The iba.UIBC.CUP of Bakers 2023: Who Will Become World Champion Baker?

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. In teams of two, 12 nations 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 am on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (22 to 24 October) 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 pm there will be an initial judging of Danish pastries, small bakery and party products, followed by the jury’s decision on bread at 4 pm. The award ceremony will take place on Tuesday, 24 October 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, 22 October: Mexico, Korea, Chile, Italy

Monday, 23 October:  China, Peru, Greece, France 

Tuesday, 24 October: Germany, Japan, Brazil, Iceland