Under the spotlights of an Italian trade fair, two young French bakers quietly turned a high‑pressure contest upside down.
In front of an international jury and against the clock, twin brothers from a small Alsatian village have just walked away with one of pastry’s toughest junior titles, leaving seasoned teams from Asia and elsewhere wondering what hit them.
The quiet rise of two twins from Alsace
The new junior world champions are Mathis and Samuel Anstett, twin brothers from Zimmersheim, a few minutes outside Mulhouse in eastern France. They are barely in their twenties. They grew up sharing the same bedroom, the same school timetable – and, crucially, the same first pastry classes.
The pair clinched the Junior Pastry World Championship at Sigep 2026, a major trade show held in Rimini, on Italy’s Adriatic coast. The competition, often overshadowed outside professional circles, ranks among the most demanding events for young pastry chefs.
Over ten intense hours in Rimini, the Anstett brothers convinced an international panel that their precision, creativity and calm under pressure deserved a global crown.
For the French public, their faces are not totally unknown. The twins previously appeared on the TV show “Le Meilleur Pâtissier: Les Professionnels” on M6, where their synchronised, four‑handed work style caught attention. This latest title turns that early media buzz into serious professional credibility.
A marathon challenge with no room for error
The Rimini competition ran on one simple rule: ten hours, no extension, and a dense programme of challenges. Each team had to produce a full suite of creations while managing time, temperature, structure, and flavour.
On the menu for the Anstetts:
- A vegan coffee cake with both technical finesse and robust flavour
- A French‑inspired street‑food dessert, accessible but highly refined
- A naturally leavened breakfast item, echoing traditional bakery skills
- A towering 1.20‑metre chocolate showpiece, fully edible and structurally sound
Every element had to be executed in front of the jury and the other teams, under constant scrutiny. Timing mistakes or a small temperature error in tempering chocolate could have destroyed months of preparation.
The competition blends art and engineering: judges examine taste, technical mastery, cleanliness, organisation and the overall story linking the different creations.
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Behind the scenes, the twins were guided by coach Alexis Beaufils, an established French pastry chef who helped them shape a clear strategy. Their station was run almost like a small restaurant kitchen: tasks divided, timings rehearsed, each movement planned in advance.
Standing out from 18 international teams
The Anstetts were not the only ones chasing the title. Eighteen teams from around the globe made the trip to Rimini, bringing sharply trained young talent from Europe, Asia and beyond. Among the strongest competitors were South Korea and China, both of which have been investing heavily in high‑level pastry training.
Yet, in the final results, France stood at the top of the podium, with South Korea and China finishing close behind. For the jury, the French victory rested on coherence and control as much as on flavour.
What tipped the balance was not just a spectacular chocolate sculpture, but the way each piece of the menu seemed to speak the same language: precise, contemporary and rooted in French technique.
The twins’ natural composure also made a difference. While some teams struggled with last‑minute crises – broken decorations, rushed finishes, missing details – Mathis and Samuel appeared almost unnervingly calm, communicating in short sentences and glances rather than panicked instructions.
Why being twins helped on competition day
Being brothers is common in food. Being identical twins working at this level is rarer. For the Anstetts, that bond has become an operational advantage.
They think in the same way about textures and balance. They share an identical training background. They know how the other reacts under fatigue. That makes coordination on a 10‑hour shift far easier. Tasks can be swapped mid‑service without long explanations. One twin can fix a problem while the other keeps the production line moving.
In a competition where minutes matter, that silent understanding creates a small but decisive edge.
Alsace on the pastry map again
For Alsace, a region already proud of its kougelhopf, bredele biscuits and Christmas markets, the result adds a fresh chapter. Local pastry has long mixed French refinement with Germanic heartiness. Now it is also associated with cutting‑edge vegan patisserie and sculptural chocolate work.
Regional pastry schools and artisan bakeries are watching closely. The twins’ story shows that talent from outside Paris or Lyon can reach the top tier of international contests with the right support and training.
| Region | Known for | Modern shift signalled by the Anstetts |
|---|---|---|
| Alsace | Traditional cakes, Christmas biscuits, hearty bakery items | Vegan cakes, artistic chocolate, TV‑ready pastry concepts |
| France overall | Classical pâtisserie, layered cakes, viennoiserie | Plant‑based twists, street‑food desserts, global competition focus |
Local chefs speak of a “new wave” of Alsatian pâtisserie: technically ambitious, media‑savvy, and comfortable mixing tradition with international influences.
What this title changes for their careers
Winning a junior world championship does not instantly guarantee a Michelin‑starred career, but it creates momentum. Invitations to work abroad, guest appearances at pastry schools, and collaborations with hotels or luxury brands tend to follow this kind of result.
For Mathis and Samuel, early signals are already visible: social media growth, messages from recruiters, and requests for masterclasses. The key challenge will be choosing projects that help them progress, rather than accepting every short‑term offer.
A world title shines a spotlight; the next stage is about turning that light into steady, long‑term work instead of a brief viral moment.
The brothers say they want to keep learning, deepening their craft and, eventually, passing on skills to younger bakers. Teaching, opening their own shop, or leading a hotel pastry team are all realistic pathways after such a win.
Inside the technical brief: vegan coffee cake and chocolate art
Two parts of the contest draw particular curiosity: the vegan coffee cake and the towering chocolate piece. Both are harder than they sound.
A vegan cake must manage without eggs, butter or dairy cream, pillars of traditional French pâtisserie. Texture becomes the main battle. Chefs often use combinations of plant milks, oils, nut purées and natural gelling agents to mimic richness while keeping flavours clean and precise.
The coffee profile needs care as well. Too strong and it overwhelms; too weak and it tastes flat after chilling. Roasting level, grind size and infusion time all affect the final balance.
The chocolate showpiece brings completely different challenges. The structure must survive changes in temperature and humidity in a busy competition hall. Sugar decorations and chocolate ribbons need exact tempering curves, or they blanch and break. One wrong move and hours of work hit the floor.
How aspiring pastry chefs can learn from Rimini
For young bakers watching from home, the Anstetts’ journey offers several practical lessons that go far beyond this single contest.
- Repetition beats inspiration: competition pieces are usually tested dozens of times in advance, with small adjustments after each trial.
- Timing is a skill: rehearsing with a stopwatch trains the body and mind to move efficiently under stress.
- Plant‑based isn’t a trend add‑on: mastering vegan desserts is now part of serious professional training, not a side hobby.
- Storytelling matters: judges respond better when each creation fits into a coherent narrative, not just a list of techniques.
Amateur bakers can borrow some of these habits at home. Planning production steps, chilling and baking times on paper reduces last‑minute panic before a dinner party. Testing a new recipe a week early lowers the risk of a disappointing centrepiece.
The vegan coffee cake brief is also a good starting point for experimentation. Replacing dairy cream with coconut cream or oat cream, and eggs with a mix of ground flaxseed and water, can lead to rich, stable sponges. Playing with cold‑brew coffee or espresso powder lets you adjust bitterness and aroma without adding excess liquid.
Professional contests push pastry to its limits, but the methods developed there often filter back to home kitchens in lighter, more approachable forms.
For now, the Anstett twins return to Alsace with medals, tired hands and a new label attached to their names: junior world champions. Their next steps will show whether this title becomes a turning point for French pastry, or simply the first milestone in a much longer story.
