Twenty-four contestants from 17 nations participated in the competition, which was by invitation only. Wu was invited to participate after having been part of a silver-medal team at both the Coupe Louis Lesaffre in 2007 and the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in 2008.
The rules stipulated that each contestant had eight hours to bake 250 bread items in such categories as traditional and untraditional baguettes, bread, sandwich loaves, and bread with a distinctive national flavor.
Wu, general supervisor of the Hogan Bakery in downtown Taipei, was the last contestant to enter the lists. For his cob bread entry, Wu placed a butterfly shape on the top of his cob, a stylistic twist that helped win the hearts of the judges.
When making his bread with national characteristics, Wu added a touch of both dried rose and lychee to his bread. According to Wu, his inspiration for the bread came after he fell deeply in love and wanted the recipient of his bread to feel that she was the luckiest woman in the world. The senior judges at the competition called Wu a “poetic baker.”
The newly-minted Master Baker cried tears of joy when receiving the award. He is scheduled to return to Taiwan March 12. (HZW)