The first selection rounds for the World Chocolate Masters 21/22 have already begun, which will celebrate its world final in October 2022 in Paris. The competition, which is themed #TMRW_TASTES_LOOKS_FEELS_LIKE_, was originally scheduled for 2021, but was postponed a year to give contestants a chance to focus on recovering their businesses and find time to prepare.

These are the first four confirmed finalists: Jiro Tanaka (Japan), Igor Zaritskiy (Poland), Dilip Kumara (Middle East), and Togo Matsuda (Belgium). The rest of the semifinals will take place in the coming months:

• October 5, 2021: Canada
• October 5, 2021: Russia
• October 7 – 8, 2021: USA
• October 14 – 16, 2021: Great China
• October 21, 2021: France
• October 26, 2021: Spain
• November 2, 2021: UK & Ireland
• January 6, 2022: Korea
• January 21, 2022: Ukraine
• January 24, 2022: Switzerland
• January 29, 2022: North Africa
• February 9, 2022: Central Europe
• February 21 – 22, 2022: Australia
• March 3, 2022: Mexico
• March 16, 2022: Southeast Europe

The Netherlands and Italy, dates to be determined 

This edition, The World Chocolate Masters challenges chocolate artisans to rethink and redesign the chocolate of tomorrow, not only in terms of flavor, but also in terms of textures and formats, drawing inspiration from design, science, and technology.