Pastry World Cup & Bocuse d'Or Americas Head to New Orleans

The world's most demanding culinary competitions are coming to Louisiana. On Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26, 2026, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans will host the Americas selections for both the Pastry World Cup and the Bocuse d'Or — the qualifying stage that separates hopefuls from the elite few who advance to the Grand Finals in January 2027 during Sirha Lyon.

Seven teams of pastry chefs and eight chefs will lay it all on the line. For anyone who runs a kitchen, builds a menu, or trains talent, these selections are more than a spectacle — they're a live preview of where technique, flavor, and culinary ambition are heading across the hemisphere.

Pastry World Cup: The Americas' Finest Come Together

The 2026 edition marks the return of several familiar contenders to the Americas Pastry Cup, and the field is stacked with experience.

Paraguay arrives having secured second place at the last Americas selection, and the team returns unchanged and more determined than ever. Chiara Pederzani will compete in the chocolate category, Johanna Borgognon in sugar, and Tomas Emanuel Arrua in ice — the latter drawing on his experience in the 2025 Grand Final. Their goal is clear: the top step of the podium and Paraguay's place in the 2027 Grand Final.

As host nation, the United States is eager to prove its expertise. The American team enters with a new coach and renewed momentum under Stephane Cheramy, the new president of the CMP USA Club, who has built a solid organization to help the team chase one of the four qualifying places.

Peru makes a grand return after being absent from the competition since 2020. The country will rely on Nilkos Paul, Juan Carlos Lopez Guerrero and Thaïs Jarufe Barrantes — three competitors ready to reconnect Peru with the international pastry scene after years away.

On July 25, the seven pastry teams will have 5 hours and 30 minutes to demonstrate their expertise to a jury of renowned chefs. Diego Lozano and Luis Robledo Richard will serve as the artistic judges, weighing in on the contestants' creations.

The Honorary Presidency of this edition belongs to Osvaldo Gross, a member of the Académie Culinaire de France and named Best Pastry Chef in Latin America in 2014 — a leading figure across the continent. He joins Pierre Hermé, President of the Pastry World Cup.

Bocuse d'Or Americas: Eight Chefs, Five Spots

On July 26, eight candidates from across the Americas will compete for one of five qualifying spots in the Bocuse d'Or Grand Final. Each team — a chef, a commis, a coach, and a jury member — will showcase its culinary vision, all chasing the legacy of Stefani De Palma, the reigning Bocuse d'Or Americas winner.

• United States — Winners of the previous continental selection, the U.S. will be represented by Vincenzo Loseto, a seasoned competitor who was part of the Team USA staff in 2017. He's aiming for a second consecutive continental title and, ultimately, a return to the top step of the Grand Final podium, just as the United States achieved in 2017.
• Canada — Keith Pears, head chef and owner of Pears Restaurant in Markham, Ontario, returns after finishing runner-up at the 2024 Bocuse d'Or Americas. He's determined to put Canada back among the leading nations.
• Ecuador — After narrowly missing Grand Final qualification in both 2018 and 2022, chef and researcher Daniela Valverde Velez is chasing a spot that would mark Ecuador's first Grand Final appearance since 2011.

Following his father Emeril Lagasse in 2024, E.J. Lagasse will now serve as Honorary President of the Bocuse d'Or Americas 2026.

Head chef at the family restaurant Emeril's in New Orleans, E.J. Lagasse has become one of the most promising young talents in American gastronomy — at just 22, the youngest chef in history to lead a two-Michelin-star restaurant.

The jury presidency goes to Stefani De Palma, winner of the previous Americas selection and 7th-place finisher at the Grand Final, who will coordinate a jury of internationally renowned chefs. She joins Jérôme Bocuse, President of the Bocuse d'Or, and Gavin Kaysen, Bocuse d'Or Americas President.

Why It Matters

For food, beverage, and hospitality professionals, competitions like these are far more than a chef's spotlight — they are a leading indicator of technique, plating, and flavor trends that filter down to menus in the seasons that follow. What wins in New Orleans this July often shapes what diners will expect a year from now.

There's a practical payoff here for operators and culinary educators:

• Talent development. The discipline, precision, and time management on display are a template for training programs and back-of-house standards. Watching how teams execute under a 5.5-hour clock is a masterclass in kitchen efficiency.
• Menu inspiration. The artistic sugar, chocolate, and ice work — and the plated proteins of the Bocuse d'Or — routinely seed dessert programs, tasting menus, and signature dishes across fine dining and upscale hospitality.
• Regional signal. With Peru, Ecuador, and Paraguay pushing hard alongside the U.S. and Canada, the field underscores the growing culinary influence of Latin America — a trend procurement directors and menu developers should already be tracking.

The New Orleans setting also matters. Louisiana's own culinary identity — anchored by names like Lagasse — makes it a fitting stage, and a reminder that great competition kitchens and great hospitality brands feed one another.

What to Watch Next

The winners from New Orleans advance to the Grand Finals in January 2027 at Sirha Lyon, the global gathering point for foodservice and hospitality innovation. Expect the results to ripple into pastry cases and prix-fixe menus well beyond the podium.

Which team are you rooting for — and what techniques from the world's top competition kitchens are you bringing into your own operation? Drop a comment and let us know. For more on the chefs and events shaping the industry, keep reading Food & Beverage Magazine, including our look at Chef Marcus Samuelsson headlining the 2026 Summer Fancy Food Show and the story of Antonia Lofaso on the business of being real.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” for founding American Wholesale Floral. Politz is also the founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.