DUSSELDORF, GERMANY — Bakers from six countries competed for the gold in the iba UIBC Cup of Bakers, and anxiously awaited the results at the iba award ceremony on May 19.
Presented by Dominique Anract, UIBC president, and Roland Ermer, president of the German Bakers’ Confederation, the baking world champion award went to France’s winning team of Corentin Molina and Yannis Thouys.
Second place went to Johanna Lenhardt and Lea Wagner from Germany, and Mike Onase and Gerrit Huckriede from the Netherlands came in third. The prize for best showpiece went to the team from Germany: Johanna Lenhardt and Lea Wagner. The jury president’s creative prize went to Sigrun Sol Vigfusdottir and Nastasja Kiencke from Iceland.
“To succeed in this competition, bakers have to perform outstandingly,” said Andreas Schmidt, jury chair from Germany. “Every move has to be perfect. Over the past two days, the iba audience could witness live how these talented bakers created true masterpieces under tension and time pressure. This is artisan bakery at a top-notch level.”
The bakers were tasked with producing baked goods centered around the theme of ‘Art.’ Within six hours, the teams of two had to produce bread and an assortment of pastries as well as one main showpiece.
On each competition day, the baked goods were evaluated and rated by an international panel of experts, including Urs Röthlin, Jimmy Griffin and Josef Schrott, in addition to Schmidt. All participants received a medal and a certificate.
