A team of Taiwanese bakers blended tea, fruit and symbols of the country’s tech prowess en route to a second-placed finish at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in Paris on Wednesday.
The competition, also known as the Bakery World Cup, took place on Tuesday and Wednesday at Porte de Versailles in Paris, drawing 10 teams from around the world.
Taiwan was represented by traditional bread specialist Kao Chi-wei (高淇崴), Viennoiserie virtuoso Chang Shi-bin (張世彬), and Peng Xin-rou (彭心柔), who was tasked with creating a giant bread sculpture under the theme of “The Great Inventions of Your Country.”
Photo: CNA
Although competing under the name “Chinese Taipei,” reporters witnessed several visitors recognizing the team’s creations as unmistakably Taiwanese.
Peng said competitors in the “artistic” category had just 10 hours, including preparation and on-site production, to complete their entries.
Given this year’s theme, Peng said she chose to incorporate bubble tea and semiconductor chips into her piece, adding that “Taiwan’s greatest invention is its people.”
Kao combined Tieguanyin tea from Taipei’s Muzha (木柵) area with dried pineapple, while Chang incorporated Taiwanese fruits into sweet breads inspired by Taipei 101.
Adapting to Paris’ dry climate, hard water and unfamiliar equipment posed challenges, Chang said, adding that judges sampling the bread before the competition concluded made time management and teamwork especially crucial.
Taiwan previously claimed the championship in 2022, when a team led by Justin Wu (武子靖), now the coach, won first place.
Commenting on this year’s result, Wu said he was pleasantly surprised, adding that the team had trained together for only three weeks.
“Winning second place is already the best outcome we could achieve after doing our best,” he said.
The team made very few mistakes in objective scoring categories, such as weight and specifications, helping it secure many basic points, Wu said.
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