Japanese champions reclaim Pastry World Cup gold honours
Japan has just claimed the latest Pastry World Cup. Pic: Pastry world cup
Japan has emerged triumphant in as Lyon France, after claiming a key win at the 19th edition of the Pastry World Cup, writes Neill Barston.
Judges had been especially impressed by the winners’ offerings, which included a new ‘chocolate show’ test in which they proved their technical capabilities.
In a hotly contested grand final held in the Lyon area of France last weekend, it was the French team that came in a close second, followed by Malaysia completing the podium and win respectively the silver and bronze medals.
The defending champions, the Japanese team achieved the double and thus retained its world championship title, driven by the know-how and talent of Masanaori Hata (chocolate candidate), Yuji Matoba (sugar candidate) and Ryu Miyazaki (ice cream candidate). Already the winner of the Asia selection last year, Japan is increasingly asserting itself as one of the world’s leading pastry countries.
“This year again, the competition provides a magnificent demonstration of the pastry know-how and the surpassing of oneself of the candidates,” says Pierre Hermé, President of the Pastry World Cup. And all this with many changes such as the duration of the competition which has been reduced, the transformation of the chocolate dessert by a “Chocolate Show” which forces the pastry chefs to show great creativity and to get out of their laboratories, the candidates can be proud.”
As part of the “Chocolate Show” challenge, they created and designed 26 sweet creations based on Valrhona chocolate in a finger-food spirit, a nod to the street food acclaimed in the world. A real success for this event which highlighted the involvement of a whole team and took the candidates out of their laboratories in the middle of the competition to highlight them in front of the members of the jury and the public. This new event will remain one of the highlights of this 19th edition of the Pastry World Cup.
“Being here in the heart of Sirha Lyon for the Pastry World Cup is an honor, and an extremely exciting moment for a pastry chef like me,” enthuses Amaury Guichon, Honorary President of this Grand Final. You can see each team and therefore each culture interpreting its heritage through its art in each of its creations. The level is extremely high in the use of chocolate and sugar, it is sincerely the highest artistic level of what can be done in pastry.”
