Taiwan has come in fourth at one of the world’s most important confectionary competitions. On Monday two Taiwanese contestants received the highest placement yet for the country at the biannual Mondial des Arts Sucres in Paris.
The mondial is a competition between countries centered around ornate creations made with sugar. This year 14 countries sent teams of one man and one woman to create seven unique pieces of chocolates and cakes in 20 hours. This year’s gold prize went to France, followed by Japan and Malaysia winning silver and bronze.
This year’s Taiwanese team chose the Amazon rainforest as its theme. The two team members spent four months getting ready for the competition, often practicing after they finished work.
The team used crowdfunding platforms to raise needed money in preparation for the event. Though they originally set out to raise NT$20,000, public support was so great that they ended up collecting over NT$140,000.
Honorary competition chair and famous chocolatier Pierre Marcolini says Taiwanese participant Wang Chia-cheng (王家承) had a great attitude. He says Wang worked diligently from morning to night.
Meanwhile, Wang says he’s honored to fly the Taiwanese flag at international competitions. He thanks all those who supported his team’s efforts and hopes it improves Taiwanese sweets.