Taiwanese chocolatier Queenie Wu (吳葵妮) last week defied smell blindness caused by COVID-19 to win big at the Asia-Pacific Bean-to-Bar and Craft Chocolatier Competition in Hong Kong.
Wu, founder of Taipei-based Q Sweet chocolate shop, won a gold, two silvers and two bronze medals, plus two special prizes at the International Chocolate Awards’ (ICA) regional competition on Monday last week.
In a media interview, she said she temporarily lost her sense of smell after contracting COVID-19 last year.
Photo courtesy of Q sweet
She initially decided not to participate in this year’s competition, which features chocolate makers from the Asia-Pacific region who create different types of chocolate bars, filled chocolates, dragees and spreads, Wu said.
Wu, whose chocolates have won five ICA World Final golds and six ICA Asia-Pacific golds, said she was so disappointed at being unable to smell that she felt she had already peaked.
“At that time, I kept reassuring myself that Beethoven could still compose music despite being deaf,” she said of her six months of smell blindness.
She decided to enter the contest after it occurred to her while praying that she should “let the world see the performance and voices of Taiwanese artisans from all fields,” she said.
Wu said she has since nearly fully recovered her sense of smell with the help of Chinese medicine.
Reflecting on the most challenging part of her creative process, she said she drew inspiration from mixology to capture the flavor of tonka beans — a flavorful, but toxic, spice — and incorporate it into her chocolates.
Her creations made a strong impression on the judges, with “Tonka style x Drizzle Allen” winning a silver medal, while “Exclusive — Tonka x Drizzle Allen” won bronze and a special award for “reinterpretation” in the white chocolate category.
In the same category, her piece “Monet’s Garden” won a gold medal, “Asia Girl Power” earned silver and “Comfort Fruit-Green Mango & Spices” took bronze along with a special award for ingredients.
Taiwanese chocolatiers from dessert shops such as Fu Wan Chocolate, Evergreen Hotel and Zengzhiyuan Chocolate also won big at the competition.
Winners from regional contests advance to the World Final later this year, the ICA Web site says.
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