France is the winner of the European qualification for the Confectionery World Cup 2024. France, represented by Haruka Atsuji (chocolate candidate) and Jérémy Massing (confectionery candidate), was the first of the 7 participating countries to reach the final.

Organised every two years in Lyon, the Pastry World Cup featured 7 teams – Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom – for the 2024 European selection. After the French team, Italy and the United Kingdom completed the podium as 2nd and 3rd respectively. The international organising committee also decided to reward the investment and quality of the creations made by Sweden, Switzerland and Belgium, giving them a wild card that qualified them for the final.

France particularly stood out with its fairy-world themed desserts. The nominees’ creations included a frozen dessert combining fresh flavours such as apricot and raspberry with creamy textures such as yoghurt ice cream and vanilla parfait; a Paris-Brest revisited dessert with clementine and hazelnut; and a restaurant-style dessert called “L’Éphémère” with chocolate soufflé accompanied by pear charlotte.

Atsuji and Massing prepared 3 frozen desserts with Capfruit fruit purees, 3 cake pieces with Elle & Vire dairy products, 8 restaurant-style desserts with Valrhona chocolate, 2 artistic pieces (one with sugar and one with chocolate) and a buffet with all these creations.
The new test this year, the cake piece in partnership with Elle & Vire, is a revisiting of a speciality of the country where the selection was made, in this case Paris-Brest. The restaurant-style dessert test reinvents itself with the Valrhona hot chocolate soufflé. The soufflé poses an extra challenge as it requires technique and precision, especially in the flavour and cooking elements, which are scrutinised with great care by the jury of restaurant chefs.