For the second time pastry chef Bianca Piromalli is preparing to compete in the Juniores Pastry World Cup.

The competition, which will be held in January at SIGEP 2026, is a one-of-a-kind team competition that is designed to both highlight and promote young pastry talents up to the age of 26.

Bianca first competed as part of Team Australia at the 2024 event alongside team mate Damian Wright, with the duo placing seventh.

Bianca said she was excited to be heading to Italy for a second time to compete at the competition.

Training is well underway, with Bianca regularly travelling to Sydney to meet up with her 2026 Team Australia partner Olivia Saliba.

“I go to Sydney every few weeks for training and to catch up with Olivia,” Bianca said.

“We have a criteria of what we need to make, and a list of what we have to do under the theme.”

The theme set for the 2026 Juniores Pastry World Cup is a person in national history who revolutionised a sector through their inventions or actions.

For the competition Bianca and Olivia will be creating different sculptures from both sugar and chocolate, as well as homegrown street food dessert, vegan coffee cake, and an innovative breakfast yeast product.

Bianca said with just a few months to go until the competition, she and Olivia were currently working out what they would each be making. Once that has been finalised the duo would continue training until they knew each item like muscle memory.

“We just go in every week and work out what we’re doing,” she said.

Describing the 2024 Juniores Pastry World Cup as one of the best experiences of her life, Bianca said it was a no brainer to take part once again.

“Honestly it was one of the best experiences of my life. It was amazing,” she said.

“I met so many incredible pastry chefs. You learn a lot, but it’s also a good way to improve yourself.