Cynics can park their attitude at the door; China lifted the crown at the World Bread Championship held recently in Munich, Germany. But the reason for celebration is the fact that of the two team members, one is from our very own Jiangsu.
Feng Yingjie is 26 years old and is from Pizhou, a county-level city under Xuzhou Administration in northwestern Jiangsu. Together with Lin Yeqiang, he formed a team that defeated France, Germany, Japan and other traditionally strong teams to win the iba.UIBC.CUP of Bakers 2023 held on 22-24. October
For some, the idea of China, a nation in love with sweet pastries, winning such an event is absurd. But this year 2023 was actually China defending their title to become the first country to win the championship for 2 consecutive years.
The theme of this year’s competition was “Animal World”, so two Chinese contestants were inspired by Zootopia. With Lin in charge of the baguettes, brioches and other breads, and Lin in charge of the artistic side of things, they finished making almost 200 loaves of bread within the allotted time frame.
Incorporating Chinese elements into their creations, they used spiced sausages, jasmine flowers, perilla, Tibetan barley powder, cumin, onions and Yunnan rose, among others, in their creations.
In particular, their ‘Panda Bread’, as well as the 1.5 meter high ‘Rabbit Officer’ and the 0.5 meter high ‘Leopard Officer’, received unanimous praise from the judges.
Hailing from Pizhou, the home town of ginkgo in China, Feng also brought this special specialty to the competition arena and fashioned it into the shape of a bee. Feng said, “Using ginkgo to make bees is a way for people in my hometown to feel ‘working hard like a bee’. I hope to one day bring more elements of my hometown to the world.”
According to Yangtze Evening NewsFeng was very interested in pastry in his youth and later became a leader in the industry. He has won not only gold medals in many national and world competitions, but also titles such as May Day Innovation Expert in Jiangsu Province, National Technology Expert and National Light Industry Technology Expert.
The German Championships are one of the three major bread competitions in the world, launched in 1949 and jointly sponsored by the German Bakers’ Federation and the International Federation of Bakers, Confectioners and Allied Workers’ Associations.