The pastry world is buzzing with the 2025 Pastry World Cup on the horizon, which will be held at SIRAH – Lyon. This year, we are also pleased to be part of this event as a sponsor of the selection of America’s teams for this prestigious competition.
New Orleans: Home of the continental selection
On June 11, 2024, the vibrant city of New Orleans, the largest in the state of Louisiana, hosted the final round of selection for the continental Americas for the Pastry World Cup. This is the first time the event has been held in North America, marking a significant milestone in the history of the competition.
New Orleans, known for its rich history and vibrant culture, provided a perfect setting for this event. On the banks of the majestic Mississippi River, the city is famous not only for its jazz and carnival, but also for its
Competition and results
Six countries from North, Central and South America competed fiercely to secure their place in the Grand Final to be held during Sirha Lyon in January 2025. The competition was intense and demonstrated the exceptional talent and creativity of the continent’s pastry chefs.
Argentina took the victory in the Americas selection, thanks to the brilliant performance of Matías Dragun, a chocolate specialist, and Lucas Carballo, an expert in sugar. This team showed a skill and innovation that impressed the judges and secured their pass to the Grand Final.
Paraguay earned a well-deserved second place, represented by Chiara Pederzani and Johanna Borgognon, who excelled in the candidate and sugar categories, respectively. Colombia, with its talented pastry chefs Carlos De Ávila and Deiby Sánchez, placed third, once again demonstrating the high level of competition.
Chile, with its hard work and dedication, received a Wild Card that will also allow it to participate in the next Grand Final. This special recognition underscores the effort and excellence of Chilean pastry chefs in the competition.
A double event of gastronomic excellence
The event not only highlighted the American selection of the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie, but also included the selection of the Bocuse d’Or Americas, turning New Orleans into the epicenter of international gastronomy and pastry for a few days. The best pastry chefs and chefs from the United States and throughout the Americas gathered to showcase their talent and creativity, creating an atmosphere of inspiration and learning.
Tests
The competing teams had 5 and a half hours to present the 16 tasting desserts and 2 artistic pieces, as well as a buffet.
- 3 frozen desserts (+ 1 imitation)
- 3 pastries: Paris-Brest revisited with Elle & Vire dairy products (+ 1 imitation)
- 8 restaurant-style desserts incorporating a Valrhona hot chocolate soufflé.
- 1 artistic sugar piece.
- 1 artistic chocolate piece.
- 1 buffet including the artistic sugar and chocolate pieces, the fake frozen dessert and the fake pastry.
The teams from each country were made up of:
Matías DRAGUN – Chocolate Candidate
Matías has worked in restaurants, hotels and cooking schools for more than 20 years; in various roles, from teaching at the Institute of Gastronomy in Argentina for 5 years to serving as director of the Ariel Rodríguez Palacios Center for Culinary Studies for a decade.
He studied at the Chocolate Academy in Chicago, the Bellouet Conseil in Paris, the Stephane Klein workshop in Belfort and the Emmanuele Forcone in Italy, which allowed him to travel and learn about many different culinary cultures.
Matías’ resume already includes several triumphs, having won the National Artisan Ice Cream Championship in 2018 and obtaining 3rd place in the Gelato World Cup in Rimini, Italy, in 2020. In addition, he participated in the French television program “Le Meilleur Pâtissier Professional: Le choc des Nations”
Lucas CARBALLO – Sugar Candidate
He is currently 30 years old and has been dedicated to the culinary arts for more than a decade, starting his gastronomic career at 17. In addition to teaching at several schools in Buenos Aires, he runs a successful pastry business.
His hard work paid off, leading him to win the National Pastry Championship in 2019 and the Latin American Artisan Ice Cream Championship in 2022.
Lucas has also collaborated with the Argentina Team and the Uruguay Team in the World Cup of Artisan Ice Cream, Confectionery and Bakery Exhibition, as well as in pastry competitions.
Olivier POTIER – Chocolate Candidate
Chef Olivier Potier is considered one of the best pastry chefs in Montreal. His pastry skills, which can be seen in his Chez Potier store, are the result of his collaboration with some of the best chefs in Quebec and France, such as Éric Gonzalez, Christophe Morel and Christophe Michalak.
