every dessert is almost like a woman, really soft and sensual. It’s not something really aggressive."

The goal of the competition, producers say, is to showcase the reality of a pastry chef kitchen, rather than the drama and glamour shown on cable television.

Episode 2 will be released on Feb. 18.

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