World Pastry Cup is Serious Competition

After writing last week’s post about cake competitions, I remembered my visit (as an observer) to one of the most remarkable competitions on the planet–the World Pastry Cup in Lyon, France.  The World Pastry Cup or Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie is held every two years as part of SIRHA, the International Hotel Catering and Food Trade Exhibition.  It was created in 1989 by Gabriel Paillasson, former President of the Regional Pastry Chefs’ Professional Association.

The competition is exhilarating to witness.  Since each of the six required elements is completed live, spectators have the rare opportunity to watch the world’s top pastry chefs in their element.  Camera crews also project close ups of individual teams’ work onto theatre screens in the front of the hall for easier viewing.

Each competing country selects its own team using guidelines specified by the World Pastry Cup.  Teams test their skills during a 10-hour live competition in six areas including:

1. chocolate dessert
2. frozen dessert
3. plated dessert
4. sugar sculpture
5. chocolate sculpture
6. ice sculpture

An international jury assesses each element of the team’s performance: 60% of the total score is based on tasting, 20% on presentation of the chocolate & sugar centerpieces, and 20% on work ethic (including kitchen cleanliness and organization).  At the end of the two-day competition scores are tallied and bronze, silver, and gold medals are awarded to three teams.  In January 2009, Team France was the winner of the 11th World Pastry Cup.  ITALY came in second, and BELGIUM came in third.  Japan was the winner of the best chocolate showpiece; Team USA was the winner of the best Ice Sculpture.

If you would like to know more about the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie (World Pastry Cup), visit:

www.worldpastrycupusa.com/theCompetition.html

www.cmpatisserie.com/2009

This entry was posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 8:55 pm and is filed under Competitions, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.