Christophe SPORTELLINI – Sugar Candidate
Chef Christophe loves challenges and has participated in many culinary competitions.
After working in several renowned establishments in France and having his own business, Christophe settled in Val-David, where he owns Nani Nono, a pastry shop famous for its sugar-based specialties.
Rodrigo ROJAS – Chocolate Candidate
He has been teaching for more than 18 years, as a teacher and pastry coordinator.
He has trained at prestigious institutions such as École Lenôtre ad Bellouet Conseil in Paris and the Chocolate Academy, as well as learning from Stephane Klein and Stephane Leroux among others.
Throughout his career, Rodrigo has participated in various competitions, including the Maya Cup (Mexico, 2008), the Latin American Ice Cream Championship (Argentina, 2015), the Gelato World Cup (Italy, 2016), the Pastry World Cup (France, 2019) and the Bakery World Cup (France, 2024)
He is currently a chocolate candidate at La Roja Dulce.
Nadia CASTILLO – Sugar Candidate
She has almost two decades of experience and, to this day, remains passionate about her work. Since she was a child, she enjoyed cheering up those around her with delicious cakes and from the age of 12 she knew she wanted to be a pastry chef, at which age she attended a Christmas pastry course.
After two years of cooking school, Nadia did her internship at the Lameloise Restaurant (***) in Burgundy, France. She ended up staying in France for almost 5 years, learning everything she could and working in several restaurants.
Currently, in addition to dedicating herself to Dulcívoro (her sweets business), she teaches at a cooking school.
Carlos DE AVILA – Chocolate Candidate
With 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Carlos is today the Chef Owner of Vida Mia Pastry and Ambrosia, and remains passionate about pastry.
Carlos was a two-time National Chocolate Champion, winner of Best Artistic Piece at the 2015 Maya Chocolate Cup and Best Pastry Chef in Bogotá 2018.
Deiby SANCHEZ – Sugar Candidate
He considers his profession as his lifestyle, not just a job, but the dream he has had since he was a child. Derby says that pastry is “in his blood”.
He has trained in various academies such as SENA, and with several professionals in the field, which led him to excel in the sweet arts.
He currently has his own academy where he teaches new people about the world of pastry every day.
Erick MARTINEZ – Chocolate Candidate
With 20 years of experience in the pastry and bakery area, Erick always seeks to exceed expectations. He develops cutting-edge desserts, traditional Mexican cookies, chocolates, ice cream and confectionery, using the highest quality raw materials, including locally sourced products.
Miguel Angel PEREZ – Sugar Candidate
He has been a pastry chef for 13 years, has worked in numerous high-level tourist hotels and is proud to use local Mexican ingredients.
Chiara PEDERZANI – Chocolate Candidate
Since 2008, Chiara has held the position of production director at PEDERZANI GROUP.
Chiara completed several courses oriented towards gastronomy between 2006 and 2010 in Paraguay. Her dedication to knowledge extends beyond her formal education, as she served as assistant to Professor Bernarso Zelaya at IGA Paraguay and completed an internship at CHOCOLATRIA (São Paulo, Brazil) in 2016.
Chiara’s love for chocolate is a central theme in her career. She perfected her skills under the prestigious tutelage of Simone Izumi, a renowned chocolatier in São Paulo, Brazil.
Johanna BORGOGNON – Sugar Candidate
At 34 years old, Johanna has been in the world of pastry for more than 10 years. She studied abroad with renowned pastry chefs such as Carles Mampel, Bachour, Javier Guillén or Paco Torreblanca, and did her internship at Bubó Barcelona.
She currently owns a catering business, which also offers mass production for franchises.
Sosa Ingredients is pleased to have been a fundamental piece in this journey, supporting the talented teams of America and Latin America on their path to pastry excellence. Our premium ingredients have been the preferred choice of chefs and pastry chefs around the world, and we are excited to see how these industry-leading teams are using them to take the art of pastry to new heights in the grand final of the 2025 Pastry World Cup.
For more information on all rounds, you can visit: “Coupe du Munde de la Pâtisserie.”
938 666 094
sosa@sosa.cat