Cheng Yu-hsuan (鄭畬軒) has become the first Taiwanese chocolatier to be included on 50 Next’s list of 50 Gamechanging Producers, which honors “farmers, artisans, and makers powering the supply chain in innovative ways.”
Cheng was ranked No. 34 for developing a “sustainable model for the chocolate and pastry industry in Taiwan, sourcing his ingredients responsibly and improving worker conditions in terms of salary and working hours,” the organization said.
Cheng founded his company, Yu Chocolatier (畬室巧克力), in 2015.
Photo courtesy of Yu Chocolatier via CNA
“As a creator of taste, I believe it is our duty to foresee the unimaginable, to explore the unknown,” Cheng says in his profile on the Next 50 Web site. “People can only decide if they like a taste or not once they have tasted it. It is up to us, the innovators, to imagine and realize the never-ending explorations of the human mind.”
In his acceptance speech at Friday’s ceremony at the Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao, Spain, Cheng said he fully recognized how many people were supportive of his native culture, and that he was grateful to be able to imbue his creations with the flavors of Taiwan.
Cheng was born in Tainan and his family moved to Texas when he was a child. Returning to Taiwan for university in 2007, he dropped out to pursue a career as a chocolatier.
“I still remember my first bite of decent chocolate — a fruity, Madagascan dark chocolate,” Cheng’s profile says. “That experience has been echoing throughout my entire career.”
After dedicating a few years to teaching himself how to make chocolate, he moved to Paris to study at the Ferrandi school and interned at Alleno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen.
Cheng’s company has received international recognition, and he was the only Taiwanese chocolatier invited to the Salon du Chocolat Paris, one of the world’s most renowned chocolate expositions.
His success also prompted him to write a book about his time in France, with plans under way to open a shop in Paris.
50 Next is an annual series of lists compiled since last year by the creators of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Spain’s renowned Basque Culinary Center.
The curators select 50 individuals to be featured in each of its seven categories, including Tech Disruptors, Empowering Educators, Entrepreneurial Creatives, Science Innovators, Hospitality Pioneers, Trailblazing Activists and Gamechanging Producers.
US PROBE: The Information reported that the US Department of Commerce is investigating whether the firm made advanced chips for China’s Huawei Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract maker of advanced chips, yesterday said it is a law-abiding company, and is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations including export controls. The Hsinchu-based chip giant issued the statement after US news Web site The Information ran a story saying that the US Department of Commerce has launched a probe into TSMC over whether it breached export rules by making smartphone or artificial intelligence (AI) chips for China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為). “We maintain a robust and comprehensive export system for monitoring and ensuring compliance,” the statement said. “If we
REGIONAL COMPETITION: Over the past few years the Philippines has lost ground to neighbors such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, a Philippine official said The Philippines is trying to enlist Taiwanese chip giants to expand in semiconductors, a bid to catch up with its neighbors who are emerging as significant suppliers in the industry. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) are among companies the Philippines is reaching out to as it seeks equipment and expertise to build out chip fabrication operations, said Dan Lachica, head of the Southeast Asian country’s main electronics industry group, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc (SEIPI). The association is working with Philippine officials in Taiwan to talk with potential
DEMAND FOR AI CHIPS: Net income in the third quarter surged 31.2% quarter-on-quarter to NT$325.26 billion, the strongest quarterly return in the company’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday raised its revenue forecast to annual growth of 30 percent this year, thanks to strong and sustainable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) processors for servers. It was the second upward adjustment from 25 percent year-on-year growth estimated three months ago, despite recent concerns about whether the AI boom could be another technology bubble. “The demand is real. It’s real. And I believe it is just the beginning of this demand. Alright, so one of my key customers said the demand right now is ‘insane,’” TSMC chairman and chief executive C.C.
Starbucks Corp might have the more recognizable name, but 7-Eleven’s City Cafe remains the king of Taiwan’s fresh coffee market, helped by the convenience store chain’s extensive market presence and product diversification. President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), which runs both the 7-Eleven and Starbucks store chains in Taiwan, established the City Cafe brand in 2004. The brand took off when actress Gwei Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) became its spokesperson in 2007. City Cafe’s sales exceeded NT$10 billion (US$311.69 million) for the first time in 2015, surpassing the revenue of Starbucks Taiwan, and rose to more than NT$17 billion last year, exceeding the NT$14.98