Filipino pastry chefs made a remarkable debut at the 2025 Grand Finale of the Pastry World Cup on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25, during the Sirha Lyon exhibition in France, besting Morocco, Mexico, and Colombia, among others.
Coached by pastry instructor Chef Vergel Iral, Team Philippines is composed of chocolate candidate Chef Angelyn Dignadice, sugar candidate Chef Gian Aguirre, and ice candidate Chef Jeriel Encarnado.
They were supported by a team of volunteers from the Academy of Pastry & Culinary Arts (APCA) Philippines.
With national heritage as this year’s theme, the Grand Finale took place in several stages, namely the frozen desserts, restaurant desserts, show chocolat, sculpture, and final buffet.
Team PH’s frozen dessert highlighted the tropical fruit pink guava as the main flavor, complemented by the creamy sensation of coconut with a flavorful mix of calamansi, malunggay, and basil.
Named “Golden Harvest”, their restaurant dessert featured Philippines pineapples paired with a light mousse, warm pudding, nougatine, and foam, all made by a variety of local rice grains.
Pinoy street food classic Balut was reimagined with banana confit and black tea jelly for show chocolat, elevated with Valrhona’s Dulcey Namelaka and Smoked Caraibe chocolate mousse with a final touch of Asin Tibuok, a rare Filipino artisanal salt, which enhanced the overall flavor.
Taking pride in the country’s culinary and cultural treasures, Team PH’s final buffet is composed of the Philippines’ national animal, Carabao (chocolate sculpture), a farmer surrounded by sugarcane, flowers, and pineapples (sugar sculpture), a winged creature (ice sculpture), and a fake frozen dessert.
Team PH finished 11th in the standings, with Japan taking home the gold medal and title of Pastry World Champion. France came in next, bagging the silver, and Malaysia secured the third place with a bronze medal.
The 18 countries that participated in the prestigious event, ranked in order, are: Japan, France, Malaysia, China, Belgium, Italy, South Korea, Singapore, United Kingdom, Argentina, Philippines, Morocco, Paraguay, Chile, Colombia, Mauritius, Mexico, and Egypt.
There’s still a lot for the Philippines to go in the world of gastronomy, but their latest feat at the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie tells us our local chefs have already come a long way.
On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the esteemed Michelin Guide announced its arrival in the country, setting eyes on the culinary landscapes of Manila (and Environs) and Cebu for the country’s highly anticipated 2026 debut.
