France wins the Bakery World Cup

For most French medias, this food competition was a true event, deserving praises. “Cocorico!” screamed French channel France Télévision, before adding that France is “back on the first place in bakery after 16 years without a crown”. A team of the three French bakers-confectioners “brought the cup home” in this new edition of the world championship of bakery.

Four trials and a podium

Since November 2022, when the French baguette was registered to the UNESCO intangible heritage of humanity, French bakery is frequently celebrated for its excellence. The French minister of economy celebrated the news on X by writing: “What pride to see this know-how, icon of our everyday life, on the roof of the world. Kudos to our France team for this prestigious and crunchy victory!”

The competition that has crowned France is a contest held every two years and gathering about twelve international teams, each including three baker craftsmen. Four trials lead to the podium: the preparation and cooking od a very French baguette and other breads of the world, pastries (croissants, brioches), but also samples of baker restauration (quiches, turnovers) and the famous “artistic piece”. And this last one, made just a few months before the Paris Summer Olympic Games, seems to have pleased the jury, since the French team chose to present a “pastry piece representing a fencer” that won all votes!

True sports preparation

The network of national radios in other regions, France Bleu, gives the voice to three French champions by saying that the theme of the competition focused this year on sports events. The French team included three professionals, Franck Fortier d'Ernée in Mayenne, Xavier Sacriste from Lyon and Fabien Nolay from Paris, helped by their coaches. They came first “after two intense days of competition”. Ten hours of trials, hundreds of breads, brioches and other delicacies were necessary to reach the goal. According to France Bleu, this competition “was prepared as a true sports trial with training and coach”! A professional jury assessed their know-how technique, but also their artistic mastery.

And France Bleu noted that “contrarily to what you may believe”, the “Bleus de la boulangerie” don’t win every time. It had been even a few years since France had won, says the radio channel, with “sharp competition from Asian countries in this field”. Indeed, South Korea and Japan respectively reached the second and third place of the podium 

Explore more: 

• Interview of baker Franck Fortier
• A look back in pictures at the Bakery World Cup
• Presentation by France TV