On 18 and 19 May 2025, the best bakers from six countries will compete for gold at the iba UIBC Cup of Bakers in Düsseldorf. The national and international participants will face this special challenge in show bakeries at iba, the world’s leading trade fair for the baking and confectionery industry. An expert jury will judge the showpieces and will be supported by the trade fair audience. The final award ceremony will take place on Monday, 19 May.
iba UIBC Cup of Bakers: Gold medal contest for bakers © GHM
Which baker will win the 2025 gold in Düsseldorf? The iba UIBC Cup of Bakers will start in hall 14 on Sunday, 18 May in the morning. Six nations will compete against each other at iba 2025: Included are the best bakers from Germany, France, Iceland, Jordan, the Netherlands and Sweden. The competition for the bakers’ gold medal is organised by the German Baker’s Confederation (Zentralverband des Deutschen Bäckerhandwerks), the owner of iba.
Top class for the female master bakers
Johanna Lenhardt and Lea Wagner, master bakers from the region of Lower Franconia, will be competing for Germany in the iba UIBC Cup of Bakers: ‘The competition is the premier class for us and it is an honour to be able to represent Germany against the international competition,’ emphasises Johanna Lenhardt. And Lea Wagner adds: ‘We hope that we can impress the audience and the jury with our baking skills. Above all, we are looking forward to exchanging ideas with our foreign colleagues. After all, we all belong to the big baking family’. The German champions are part of the German national bakery team, with Marc Mundri supporting the duo as their coach.
Competition under the motto ‘Art’
The iba UIBC Cup of Bakers requires both creativity and precise artisan bakery. Under the motto ‘Art’, the participants have to produce edible works of art, with no limits to their imagination. The biggest challenge: in just six hours, the teams of two bakers produce bread, small, party and Danish pastries as well as a showpiece in glass show bakeries.
Judging will be carried out by a jury consisting of Urs Röthlin (Switzerland), Jimmy Griffin (Ireland) and Josef Schrott (Austria) as well as jury chairman Andreas Schmidt (Germany). ‘The iba UIBC Cup of Bakers competition is a wonderful opportunity for talented bakers to prove themselves on an international level. As in the past, we expect outstanding work at the highest level. For the participants, the competition means hard work with intensive preparation times, but above all a lot of fun and inspiration for personal development,’ emphasises Andreas Schmidt, chairman of the jury.
Watching the competition live at iba
Visitors to the trade fair will be able to follow the creation of the tasty baked goods live every day starting from 9:30 am. The first judging on the theme of ‘Danish pastries, biscuits and party products’ will take place on Sunday and Monday noons at 1:00 pm. The presentation of the masterpieces will take place in the afternoons at 3:30 pm. The second round of judging on the theme of ‘Bread and the Masterpiece’ will take place on Sunday and Monday at 4:00 pm.
Participants of the countries
France: Corentin Molina and Yannis Thouys
Germany: Johanna Lenhardt and Lea Wagner
Iceland: Sigrun Sol Vigfusdottir and Nastasja Kiencke
Jordan: Hala Abu Jbara and Tand Murad
Netherlands: Mike Onase and Gerrit Huckriede
Sweden: Andrea Wiberg and Cassandra Persson
On Sunday 18 May, Iceland, the Netherlands and Sweden and on Monday 19 May Germany, France and Jordan will compete for gold with their baked works of art.
On Monday 19 May at 5:30 pm the winners will be awarded in the iba.FORUM.
Read more latest industry news and developments in our free to download magazine.
Never miss a story… Follow us on:
LinkedIn: International Bakery
X: @int_bakery
YouTube: @Bakery-TV
Media contact
Joseph Clarke
Editor, International Bakery
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920
Email: editor@in-bakery.com
