News · 30 October 2026
Pastry World Cup 2027 in Lyon: format, dates, who qualified
The final is on 22 and 23 January 2027. No result exists yet, so here is what the teams must make, how they are judged and which countries are already in.
The Pastry World Cup (Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie) 2027 Grand Final is on 22 and 23 January 2027 at Eurexpo Lyon, inside the Sirha Lyon show.[1][2] Each country sends three specialists. They have nine hours to finish three kinds of test.[1] No result exists yet, so here's what the teams face and who's already in.
How does the Pastry World Cup 2027 work?
Each team is a pastry chef, a chocolatier and an ice cream maker, and the jury judges them as one unit.[3] The tests fall into three groups: tasting, artistic work and a final buffet.[1]
| Test | What the team makes |
|---|---|
| Plated iced dessert | 15 individual plated desserts, made à la minute, on a creative reading of the vacherin[1] |
| Saint-Honoré | Three cakes, each serving six, built around a local product or national speciality[1] |
| Chocolate show | 30 bite-sized chocolate creations on the theme "Heritage and Cultures"[1] |
| Sugar art piece | Made entirely on site[1] |
| Chocolate art piece | Second of the three artistic pieces[1] |
| Water ice sculpture | Carved from a single block of clear ice, 1 hour 30 minutes[1] |
| Buffet | Free theme. The three art pieces form one composition on a one-metre-square table, with display versions of the tasting desserts[1] |
How are the teams judged?
An international jury scores the tasting and the artistic work. For tasting, jurors look at the balance of flavours, textures and temperatures, plus elegance and emotional impact. For the artistic pieces, they look at technique, precision and how well the buffet holds together.[1]
A second jury has one judge from each participating country, and every judge marks all the teams except their own. These judges watch hygiene, organisation, team harmony, dexterity and how the team uses raw materials.[1]
Sustainability counts too, on four commitments: zero food waste, no disposable containers, direct sourcing from producers and responsible use of consumables.[1]
Which countries have qualified?
Teams reach Lyon through national selections in 2025 and continental selections in 2026.[3] The organiser's own pages don't agree on the size of the field: one says 18 teams, another says 20 nations.[1][3] No page we could open prints the full list, so we list only what's confirmed.
- Europe. France won the selection on 19 January 2026. Belgium came second and Italy third. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom finished fourth and fifth, and they qualified too.[4]
- Americas. Eight teams went to New Orleans on 25 July 2026 to compete for four places.[5] The United States won, ahead of Mexico, Paraguay and Argentina, and all four are going to Lyon.[6]
The other continents held selections in 2026 too.[3] We've left their teams out until we can read an official result.
What does this mean for you?
If you're weighing a career in pastry, the team line-up is the part to look at. A world-level team doesn't need one person who does everything. It needs a pastry chef, a chocolatier and an ice cream maker.[3] You can start broad and specialise later.
The tests also show what kitchens value: sugar and chocolate work, plated desserts, ice cream and tidy, waste-free habits. You don't need any of it on day one. The BHMS Certificate in Pastry, Chocolate and Bakery runs 10 weeks and 180 kitchen hours. You'll cover Pastry & Bakery Foundations, Classic Patisserie, Boulangerie & Viennoiserie and Chocolate Work Foundations, and you don't need any pastry experience to join.
The Advanced Certificate, also 10 weeks and 180 kitchen hours, takes you further into Ice Creams & Plated Desserts, Advanced Chocolate Pralines and Petit Fours & Petit Gâteaux. In the Higher Diploma, you'll work in a lab called The Art of Showpieces. The 10-week pastry certificates cost CHF 23'025 all-in for 2027.
To be clear, BHMS isn't part of this competition, and a course here doesn't promise to train you for it. What you get is a look at the top of the trade, so you can decide where you want to start.
When will the results be out?
The final is on 22 and 23 January 2027, and the whole show runs from 21 to 25 January 2027.[2] Once the organiser publishes the results, we'll write them up.
Next step: check how a 10-week course fits your plans on the Certificate page, or read how to become a pastry chef to see the other ways in.