French Team Wins The World Pastry Cup

The three-man French team of Etienne Leroy for sugar, Bastien Girard for chocolate and Jean-Thomas Schneider for ice cream, has won the final of the World Pastry Cup, organized in Lyon, France on the occasion of the World Hospitality and Food Service Event (Sirha), the world's largest gastronomy trade fair. The team, which will now take over from the 2015 title holder, Italy, overcame opposition from Japan, which placed second, and Switzerland, coming in third.

Along with the Bocuse d'Or, the Pastry World Cup is one of the most keenly awaited competitions to be held at the Sirha. Major names such as Christophe Michalak and Pierre Marcolini have marked the event, which is preceded by two years of qualifying heats. Fifty national and four continental selections fight it out for a place in the final, which is held over two days.

As with the Bocuse d'Or, candidates from all over the world compose their masterpieces in a sports arena. The pressure is immense, because the competition is only held once every two years, and the winners are guaranteed a high-profile career in the world of pastry.

Twenty-three competing countries

The United Kingdom, Mexico, France, Taiwan, Belgium... 23 countries were represented by three-person teams that each included specialists in sugar, chocolate and ice cream pieces. This latest event was marked by the participation of four new countries: Thailand, India, Indonesia and Chile. It also amounted to a resounding comeback for France, which won the event in 2013. The titleholder is not allowed to enter the subsequent World Pastry Cup, and must wait four years for another chance to win the competition.

Under the watchful eye of jury president Philippe Rigollot, candidates were evaluated on a range of criteria including teamwork, presentation, and the use of materials. Participants were required to create an artistic sugar sculpture, which had to include a flower, a chocolate sculpture, three chocolate desserts, an ice sculpture, three frozen fruit desserts, and a platter of 15 identical desserts.