The awards ceremony for the fifth edition of le Grand Prix de la Pâtisserie de la Ville de Paris will take place on November 25th. Launched in 2019 by the mayor of Paris, in collaboration with Pierre Hermé, it is a competition that highlights the excellence of Parisian pastry chefs and bakers.

This year, the competition will award two different prizes: one for professionals and one for students. The theme is “Paris, City of Love.” But not necessarily only romantic love. As jury co-chair Nicolas Bonnet Oulaldj points out, “love is not just a slogan, but also a way of doing things, and of doing them together. Love for the craft, for a well-executed gesture, for transmission, for the bond forged between a pastry chef and their neighborhood. A tangible love, measured in the puff pastry, in the icing, in the balance of flavors.”

“Paris has always been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for me: a city where love is reflected in the architecture, in the eyes, and, of course, in the pastries and desserts. For this competition, celebrating Paris as the city of love means inviting pastry chefs to express, through their creations, the passion, delicacy, and generosity that make the heart of the capital beat,” adds Pierre Hermé.

Those interested must submit their applications by October 24. The requirements include creating a personal and original cake that can be sold in the winner’s physical store, with a retail price of no more than seven euros, and made with at least one ingredient grown in the Île-de-France region (aromatic herbs, fruit, honey, chocolate, coffee, edible flowers, among others).