Celebrity Boston pastry chef Thiago Silva stars in Netflix special

Chef Thiago Silva and a handful of the world’s best pastry chefs put their skills to the test in Netflix’s new special, “School of Chocolate,” which debuted on Friday. Silva will bring his new chocolate expertise to the bakery he will be opening this winter in Piccadilly Square in Newton, SALT.

Silva is no stranger to the world of baking shows – he’s already shown his stuff on Food Network and beyond. In 2007 he won the first all-pastry version of “Choppedâ€, and since then he has won “Dessert Games†and has been a finalist on “Best Baker in Americaâ€. He was also a judge on Netflix’s “Sugar Rush†and “Chopped Sweetsâ€.

In her latest show, Silva is one of eight pastry chefs who take their work to the next level under the direction of Amaury Guichon, a renowned French pastry chef who founded the Pastry Academy in Las Vegas. Guichon’s breathtakingly whimsical chocolate creations have earned him over 4 million Instagram followers and inspire the eight pastry chefs as they vie for the winning prize: $ 100,000.

“This show was different,” said Silva, comparing her experience filming “School of Chocolate” to her other TV shows, “because the main thing is to learn and grow.”

“There is a great prize, but we all have private lessons with Chef Amaury, so it’s a win-win,†he said, explaining that many challenges required candidates to work together, which you don’t often see it on cooking competition shows.

“I had no idea I could carve chocolate the way I did,†said Silva, though his pastry skills certainly pointed it out in other ways – he made custom creations for dining tables. celebrities like Sophía Vergara, Derek Jeter, John Legend and Miranda Kerr.

Silva worked as an Executive Pastry Chef at New York’s EMM Group (now Catch Hospitality) for several years before moving to Boston in 2016 to accept a position as Director of Chocolate with the Food Innovation Lab, CHEW, until to which he recently left to continue his new The Piccadilly Square Adventure.

At SALT, Silva plans to sell morning pastries, bread, take-out, cakes and coffee. He plans to use some of the chocolate carving skills he honed on “School of Chocolate” on specialty cakes at SALT.

Silva said viewers should tune in to this new Netflix special because it differs from other competing shows that follow the same model.

“We all really want to see ourselves grow up and be successful,” Silva said of her co-stars, “during the show and after the show.”

Viewers can now watch the first season of “School of Chocolate” on Netflix. “There’s just some really amazing artistry going on,†Silva said.