News · 19 October 2026
World Chocolate Masters 2026: what the 15 finalists face
Fifteen chocolatiers, two days, five challenges and a cut after the first day. Here's what the 2026 final in Antwerp asks of them, and where those skills begin if you're just starting out.
The World Chocolate Masters 2026 final runs in Antwerp on 26 and 27 October 2026: 15 finalists, one theme, Play & Taste.[1] You'll find out who won in a livestream on 27 October.[1] Since the competition began in 2005, every final has taken place in Paris; this one moves to the Handelsbeurs, Antwerp's historic exchange building.[2]
Switzerland sends Quentin Guirao, a confectioner who won the Swiss National Selection.[4] For North America it's Jérémy Monsel, Lead Chocolatier at Christophe Morel Chocolatier in Montreal.[5] Thinking about a career in chocolate? Read the rules of this final like a map. They show what the job asks at the very top, and where it starts.
Who are the 15 finalists?
More than 100 chefs entered the national and regional selections, and each finalist won one of them.[6] Here they are, as the organiser lists them:[3]
| Country or region | Finalist |
|---|---|
| Benelux | Vincent Denis |
| Central Europe | Johannes Warmuth |
| France | Samuel Fremaux |
| Greater China | Lyu Haoran |
| Iberia | Jesús Quirós |
| Italy | Tommaso Grollero |
| Japan | Keita Koshimizu |
| LATAM | Abner Ivan |
| Nordics | Kasper Kleihs |
| North America | Jérémy Monsel |
| Poland | Łukasz Roguski |
| South Korea | Lee Sanghwa |
| South East Europe | Marinel Bejan |
| Switzerland | Quentin Guirao |
| UK & Ireland | Ian Mark |
What do the finalists have to make?
Count the challenges on the website and you'll get four. The official rules list five, because each finalist also records a spoken pitch on day zero, the unloading day before the competition starts.[1][6]
| Challenge | Day | What the rules ask for |
|---|---|---|
| You: The Taste of You | Day zero | A 60 to 90 second pitch, recorded, with no visual aids |
| Bonbon: A Tale in Two | 26 October | 28 bonbon duos, two distinct pieces that form one, 12 to 20 g per duo, at least three textures besides the shell, easy to transport and sellable in a shop |
| Design: The Shape of Taste | 26 October | A piece of up to 30 kg, made only of chocolate or cocoa products, built on a set base 80, 100 or 120 cm high |
| Taste: In Motion Like Antwerp | 27 October | 28 fresh individual chocolate pastries of 50 to 75 g, at least three textures, changing in taste, texture or temperature as they're eaten |
| Share: The Future of Giving | 27 October | A chocolate gift for six people, 300 to 450 g, stable at room temperature |
The clock is tight: 11 hours of competition in all, five on the first day and six on the second.[6] Then comes the cut. Only the eight strongest finalists go on to the second round.[6] Everyone works alone, and a helper may carry equipment and showpieces, nothing more.[6]
Who judges, and what does Play & Taste mean?
Amaury Guichon (USA) is Head of Jury. Jordi Roca (Spain) is Head of Sensory Evaluation and Kirsten Tibballs (Australia) Head of Technical Evaluation. Beside them sit 16 national judges, one of them for Switzerland.[7]
Play & Taste asks the finalists to treat taste as more than flavour. Taste, says the organiser, "is emotion, culture, memory and craftsmanship".[1] The brief leans towards fresh, less-processed ingredients too.[2] And the gift challenge needs a chef who thinks about the customer and the business, not only the craft.[1]
How long is the road to a final like this?
You have to be 21 by the day of the final, and you can't get in without a national or regional title first (a runner-up steps in only if the winner withdraws).[6] Three chefs competed in the Swiss selection, and on 3 February 2024 the organiser named Quentin Guirao its winner.[10][9] So more than two and a half years separate his national title from the final in Antwerp. Jérémy Monsel worked alongside Christophe Morel for six years and rose to Lead Chocolatier there.[5]
Switzerland has won the title before: Elias Läderach became World Chocolate Master in 2018. In 2022 it went to Lluc Crusellas of Spain.[8]
What does it mean for you if you're starting out?
Let's be honest first. A one-year diploma won't put you on that stage, and nobody expects a first-year student to build a 30 kg sculpture. What the rules do show you is the plain work that everything at the top rests on.
Look at the list again. Finalists have to check the pre-crystallisation, the temper, of every chocolate they take from the machines.[6] Food safety and HACCP are entirely on them.[6] Their bonbons must travel well and be fit to sell, and their gift has to hold up at room temperature.[6] None of that is showmanship. It's the everyday work of a chocolate kitchen, and you learn it slowly, at a bench.
That's where the BHMS Diploma in Pastry, Chocolate and Bakery begins. Semester 1 in Lucerne is six practical labs: Pastry and Bakery Foundations, Classic Patisserie, Boulangerie and Viennoiserie, Traditional European Cakes, Chocolate Work Foundations and Culinary Foundations.[11] That's 330 kitchen hours, plus academic modules that include Food Safety.[11] In Semester 2 you do a six-month paid internship in Switzerland or worldwide, and your employer assesses it.[11] You don't need any pastry experience to start. You do need to be at least 17, with a high school diploma or equivalent and English at IELTS 5.0 level or equivalent.[11]
The work that looks most like Antwerp, advanced chocolate pralines and showpieces, comes a year later in the Higher Diploma.[11] The Diploma lays the groundwork for it.
What's the next step?
Watch the final on 27 October, and keep a close eye on the bonbons and the fresh pastries. Then have a look at what the first year covers on the Diploma in Pastry, Chocolate and Bakery page. The next intakes are November 2026 and February 2027.[11] Not sure where you'd start? The two-minute fit check will tell you.