Sweet creativity: iba UIBC CUP «Confectioners»

Munich / DE. (ghm) They have mastered the art of sweet seduction, the confectioner teams from South Korea, Taiwan, Norway and Germany, and will compete for the title at the iba UIBC CUP «Confectioners». Every three years, the international competition takes place through iba at the Fairground Messe München – and, this time, there will be a climax at the end of the show at the forum in hall B3.

«The iba-UIBC-CUP has a special charm, because the best confectioners from two continents, where patisserie is highly regarded, compete», says Gerhard Schenk, Vice President of the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners (UIBC) and President of the German Association of Confectioners (DKB). Furthermore, Schenk says that it is a great opportunity for visitors of the iba to admire outstanding achievements by confectioners from several countries. «It is exciting to watch how they work, to what extent the approaches differ, and what showpieces they produce».

The competition kicks off at 09:30 on Wednesday 16th September. The two-day competition for the crown of the confectioners begins. In the four show bakeries in hall B3, the two-person teams conjure up their sweet creations before the eyes of the fairground audience. They have time to master the tasks until 13:00 on Thursday 17th September. This year’s theme is «Circus». The participants produce a decorative piece from sugar, chocolate, marzipan and nougat – or a combination of these ingredients – three different petit fours, three different pralines, two figurines and a national speciality in which a cake is integrated.

«Perfect preparation is one of the prerequisites for success», says Schenk. «Nothing may go wrong», he emphasizes. After all, the participants have limited time available to fulfil their tasks. Schenk notes yet another feature that distinguishes the great participants from the good ones: mental strength. «Participants must be perfectly fit, not unlike high performance athletes. And they must call up their maximum skills – two two days in a row».

The German participants are Lena Rinne and Thomas Lakner. Both have already gained competition experience: Rinne was the 2014 regional champion at the practical performance competition of young confectioners in North Rhine-Westphalia. Lakner won the team culinary trophy in Luxembourg last year. Their competitors at the iba UIBC CUP in Munich include Catherine Nilsen and Hege Andersen Høgstø from Norway, Dong-woo Lee and Hyunk-jin Kwon from South Korea as well as Peng Hao and Terry Yang from Taiwan.

Starting at 13:00 on Thursday 17th September, the competition contributions by the participants will be presented in hall B3 and evaluated by an expert jury between 14:00 and 15:00. The award ceremony will take place at 15:00 at the iba forum (Imgage Source: GHM Munich).