Japan defends Pastry World Cup title as home favourites France fall short again
If your country were a gourmet dessert, what would it taste like and how would it look? That was the question put to the 18 national teams competing at the 2025 national heritage-themed Pastry World Cup in Lyon this weekend, and they had nine hours to come up with an answer.
Japan's winning creations drew on a number of traditional elements, including Kyomi orange, rice-based wafers, and a recurring dragonfly theme.
Team Italy, meanwhile, used Amalfi lemons and hazelnuts as part of a series of pastries inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, including one in the shape of the great inventor's airship design. Chile turned to hibiscus, mango and Limón de Pica to flavour their fire and dragon-themed frozen dessert.
Finding the balance between appealing to an international jury and retaining a national identity is an essential part of the competition.
'When you make the product, it's because a jury is going to evaluate it. So you have to try not to take risks with flavours, you have to try to find straightforward tastes that will appeal. But each country keeps a little something, award-winning French pastry chef Patrick Chevallot told Euronews Culture. "There's a common thread with their history, their country and their traditions, and that's important. You can't forget where you come from.'
Rising to the challenge
Each three-person team - a chocolatier, a sugar expert and an ice master - has to produce five different creations, including a frozen dessert, a restaurant dessert, an ice sculpture and an elaborate buffet display of sugar and chocolate center pieces.
It's a grueling task and takes place on the sidelines of the vast SIRHA Food Service exhibition. Fans pack the arena to the rafters, waving flags, chanting and blowing air-horns in support of their teams, while a couple of comperes provide running commentary. The overall atmosphere is football crowd meets reality TV.
And that's probably not an accident. The introduction this year of the Show Chocolat challenge, where the teams donned national dress to hand out finger-food creations from a food truck, seems a clear nod to the growing influence of televised cooking contests.
Chocolatier Jean-Philippe Darcis, the coach of this year's Belgian team, says teams now have to compete with production companies and social media for contestants.
'You get a lot more views doing things on Instagram than doing a World Cup. And so maybe there are fewer young people who go to competitions and instead say to themselves, 'I'm putting my energy into social networks and that's it.' That's a bit of a shame. Both work very well, but it's a matter of choice.'
But while TV and social media exposure might give a young chef's career an instant sugar rush, former World Cup winner and frequent reality TV judge Christophe Michalak says they can't compare to the long-term benefits of taking part in the biannual Pastry World Cup.
'I've done a lot of TV and that's the fake life. It's not culinary on TV. It's all about image. It's 'We're going to keep this one because he's fun, because he goes down well,' But it's not the best one who's going to win the show.'
This contest, he says, actually makes you a better chef. 'When I did the World Cup, I did ten mock exams, in other words, I worked ten 10-hour days, as if it was D-day, to win the title. By doing that, I got better, I pushed my limits, and that's what's great in life. The priority is to try and go a little further, to try and evolve. And that's what this competition allows young pastry chefs to do.'
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