After almost three years of work, the big day finally arrived for Baking Team USA. The competed in the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie on Monday during Europain. And, after working together as a team for almost two years, team members Harry Peemoeller, Mike Zakowski and Jeremey Gadouas, moved like a finely tuned machine under the pressures of the competition.

The years of practice and competitions paid off for the big event. Their day started a little before 5 a.m. and ended slightly before 1 p.m. During those eight hours, Harry had to complete a bread sculpture on the theme "Bread: symbol of your country." He chose a Wild West theme with cactus, cowboy hat, locomotive and a wanted poster. New to the competition this year was the savory presentation of sandwiches which were incorporated into the artistic design element. Mike was responsible for the baguettes & bread category and Jeremy prepared the viennoiseries. All three worked together on the savory presentation.
As the last few minutes ticked away, the three's movements became a bit more rushed but you could see the familiarity they had with each other as they eased around trying to finish on time. Their years of practicing together had paid off, their work was completed on time and they had successfully competed in the 2012 Coupe du Monde.
The winner will be announced on Wednesday and hopefully, Harry, Mike and Jeremy will be crowned the champions.