The debate at the highest levels on trends and new techniques for the pastry sector will be at Luxury Pastry in the World by Iginio Massari (see article elsewhere in this newsletter).

The exciting challenges between great masters will also enliven this macro-area. In the gelato-pastry sector, FIPGC (the International Federation of Pastry, Gelato and Chocolate) is returning to Host 2023 with its exciting championships. The World Trophy of Pastry Gelato and Chocolatewill see 12 national teams compete against each other with desserts and gelatos. The teams will be made up of three groups who will respectively engaged in: an Artistic Piece in Artistic Sugar and the preparation of a Modern Cake; an Artistic Piece in Sugar Paste and the preparation of a single portion of Gelato; an Artistic Piece in Chocolate and the preparation of two pralines. Selections were held in Australia, China, Japan, Peru, Colombia, Italy, Mexico, France, Romania, Hungary, Argentina and the Netherlands.

At the same time, the Bakery Chefs Awards will take place: in the side kitchen Bakery chefs will take turns to present their creations of Artistic Bread in combination with loaves from the local areas they come from.  

Teams from Italy, Brazil, USA, Poland, Belgium, Sri Lanka, France, Mexico, Peru, Japan, China and Malaysia will take part in the fourth edition of the Cake Designers World Championship. The two contestants in each national team will compete in monumental cake preparations and travel-friendly cake baking preparations. The cake design sector as represented by all regions of Italy will continue to set up the monumental cake to mark the federation's 10th birthday, while pastry chefs from the Italian and international FIPGC team of excellence will enhance and complete the work with the addition of the most representative desserts from Italy and the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, Italy, Japan, China, Peru, Colombia, Australia, France and the Netherlands are the nations that will battle it out in their bid to win the World Trophy of Professional Tiramisù. The competition will see two teams compete on the same day, when they will have a maximum time of four hours each. At the same time there will be demonstrations of Gelato and Hard Pieces. The FIPGC ice cream makers of Italy's 'Excellence Team' will give free rein to their imagination by creating catering cups and dishes devoted solely to gelato.

The Panettone World Team Championship promoted by the Academy of Masters of Mother Yeast and Italian Panettone and with Italian Gourmet as the official media partner will see the announcement of the winner of the first PWC trophy on 14 October at HostMilano in Fiera Milano, from 5 pm, together with the presentation of the special prizes awarded by the presidents of the jury. The award ceremony comes after a strict selection in which the competitors had to demonstrate their skills for the packaging of ten identical panettones, produced in three versions: classic Italian panettone, chocolate panettone with chocolate dough, and innovative leavened "savoury panettone".

Among the masters present are the presidents of the juries Marco Paolo Molinari, Hervé Boutin, Kristina Rado and Matteo Cutolo.