Taiwan Today

In the charged silence of the 2022 Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in Paris, Justin Wu (武子靖) stood by his oven as the judges approached, the timer’s final ticks as loud as his own heartbeat. His baguettes and specialty breads, with their crisp crusts and yeasty interiors accented with Taiwan fruit like jujubes, mangoes and strawberries, were ready to be tasted. The next thing he remembers is the roar of the audience as he won the gold medal, a peak baking achievement for Taiwan. “It felt like time froze when the first and second runners-up were announced,” Wu recalled. His victory, alongside Lee Chung-wei (李忠威) in Viennoiserie and Hsu Shao-huan (徐紹桓) in Artistic Design, topped 11 nations, including France and the Netherlands. The teams’ use of local ingredients set their wares apart and impressed the judges.

Raising Aid
Western baking in Taiwan started during the period of U.S. aid after World War II, which saw large quantities of wheat donated to the people of Taiwan. The wheat was ground by local mills and used not only to make steamed buns and noodles but also white bread and sweet buns. In 1962 the China Grain Products Research and Development Institute set up the American Wheat Association, a branch of the U.S. Wheat Associates, to promote Western-style breads and cakes. It also recruited students and sent them to the U.S. to learn baking skills. The institute set up Taiwan’s first Baking Techniques Training Class in Taipei City in November 1967. It was such a success that it moved to larger premises in 1982 and has since trained generations of bakers and confectioners.

Recent decades have seen the rise of European-style breads with crisp crusts and fermented yeast dough as increasing numbers of students study abroad. Founded in 1946, the Taipei Bakery Association (TBA) has successfully nurtured the rise of baking, championing the use of local ingredients like dried longan, taro and red beans. Its future vision includes zero-waste goals for 300 bakeries by 2026. Travel exposes Taiwan palates to bread and patisserie in Asia and beyond, sparking domestic demand for giant croissants, sourdough loaves and Korean dirty buns—chocolate-filled bread sprinkled with pure cocoa powder—and ensuring a strong economic sector.

In its 2023 Taiwan Baking Trends Survey, the TBA noted that, based on consumer surveys and data collected by the Ministry of the Interior’s Department of Household Affairs, the estimated size of Taiwan’s bread market was about NT$70.8 billion (US$2.15 billion) a year. The number of independent bakeries in Taiwan as of June the same year totaled 5,760, an increase of nearly 200 stores compared with January last year. The surge in bread consumption also reflects Taiwan’s training resources and entrepreneurial spirit, met by a growing consumer passion for bread from small independent shops.

On a Roll

The TBA’s March 2025 Taipei International Bakery Show (TIBS) spanned 1,563 booths displaying high-end equipment and ingredients. It drew more than 160,000 visitors over four days, elevating the profile of Taiwan’s baking industry and positioning it as a global leader. Concurrent with the exhibition are various baking and confectionery skills competitions for both youthful and experienced bakers that provide young hopefuls with the valuable experience of cooking under pressure. At least 17 technical universities in Taiwan offer courses that include catering skills, and the perception of the industry has shifted as the media pays greater attention to domestic bakers winning international competitions.

“My family baked at home,” Wu said, recalling how he started learning baking during his first year of high school. His parents supported his career choice, but it was not an easy path as he spent many nights experimenting with recipes, all the while working with oven burns and aching arms, until his baguettes and breads were at a level to win. “I wanted Taiwan’s essence in every bite,” he said, describing how he weaves local flavors into recipes honed through relentless trials. The Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie is the highest-level competition he has ever participated in, and he refined his technique daily for the challenge. “That medal wasn’t just for me; it was for every baker in Taiwan who dared to dream of recognition,” he said.

In 2023 Wu took the role of head coach of the champion team at the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners’ (UIBC) International Competition of Young Bakers. That same year he was honored as the UIBC World Baker of the Year, an annual title awarded to only one individual. Wu was the first person from Taiwan to receive the distinction. “It’s like being at home everywhere when I bake,” he said. His gold medal, earned in competition against teams ranging from the Netherlands to Senegal, hangs in his own bakery as both prize and challenge, urging others to follow.

Starter Culture
Even as a gold medal winner, Wu is still up every day at the break of dawn in Tainan’s West Central District, where the air around his bakery, Ninao, carries a warm, unmistakable aroma of yeast and sweetness as the first light filters through the southern city’s streets. Amid the kitchen heat, dough yields to kneading by skilled hands, and tray by tray, wares appear in the shop. The sun climbs, casting golden light as a line of eager customers forms outside to buy the soft white Taiwan buns that date back to the 1960s, which can be stuffed or topped with a range of ingredients spanning red beans, yellow custard, pork floss and chopped scallions. The most famous variety outside Taiwan is the pineapple bun, named not for its ingredients, but for its appearance achieved by criss-crossing cake mixture into squares on top of bread.

Kids hungry for a snack and older regulars greeted Wu as he stepped from the kitchen, flour dusting his apron. More than a bakery, Ninao is a community, where the warm scents and familiar offerings draw residents and visitors together. Wu’s path from Paris gold medal winner to Tainan local hero has certainly inspired others. “Baking is for everyone,” he declared during a workshop where novices kneaded dough under his steady gaze. Dozens of teens have shaped their first loaves under his careful eye, and he is immensely proud of them. “They’re my team and our future,” he said. In an act of quiet gratitude, Wu donates surplus bread to charities, ensuring every crumb serves the Tainan community that shaped him. 
 

Write to Krakias Kai at kwhuang@mofa.gov.tw