On May 18 and 19, the best bakers from six countries will compete for gold at the IBA UIBC Cup of Bakers in Düsseldorf. The national and international participants will face this special challenge in show bakeries at IBA, the trade fair for the baking and confectionery industry. An expert jury will judge the showpieces and will be supported by the trade fair audience. The final award ceremony will take place on Monday, May 19.

The IBA UIBC Cup of Bakers will start in hall 14 on Sunday, May 18 in the morning. Six nations will compete against each other at IBA 2025, including the best bakers from Germany, France, Iceland, Jordan, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The competition for the bakers' gold medal is organized by the German Baker’s Confederation (Zentralverband des Deutschen Bäckerhandwerks), the owner of IBA. 

Top class for the female master bakers

Johanna Lenhardt and Lea Wagner, master bakers from the region of Lower Franconia, will be competing for Germany in the IBA UIBC Cup of Bakers.

"The competition is the premier class for us and it is an honor to be able to represent Germany against the international competition," emphasizes Lenhardt. And Wagner adds: "We hope that we can impress the audience and the jury with our baking skills. Above all, we are looking forward to exchanging ideas with our foreign colleagues. After all, we all belong to the big baking family." The German champions are part of the German national bakery team, with Marc Mundri supporting the duo as their coach. 

Competition theme: "Art"

The IBA UIBC Cup of Bakers requires both creativity and precise artisan bakery. Under the motto "Art," the participants have to produce edible works of art, with no limits to their imagination. The biggest challenge: in just six hours, the teams of two bakers produce bread, small, party, and Danish pastries, as well as a showpiece in glass show bakeries.

Judging will be carried out by a jury consisting of Urs Röthlin (Switzerland), Jimmy Griffin (Ireland), and Josef Schrott (Austria) as well as jury chairman Andreas Schmidt (Germany).

"The IBA UIBC Cup of Bakers competition is a wonderful opportunity for talented bakers to prove themselves on an international level. As in the past, we expect outstanding work at the highest level. For the participants, the competition means hard work with intensive preparation times, but above all a lot of fun and inspiration for personal development," emphasizes Andreas Schmidt, chairman of the jury.

Watching the competition live at IBA

Visitors to the trade fair will be able to follow the creation of the baked goods live every day starting from 9:30 am. The first judging on the theme of "Danish pastries, biscuits, and party products" will take place on Sunday and Monday at 1:00 pm. The presentation of the masterpieces will take place in the afternoons at 3:30 pm. The second round of judging on the theme of "Bread and the Masterpiece" will take place on Sunday and Monday at 4:00 pm.

The countries participants include:

• France: Corentin Molina and Yannis Thouys
• Germany: Johanna Lenhardt and Lea Wagner
• Iceland: Sigrun Sol Vigfusdottir and Nastasja Kiencke
• Jordan: Hala Abu Jbara and Tand Murad 
• Netherlands: Mike Onase and Gerrit Huckriede
• Sweden: Andrea Wiberg and Cassandra Persson 

On May 18, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Sweden will compete, and on May 19, Germany, France, and Jordan will compete for gold with their baked works of art. On May 19 at 5:30 pm, the winners will be awarded in the IBA Forum.

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