[Image:Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie / Facebook]
The French were caught by surprise (again) when the Japanese took the honours during the recent biennial Pastry World Cup.
Adding insulte à la blessure, the 2025 was held in Lyon, France, and featured contestants from as far afield as Egypt, Mauritius and South Korea in a sweet showdown where teams compete to create the best once-in-a-lifetime desserts.
This year’s competition took place on January 20 and 21 and teams were tasked with developing three desserts that would represent their country: a frozen dessert, a restaurant dessert, and a show chocolate. Each team had three members – specialists in chocolate, ice, and sugar respectively – and the chefs relied on both ingredients and designs to highlight their countries’ culinary delights.
It’s as competitive as the Rugby World Cup, only sweeter.
The Chinese team put together an elaborate dragon made of sugar, while Mexico’s competitors incorporated chocolate, corn and other native foods into their desserts.
In addition to representing their homelands on plates, competitors wore themed outfits and accessories. France’s team members sported chic Breton striped shirts and berets, Mexico’s chefs wore Day of the Dead sugar skull-inspired masks, and Team UK worked on their desserts while wearing newsboy caps and bow ties.
While Japan may not naturally come to mind when you think of pastries, the Japanese were favourites as returning champions this year, creating a lemon, pear, marigold, and chocolate granita in the shape of an Asanoha (hemp) leaf for their restaurant dessert entry, as well as an apricot treat resembling a spinning top toy for the frozen dessert section.
“We packed the history and culture of Japan into the design. We were able to incorporate taste and delicate traditional patterns to showcase our techniques,” said chef Masanori Hata, the chocolate expert on his team.
“I don’t remember the moment we won. I was so surprised and couldn’t believe it. Japan was recognized two tournaments in a row. I’m happy and proud.”
Meanwhile, the French team prepared a showstopping series of chocolate eggs that were filled with chocolate-hazelnut soufflé mousse topped with chocolate streusel, dipped in a citrus-vanilla-infused clarified butter and paired with grilled vanilla ice cream and a clementine confit.
Now we’ve got a craving for a sweet treat. Japanese dessert though, not the second-place French stuff.
[Source: CNN]
