The Mondial Des Arts Sucrés ended on Tuesday, 11th March, with a winners podium that largely met with predicted expectations. France triumphed ahead of Japan, and in third place came the team from Singapore. The competitive pairing of Johanna Le Pape (Hotel Meurice) and Gaetan Fiard (Restaurant Le Diane Hotel Fouquet’s Barriere) earned their victory with an ornate creation inspired by Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The duo were captained and trained by Guillaume Mabilleau and were chaired by Claire Hetzler from the Lasserre restaurant. The podium winners also shared between them financial rewards of €10,000, €6,000 and €4,000 respectively.

The 16 participating countries (practically all of them either Asian or American) contained a mixed pairing of pastry chefs, whose task was to create an extensive range of pieces including a semifreddo, a re-working of a traditional cake, dessert plate, bonbons and a marvelous buffet composed of three artistic pieces in chocolate, caramel and frosting. It is without doubt one of the toughest competitions in the sector at an international level, not least because the competition lasts four days with more than 20 hours of work for each squad.

Regarding the special awards…Canada won the award for originality, the press award went to the U.S.A., with a team led by the chef Oscar Ortega (Atelier Ortega), and Georgia took away the award for the most spirited team. This competition, which has now been held four times, is celebrated every two years as part of Europain and is promoted by the ingredients firm, DGF.