The last few days saw the occurrence of one of the largest food and hospitality events in the world: Sirha Lyon, which took place in Chassieu, France. This event marked the 40^th anniversary for Sirha Lyon, which was started in 1983.

“Sirha Lyon is and will always be a landmark event for all food service, hospitality, and food professionals. This gastronomic crossroads that keeps growing year after year inspires and influences today’s and tomorrow’s professionals through the extensive range of highlights and exhibitors that can be found here,” said Luc Dubanchet, the director of Sirha Food and Sirha Lyon.

Two years pass between each event, in which many smaller competitions take place around the world that lead to the major competitions that take place during Sirha Lyon.

The Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie (the Pastry World Cup) took place over 20–21 January, with teams of three (a chocolate maker, a sugar expert, and an ice specialist) from across the world competing for the in. This year, the theme was ‘Climate Change’.

The Pastry World Cup was won by the Japanese team, consisting of Moe Takahashi, Naritoshi Suzuka, and Yusaku Shibata, who have been the runners up on the podium for the last 5 editions of the competition. France took second place, with Italy coming third.

“All the candidates were very passionate, which is satisfying for me as a pastry chef,” said Cédric Grolet, honorary president of the Pastry World Cup.

He continued, “I would like to thank all the people who worked here, for having helped me rediscover this wonderful profession, which is on an every-day evolution, visually and technically.”

Sirha Lyon also saw the French Bakery Cup take place on 21 January, with the theme ‘The conquest of space’. Twelve teams of three bakers competed across bread, viennoiserie, artistic buffet, and snacking events for the title, which was won by Bourgogne Franche Comté 1.