In October, the best bakers from 12 countries will compete for the gold medal at “The iba.UIBC.CUP of Bakers” in Munich. In glass show bakeries in Hall A4, they will step up to the special challenge before an expert jury at the world’s leading trade fair for the baking and confectionery industry. They will be cheered on by visitors of the fair, who will be able to follow the competition live on site. The award ceremony will take place on Tuesday, 24 October at 5:30 pm.

Floury hands, the scent of fresh dough, and a display of top-level performance await visitors to “The iba.UIBC.CUP of Bakers” in October at the iba. The associations have named their candidates for the international competition. Twelve nations, acting in teams of two, will step up to the challenge at the fair. They include the best bakers from Peru, Japan, France, China, Greece, Germany, Korea, Iceland, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and Italy.

“Following quite a long break from competition, we now finally have the opportunity at iba 2023 to prove what we can do,” says Patrick Mittmann, who will compete for Germany with his cousin Nicole Mittmann. “We’ve been busy preparing since January 2023. We look forward to testing our skills against the other participants and presenting our work to the jury,” explains Mittmann.
 
Creating edible masterpieces under time pressure  

“The iba.UIBC.CUP of Bakers” demands not only creativity, but also the highest level of craftsmanship. There are no limits to participants’ ingenuity: The teams of two will create bread, small bakery products, party products, Danish pastries and a showpiece revolving around the theme of “The Animal World”. The ultimate challenge is to produce edible works of art under time pressure.  

The competitions start at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (October 22-24) in the fully equipped show bakeries in Hall A4. Four teams will compete against each other simultaneously each day. The visitors to the iba are warmly invited to experience the competitors’ extraordinary talents live. At 1 p.m. there will be an initial judging of Danish pastries, small bakery, and party products, followed by the jury’s decision on bread at 4 p.m. The award ceremony will take place on Tuesday, October 24 at 5.30 pm in the iba.FORUM. 

“We look forward to seeing the best bakers in the world compete live in Munich for ‘The iba.UIBC.CUP of Bakers 2023’ after a five-year break. My utmost respect goes to this year’s competitors. It is a real challenge to work under time pressure in front of a live audience and is nothing like being in your own bakery. It will certainly be exciting,” says Jury Chairman Wolfgang Schäfer.

Participants and countries in alphabetical order: 
Brazil: Ana Paula de Jesus Santos, Victor Rosseto Duarte Dantas
Chile: Diego Alexis Miranda Fuentes, José Daniel Tapia Orellana
China: Lin Yeqiang, Feng Yingjie
Germany: Nicole Mittmann, Patrick Mittmann
France: Nicolas Callejon, Florian Stephanus
Greece: Charilaos Papalitsas, Dimitrios Fragogiannis
Iceland: Stefan Petur Bachmann Bjarnason, Finnur Gudberg Ivarsson
Italy: Nicolo Motta, Andrea Guaglione
Japan:  Mizuki Matsuyama, Jumpei Kurihara
Korea: Hwang Seokyong, Han Seokwang
Mexico: Raúl Galván, Diego Suárez
Peru: Valerie Tejada Perea, Jaime Salazar Takiri
 
The dates: 
Sunday, October 22: Mexico, Korea, Chile, Italy
Monday, October 23:  China, Peru, Greece, France
Tuesday, October 24: Germany, Japan, Brazil, Iceland