Ten international pastry teams have come to Phoenix, Ariz., for the World Pastry Team Championship to prove who the best of the best is in a two-day culinary marathon. Team USA has taken first in the past two championships and they're aiming for a three-peat. But Team France and Team Japan plan on dethroning the reigning champs. A win here means taking home the $50,000 prize and the achievement of a lifetime.
TEAMS:France Captain: Bruno Moncoudiol Team Member: Franck Michel Team Member: Franck Kestener Manager: Stephane Glacier Judge: Laurent Le Daniel
Italy Captain: Silvio Bessone Team Member: Lucio Forino Team Member: Roberto Rinaldini Manager: Biagio Settepani Judge: Leonardo Di Carlo
Japan Captain: Koichi Izumi Team Member: Masaaki Hayashi Team Member: Shuji Muto Manager: Kanjiro Mochizuki Judge: Makoto Kato
Mexico Captain: Thomas Trevethan Team Member: Jose Polanco Pech Team Member: Barbaciano Kavil Chan Manager: Oscar Ortega Judge: Margarita Vin
Poland Captain: Janusz Profus Team Member: Pawel Malecki Team Member: Maciej Pieta Manager: Adam Sowa Judge: Jaroslaw Zbaliszyn
Russia Captain: Elena Medvedeva Team Member: Alexander Ilyukhin Team Member: Andrey Polovinkin Manager: Elena Shramko Judge: Igor Bukharov
Singapore Captain: Lim Kim Wah Team Member: Then Chui Foong Team Member: Alex Yen Hing Long Manager: Steven Ong Judge: Kenny Kong
South Korea Captain: Mun-Sung Choi Team Member: Kyung-Whan Byun Team Member: Myung-Ju Sung Manager: Chang-Hyun Ahn Judge: Young-Teag Jung
Switzerland Captain: Rolf Murner Team Member: Thomas Schwarzenberger Team Member: Gerald Saudan Manager: Franz Ziegler Judge: Adrian Bader
USA Captain: Laurent Lhuillier Team Member: James (Jim) Mullaney Team Member: David Ramirez Manager: Laurent Branlard Judge: Stanton Ho