Team Australia has placed seventh in 2026 Juniores Pastry World Cup.

Held as part of Sigep in Rimini, Italy, the competition saw 13 of the world’s best junior pastry teams from around the globe take part in the competition over three days.

Australian apprentices Olivia Saliba and Bianca Piromalli made the trip to compete together after just eight weeks of training.

It was an experience both Olivia and Bianca said could not be matched.

“Despite the pressure, it was incredible experience being surrounded by world class talent, learning from other teams, networking and seeing the weeks of preparation come together on a world stage. It was challenging, emotional and incredibly rewarding,” Olivia said.

The competition required each team to create four items – a vegan coffee cake, homegrown street food dessert, innovative breakfast yeast product, and an artistic presentation in chocolate and sugar – which fulfilled the theme of a person in national history who revolutionised a sector.

Bianca made the chocolate sculpture, which took inspiration from pacemaker creator Dr Mark Cowley Lidwell and included a guitar, sheets of music and hearts, and also created an innovative take on the classic pavlova.

“Pavlova was the first thing we thought of, so we did that but it was a more advanced pavlova – it had a lot of layers and different components,” she said.

Olivia made the vegan coffee cake and innovative breakfast yeast product, and said her creations were inspired by a blend of classic pastry foundation and modern techniques.

“We had to make sure our flavours were clean with technical accuracy and a design that flowed together throughout the day,” she said.

“We wanted to reflect who we are as pastry chefs while meeting the international stage standards.”

Unfortunately Bianca and Olivia actually placed sixth, but received a penalty for the size of their display base, which saw them move them into seventh place. Team France claimed first prize in the competition with Team South Korea and Team China placing second and third respectively.

Both Olivia and Bianca said their sights were now firmly set on competing in the 2028 competition.

“Yes, I am super keen to compete in the 2028 Juniores Pastry World Cup. This experience has given me a clear understanding of the level required and what to improve on. Knowing I have two years to practice instead of eight weeks is a huge relief,” Olivia said.

“We’ll both be under the age limit, so yeah – that’s definitely something we’re interested in doing,” Bianca said.