Taiwanese baker Eric Hsu won first place in a king cake (galette des rois) competition in the French department of Alpes-Maritimes.
Earlier this month, he won the department’s first-ever king cake competition, organized by the Federation des Maitres Boulangers et Boulangers-Patissiers des Alpes-Maritimes (Federation of Master Bakers and Bakers-Pastry Chefs of the Alpes-Maritimes), and was subsequently labeled the “king of king cake” by local media.
Hsu said in a media interview on Wednesday that he did not think it would be possible for him to triumph, as king cake is a culturally French dish and he is from overseas.
Photo courtesy of Eric Hsu
“I feel very happy and proud to have been awarded first place,” he said.
Hailing from Toufen in Miaoli County, Hsu traveled to Paris in 1998 to visit his brother who was running a bakery in Paris, and subsequently decided to stay and learn the art of breadmaking from him.
He then started working in different bakeries in 2000 before opening up his own business in Toulon, France, in 2008.
He returned to Taiwan in 2014 and stayed until last year, opening four bakeries in Taipei, writing three baking cookbooks and even doing a bit of culinary teaching. After returning to France, he opened “Emotion Bakery” in the town of Cagnes-sur-Mer in Alpes-Maritimes.
Being immersed in two cultures is an asset, Hsu said.
“In Asia, the product needs to look perfect, so bakers tend to add decorative patterns to the cake, while in France the taste and filling are the most important,” he said. “I applied some Asian techniques, which caught the jury’s attention.”
Hsu said he attached just as much importance to the ingredients used, choosing “appellation of origin” butter and bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar, instead of vanilla extract.
King cake is a traditional French pastry with a frangipane filling, associated with the Epiphany in Catholicism and celebrated each Jan. 6.
Hsu’s win prompted long queues outside Emotion Bakery on Tuesday, the day his king cakes went on sale. “I baked cakes till 4am, but I am so happy. This award means a lot to me.”
Congratulations poured in from across the town, including from the mayor, who invited him to a New Year’s banquet, Hsu said.
Hsu is set to represent Alpes-Maritimes in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur regional competition and hopes to advance to the national competition.
Hsu also adds an Asian touch to other creations in his bakery, including his tea-flavored chiffon cake roll, milk bread and sea salt butter rolls.
“I am influenced by Taiwanese and French culture, and my work reflects what I’ve learned from both,” he said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS