MUNICH, GERMANY — Zhou Bin and Peng Fudong from China won the iba-UIBC Cup of Bakers. The competition took place during the German-based international baking show, which runs from Sept. 15-20 and is held every three years.

During this year’s competition, 12 national teams vied for the gold cup. Each day during the 3-day event, two master bakers from four national teams competed against one another. The participants included China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Russia, Spain, Turkey and the United States.

The theme of this year’s competition was “Universe,” and the master bakers developed themed bread, biscuits, party pastries, Danish pastries, as well as their personally styled baked showpiece.

For participants, the iba-UIBC Cup of Bakers required months of preparation, said Michael Wippler, president of the German Bakers’ Confederation.

“Their skills had to be honed to the highest precision for the competition — and they were,” he said. “To prevail in this competition, bakers must deliver an outstanding performance, as the time is short, the tension is extreme — every movement needs to be just right.”

The trade fair audience at iba witnessed the competition, which took place in fully equipped and open showcase bakeries during the exhibition.

In addition to their overall win, the Chinese team received the prize for the Best Showpiece. Daniel Plum and Maximilian Raisch from Germany took second place. They also won the Best Bread competition. Ivar Bakke and Nikolai Meling from Norway earned third place and received the Best Biscuits and Party Pastries prize. The award for the Best Danish pastries went to Myeong-Kyeom Kim and Sung-Chul Lim from Korea.