News · 22 October 2026
Swiss Bakery Trophy 2027: dates, rules and how bakes are judged
There's no Swiss Bakery Trophy this year. The next one is in Bulle in autumn 2027, and its scoring sheet is a useful lesson in what makes a good loaf, cake or croissant.
The next Swiss Bakery Trophy, the 11th, takes place in Bulle from 28 October to 1 November 2027.[1] There's no edition in 2026: the last one ran from 30 October to 3 November 2024 at Espace Gruyère, inside the Salon Suisse des Goûts et Terroirs.[1] That fair does go ahead this year, from 2 to 6 December 2026.[5]
For Swiss bakers, pastry chefs and confectioners, a medal from Bulle is the top honour in the trade, according to its organiser.[1] If you're thinking about a career in bread and pastry, the way it's judged tells you a lot about the job.
What is the Swiss Bakery Trophy?
It's the national competition for artisan bakery, pastry and confectionery, held in public during the fair. In 2024 about 45,000 visitors came.[1] The Association Romande des Artisans Boulangers-Pâtissiers-Confiseurs runs it with the Swiss master bakers-confectioners association (BCS) and the Richemont vocational school.[4]
The 2024 edition set a record. Judges tasted 1,461 products in four days, beating the 1,403 of 2012, and 177 artisans from all over Switzerland sent entries.[3] A separate contest, the Swiss Bakery Trophy Academy, brought in 17 apprentice classes.[3]
Who can enter, and what can they send?
Entry is for bakery, pastry and confectionery businesses that belong to BCS, not for individuals. Each may send up to ten artisan products from its own production.[4] There are four categories: bakery, pastry, confectionery (jams and spreads included) and snack-catering.[4]
Some things stay at home: assortments such as boxes of chocolates, ice creams and frozen cakes, unbaked dough, drinks, and anything made industrially.[4] Under the 2024 rules one product cost 200 francs to enter and five cost 600 francs, plus 50 francs for each one after that.[4] The rules for 2027 aren't out yet.
How are the products judged?
Every product loses its name on arrival and gets a number, so nobody at the table knows who made it.[4] Three professional experts and two consumers score each one.[4]
| Judge | What they score | What counts most |
|---|---|---|
| Professional experts | Appearance, shape, surface, texture, mouthfeel, smell and taste | Smell and taste count triple; appearance and mouthfeel count double |
| Consumers | Appearance, mouthfeel, smell and taste | Smell and taste count four times; appearance and mouthfeel three times |
Each criterion runs from 1 point (poor) to 10 (perfect), and a product can reach 100 points.[4] The score decides gold, silver or bronze, and the number of medals in a category follows the number of entries in it.[4] Every maker gets a report with the judges' comments on each product.[1] Only the winners are named in public.[4]
What won in 2024?
| Prize | Product and maker |
|---|---|
| Swiss Bakery Trophy Champion (best average of five products) | Ackermann Artisan Boulanger Sàrl, Grandson (VD) |
| Best bakery product | Seeded sourdough baguette, La Sarrasine Sàrl, Lucens (VD) |
| Best pastry product | Schoggi-Rahmkirschtorte, Christen Beck AG, Buochs (NW) |
| Best confectionery product | Tuile, Chez Séverine et Luca, Lausanne (VD) |
| Best snack-catering product | Butter flûtes, Boulangerie Bread Store, Crissier (VD) |
| Bernhard Aebersold prize (most creative product) | Giandujotto, Confiserie Al Porto, Tenero (TI) |
| Jubilee prize (shared) | Butter croissant, Boulangerie Bread Store, Crissier (VD); Thurgauer Mosttorte, Nafzger GmbH, Wängi (TG) |
Each canton also gets a champion. For Lucerne it was Ehliger Bäckerei Konditorei Confiserie in Hochdorf.[2]
What does this mean for you if you want to bake for a living?
Look at that list: a baguette, a croissant, a cream cake, a tuile. No showpieces, no sugar sculptures. The trophy rewards the things a customer buys every morning, and both kinds of judge give taste and smell the most weight. A baker wins in Bulle by getting the basics right, batch after batch.
You can't enter as a student, since entries come from member businesses. But you can learn the work it scores. The BHMS Diploma in Pastry, Chocolate and Bakery starts with six practical labs in Lucerne: Pastry and Bakery Foundations, Classic Patisserie, Boulangerie and Viennoiserie, Traditional European Cakes, Chocolate Work Foundations and Culinary Foundations.[6] That's 330 kitchen hours, with Food Safety among the academic modules.[6] Then come six months of paid internship in Switzerland or worldwide, assessed by your employer.[6] You don't need pastry experience. You need to be at least 17, with a high school diploma or equivalent and English at IELTS 5.0 level or equivalent.[6]
What's the next step?
Put 28 October to 1 November 2027 in your calendar if you'd like to taste the entries in Bulle.[1] Until then, see what the first year covers on the Diploma in Pastry, Chocolate and Bakery page, or read our guide to baking school in Switzerland. The next intakes are November 2026 and February 2027.[6]