Last Saturday, October 14, the first edition of the World Team Panettone Championship came to an end in Milan  within the framework of Host. After four days of elaboration in Verona, at the facilities of the firm Polin, and a final for the presentation of the products and the tastings, Italy was proclaimed the absolute winner of the competition in addition to winning in each of the modalities in the competition, that is, best innovative panettone (savory), best chocolate panettone, and best classic panettone (fruit). Following the winning team were the Japanese and Argentinian teams on the podium, respectively.

For their part, the Spanish team, made up of Rafel Aguilera, Ton Cortés, and Jose Manuel Marcos Candela, finished its performance without reaching the overall podium but collecting numerous special awards, such as Best Presentation Buffet, Best Team Work, and Best Presentation Dossier. Spain also tied second place for the Best Chocolate Panettone, and third place in the Best Classic Fruit Panettone. Curiously, one of the products that deserved the most praise during the development of the competition by some members of the jury, the savory tomato panettone with Iberian ham, did not reach the podium.

At the end of the championship, special awards were also given to Poland for Best Laboratory Organization, to Taiwan for Best Cleanliness in the Manufacturing Process, and to Argentina for Best Presentation Packaging.

The overall balance could not be more positive, and even more so if, for example, we take into account the important presence of great French pastry chefs, starting with Pierre Hermé, but also with Thierry Bamas among the members of the jury. However, the French team was precisely one of those that did not win a single consolation prize in the entire competition.

The final classification was: Innovative Panettone (Italy first, Japan second and Argentina third), Chocolate Panettone (Italy first, Spain and Argentina tied for second, and Japan third), and Classic Panettone (Italy first, Japan second and Spain third).