The Land of the Rising Sun wins three of the four categories of the World Championship organized by the International Federation of Pastry, Ice Cream, and Chocolate, imposing itself on technique and creativity. Italy wins in the Wedding Cake category
The best pastry chefs in the world are Japanese. Their names are Yosuke Otsuka, Yusaku Shibata and Kazuhiro Nakayama, and they triumphed in three of the four categories of the FIPGC World Pastry Awards, the world pastry championship. Unrivaled in terms of technique, creativity, and elegance, the Japanese have “baked” the best, the best chocolate creation, the most beautiful tablet composition, and also the best sugar sculpture. Italy receives the prize for one of the most difficult specialties ever, the Wedding Cake.
“Sweetness will save the world” was the theme of these 2021 Pastry World Championships, organized by the International Federation of Pastry, Ice Cream and Chocolate (FIPGC) within Host Milano, the International Exhibition of Professional Hospitality. 24 super pastry chefs from five continents challenged each other who, in addition to the spectacular sculptures, totally edible and even over a meter high, had to create, for each category, also a more classic dessert.
“We are really proud to have managed to organize this world championship despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, comments Roberto Lestani, FIPGC president. We have had many enthusiastic subscriptions from pastry chefs from all over the world, and the selection for the participants lasted over a year. Once again, the level of the creations, both from the creative point of view and from the technical point of view of the individual pastry chefs was exceptional. We believe that this kind of initiative can also and above all thrill the younger generations, instilling the passion for what is real art “
The three Japanese creations have developed the theme of beauty through three creations with a common denominator, that is the encounter between masculine and feminine, between harmony and form, between art and tradition. In the Sugar Sculpture category, Kazuhiro Nakayama won, who also created a “travel cake”, which is a baked cake based on nougative nougat, orange jelly, almond cream, and pain de genes.
Yosuke Otsuka instead won the Pastigliaggio Sculpture test, creating a harmonious total white dancing figure, accompanied by a single-portion cake based on yuzu mousse (Japanese fruit similar to mandarin), icing, and strawberry gelè.
Yusaku Shibata has created the best Chocolate Sculpture, in which he portrayed a classic samurai depicted playing the biwa, a traditional stringed instrument, a typical female symbol. To accompany the sculpture, a chocolate ice cream (theme of the test) with caramel, mango, and pineapple sauce.
The award for the best wedding cake goes to Italy. The winner in this category was Maria Concas, who, after retiring, managed to perfect herself in a specialty that represents, today more than ever, the classic of cake classics, a symbol of celebration, love, and sharing. how every self-respecting cake must be.
The FIPGC is a subject that has acquired great importance at an institutional level in recent years. A role sealed by the memorandum of understanding signed last June with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and whose purpose is to continue the work of supporting the promotion of Made in Italy and Italian excellence in the world. The appointment for the next World Cup is for 2023.
