On January 24 and 25, in the impressive Paul Bocuse Hall at the Lyon exhibition center, the Japanese team won the gold medal in the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie for the fourth time, ahead of the other 17 participating countries. It was a narrow victory, just a few points ahead of the French team, which took home a bittersweet silver medal. A well-deserved victory too, since the Japanese team presented spectacular artistic work and impeccable tasting. Additionally, they did not make any serious mistakes unlike, for example, France, which suffered a spectacular accident while making its ice sculpture; or Italy, relegated to sixth place and which broke its candy art piece just before presenting it.

In this way, Japan revalidates the victory of the previous edition and confirms its superiority in the world against the all-powerful France, and in the Asian continent against its most direct competitors, Malaysia or the rising China, third and fourth ranked respectively, but with a considerable distance in points from the first two.

The Japanese team, formed by Masanori Hata, Yuji Matoba and Ryu Miyazaki, knew how to maintain the gold of the competition with a profile of professionals who do not lead pastry businesses in their country, but who have had the opportunity to thoroughly prepare their performance to achieve perfection in each and every one of the tests in the competition. Another of the awards given during the final gala was the recognition of the most eco-responsible team, an award that went to Belgium led by a veteran of this competition, Marinj Coertjens.

It is worth highlighting the growing entertainment atmosphere that surrounds the World Cup each year, with different, highly-exclusive recreational areas surrounding the competition area. Regarding the evolution of the events, this year “The Chocolate Show” was incorporated, a live performance by the teams which were obliged to present a street-spirited product from a food truck, linked to an emblematic aspect of their country.

As we say, Asia continues to impose itself on the first places of the competition, with permission from some of the classic European powers. Latin American countries were relegated to the second part of the classification with an Argentinian team as the best ranked in 10th place and work inspired by tango. The absence of large historical countries continues to be another of the novelties of this edition, which did not have representation from countries such as the United States, Holland, and Spain. Precisely these last two are already working on the formation of a team which will finally have the possibility of being competitive and reaching a prominent position in the next continental rounds and the 2027 final.

Photos: Nicolas Reynaud / Christophe Pouget / Julien Bouvier