Next month, the 2023 Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie will take place once again. This biennial event brings together the best pastry chefs from around the world for a two-day competition in Lyon, France.
Last month, a random selection process was used to assign each country to a specific day and laboratory or kitchen for the competition. As a result of this process, Team USA was assigned to compete on the first day of the competition, on 20 January 2022, and was assigned to the second box in the laboratory or kitchen. This assignment was determined through the random selection process and was not based on any factors related to the teams’ abilities or experiences.
Each team of three chefs has ten hours to complete a whole chocolate cake/dessert to share, a frozen fruit dessert, 36 frozen lollipops, and 10 restaurant desserts for an international panel of judges to taste and evaluate. In addition, each team is required to create three artistic creations: a sugar centerpiece, a chocolate centerpiece, and an ice sculpture.
It sounds like the teams will have a lot on their plates – so to speak. Although ten hours seems like a decent amount of time to complete all of these tasks, it is amazing how quickly it goes by. Completing all these tasks will require good time management and organization to make sure everything is finished on time. The teams will need to plan out their work carefully and divide the tasks among themselves to make the most of their time. Creating the desserts for the judges will likely be the most time-consuming part of the challenge, so the teams will want to make sure they give themselves enough time to complete these dishes to the best of their abilities. The artistic creations will also require a good amount of skill and attention to detail, so the teams will want to make sure they allocate enough time to these tasks as well. Overall, it will be a challenging but exciting competition for the teams!
All of these elements must then be transferred from each team’s kitchen to their buffet table, located just in front of their station. Every tasting element needs to be completed within a specific time frame and the setup of the buffet is no different.
Once the teams have finished preparing all of their dishes, they will need to carefully transfer them from their kitchen to their buffet table. This will likely require some coordination and planning, as the teams will need to make sure that all of the dishes are transported safely and without any damage. They will also need to set up their buffet table in a way that is attractive and appealing to the judges, who will be evaluating the presentation of the dishes as well as their taste and quality. The teams will need to work quickly and efficiently to get their dishes to the table and set up in time, so good time management will be key.
The teams have one hour, starting at approximately 3:10 p.m., to bring all of their creations from their station to their buffet table. As with the tasting elements, there are rules each team must follow when setting up the buffet table.
According to the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie’s technical file, the teams must create a cohesive and visually pleasing presentation for their buffet table by linking together their artistic creations, including the sugar centerpiece, the chocolate centerpiece, and the ice sculpture. They must also integrate their mock desserts into the artistic pieces, ensuring that there is a visual coherence between all of the elements on the buffet table. The buffet pieces will be set up on a tablecloth that is 150 cm in diameter and 78 cm in height, and the maximum height of the complete composition must not exceed 165 cm, including the base. Failure to adhere to this requirement will result in elimination from the competition. The teams’ compositions will be moved to dedicated display units at the entrance to the contest area.
The teams must ensure that their complete buffet composition fits within the diameter of the buffet table, which is 150 cm. Finishing work is allowed at the buffet table, but no elements should protrude from the table. The teams are not allowed to use background decorations, but they may bring their own fabric, colored materials, bases, and colored tablecloths. The use of rotating bases is permitted, but the organizer will not be held responsible for any incidents that may occur as a result of their use. Teams must also take care to ensure that no electrical cords or cables hang from the table, and that there is a visual coherence between all of the buffet pieces. After the competition, the sugar, chocolate, and ice creations will be displayed at the entrance of the chefs’ area on square tables that are 150 x 150 cm, and in refrigerated display cases provided by the organizer. The teams will be responsible for moving their artistic pieces and desserts to these display cases and tables.
Follow Team U.S.A. (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) and the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) on social media to keep up-to-date on all the latest news and activities.
Team U.S.A. is sponsored by Valrhona (Founding Sponsor), Nielsen Massey, CapFruit, Paris Gourmet, Midwest Imports, AUI Fine Foods, St. Michel, Chef Rubber, Irinox, Bit Baking, de Buyer, Robot Coupe, Tomric, The Ekus Group, Clement Designs, and Steelite USA.
