Délice & Création – a subsidiary of the Pomona Group – has signed on as Main Partner of the World Pastry Cup, the world’s largest pastry competition.
To qualify for this prestigious battle – which takes place every two years – creative and skilled artists need to prove their worth in national competitions, such as the Campionato Italiano di Pasticceria Seniores. The winning teams then have to take part of the European selection, which is taking place during Sirha Europain, scheduled to take place in Paris in January 2024.
For this edition, seven teams will compete to be able to take part in the Grand Final of the Pastry World Cup, which takes place during Sirha Lyon in January 2025.
The exacting itinerary
The competing teams will have five and a half hours to present the 16 tasting desserts and two artistic pieces, as well as a buffet, including:
- 3 frozen desserts with Capfruit fruit puree (+ 1 mock)
- 3 pastry pieces: Paris-Brest revisited with Elle & Vire dairy products (+ 1 mock)
- 8 restaurant style desserts incorporating a hot chocolate soufflé Valrhona
- 1 sugar artistic piece
- 1 chocolate artistic piece
- 1 buffet including the artistic sugar and chocolate pieces, the mock frozen dessert and the mock pastry piece.
For the 2024 edition, candidates will face a new challenge as they revisit a classic French pastry: the Paris-Brest.
An emblematic dessert of the country hosting the competition, the Paris-Brest will enable the judges to assess the candidates’ technical skills. The pâte à choux will have to be made on stage, in front of the spectators, in a ventilated oven rather than the traditional deck oven. Teams will have to think outside the box, innovate and outdo themselves to reinvent this pastry.
The restaurant dessert test has also evolved, and this year will feature a creation incorporating a hot Valrhona chocolate soufflé.
For this plated dessert, delivered to and tasted by the judges ‘à la minute’ (as in a restaurant), the International Organising Committee has chosen to impose a minimum of two different textures and temperatures. This new difficulty will force candidates to demonstrate delicacy and concentration, to convey an emotion and offer the judges a unique and memorable experience.
The aim of these two new specificities is to push creativity even further and explore new emotional territories, whether gustatory, technical or visual.
“The Pastry World Cup and Mondial des Arts Sucrés have merged regarding their common values and requirements,” said Johanna Le Pape, a member of the International Organizing Committee and winner of the Mondial des Arts Sucrés in 2014.
“To be engaged will require a total dedication, an absolute rigor and determination.”
Promotion the art of French pastry
“It is with pride and enthusiasm that we integrate the organisation of the Pastry World Cup as Main Partner,” said Grégoire Guillemin, manager of Délice & Création.
“This collaboration represents for us a unique opportunity to promote the French pastry art on the national and international scenes.
“By joining this competition that brings together renowned companies and exceptional pastry chefs, we are delighted to contribute to this prestigious showcase of the entire profession.
The World Pastry Cup is synonymous with the quest for excellence and proudly boast a basket of powerful names among its competitors, including Pierre Hermé, Pierre Marcolini, Julien Alvarez, Christophe Renou and Florence Lesage, among others.
“I would like to warmly thank Délice & Création for its proactive approach to join the Pastry World Cup as a Main Partner,” said Luc Dubanchet, director of Sirha Food, organisers of the competition.
“Behind this union, there is a high and fair idea of what international pastry is and what it should be in gathering and unifying the sector. This is a global competition that resonates around the world.”
Benchmark trade fair for bakery and pastry
Sirha Europain is set to take place at Paris Porte de Versaille on 21-22 January 2024.
The world of bread is divided into two camps – soft, sandwich bread vs the brittle crust like the French baguette – each demanding a different skill set. At Sirha Europain, everyone involved in the bakery and pastry sectors will be surrounded by the knowledge, knowhow, technique and heritage needed to succeed into today’s competitive market.
The show floor will boast a vast range of suppliers of raw materials, designers of precision mechanics, craftsmen and entrepreneurs – all with one aim: to create a nourishing pastry that can be consumed daily, be it the first croissant in the morning, the sandwich for lunch or the cake for tea.
