Diman grad selected for international baking competition

Next year around this time, Daylan Torres will be preparing for a trip to Russia for the WorldSkills Competition as part of the SkillsUSA WorldTeam.

A 2016 graduate of Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, Torres will be competing in the Commercial Baking portion of the competition that will be held in Kazan, Russia Aug. 22-29, 2019. As with all the other SkillsUSA competitions he’s participated in over the past couple years, he’ll be showing his skills making items such as braided breads, foccacia, croissants, brioche, Danish pastry and quiches.

But before he heads to Russia, being a part of the SkillsUSA WorldTeam is a year-long commitment that started when he was selected for the team at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in June. Though he has a year to prepare, he and the other competitors from around the world won’t find out what it will entail until about three months in advance. “For now, I’m looking at past competitions and competitors,” he said.

Now heading in to his junior year at Johnson and Wales University, Torres, a Dartmouth resident, said he’s both nervous and excited about the year ahead. As part of the SkillsUSA WorldTeam, he’ll be traveling and promoting the organization throughout the year.

When Torres started out at Diman in 2012, he was originally interested in the health assisting program with plans to become a doctor. But when he entered the culinary arts program as part of the freshman rotation, Torres said he was hooked almost right from the start. "It all just clicked," he added.

In his junior year at Diman, he won a gold medal at the district SkillsUSA and seventh place at the state competition. In his senior year, he won gold at the district competition and silver at the state SkillsUSA competition.

After graduation from Diman in 2016, Torres headed to Johnson and Wales University to pursue a bachelor's degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. And naturally, he decided to continue with the SkillsUSA competitions in Commercial Baking.

At the state level in 2017, he won a gold medal and then he went to the national SkillsUSA completion in Louisville, Kentucky where he won another gold medal, qualifying him to try out for the SkillsUSA WorldTeam.

WorldSkills was founded in 1950 and today, there are 77 member countries. As many as 100,000 spectators, public policymakers, employers, teachers, trainers, technical experts and government officials from around the world attend the biennial competitions, according to the WorldSkills website. “I’m excited and nervous about the whole experience in Russia. But I’ll see a lot of new things and I’ll be representing our country,” said Torres.

Though his parents, Sandra and Jose Torres, won’t be joining him on the trip, he said they’re worried about sending him off to a new country, but they’re excited at the same time, understanding that it’s a “such a great opportunity and will open many doors in the future,” he said.

Email Linda Murphy at lmurphy@heraldnews.com.