Instructor Zheng-sheng Lin from the Department of Hospitality Management of STUST recently led three freshman students from the technical excellence class— Hong-yu Chen, Jing-shiang Su, and Hui-zhen Tsai—to participate in the 2023 UAPP WPC. They won three gold medals in the display competition, and Hong-yu Chen won a silver medal in the competition of fresh cream cake decoration.

【Jing-shiang Su (first from left) and Hui-zhen Tsai (second from left) from the Department of Hospitality Management, STUST, were taking a group photo with their instructor Zheng-sheng Lin (second from right) and their team mate Hong-yu Chen (first from right) after the competition.】

The organizer of this competition was the Union of Asian Professional Photography for Fashion, Aesthetic and Culinary Arts. The co-organizers were composed of 30 domestic universities of science and technology, high schools, vocational colleges, and industrial and commercial associations. The UAPP has members from nine countries, including Taiwan, Japan, China, South Korea, Thailand, India, Singapore , Philippines, Malaysia. The purpose of the competition was to enhance culinary creation and mutual observation, research and development of new technologies, information and cultural exchanges with international industry and academia through the UAPP WPC.

【Hong-yu Chen from the Department of Hospitality Management, STUST, won a gold medal in the 2023 UAPP WPC with his work.】

The award-winning students from STUST participated in the categories of plated desserts, fresh cream cake decoration, and souvenir display of the competition. Among them, the category of plated desserts was the one with which students made their first contact, so they had to learn from scratch. The two students practiced intensively in a short period of time, and their works won 2 gold medals in this category, which verified the fruitful results of the practical experience of learning from teachers. Hui-zhen Tsai, a freshman student in the evening department, challenged herself to make a souvenir display gift box for the first time. She carefully conceived her idea and spent a lot of time practicing to live up to expectations and win the gold medal. Another freshman in the evening department, Jing-shiang Su set out to challenge himself and won the gold medal in his first competition, which deserves recognition from the judges.

【Jing-shiang Su from the Department of Hospitality Management, STUST, won a gold medal in the 2023 UAPP WPC with his work.】

The day before the competition, Hong-yu Chen had to prepare his work again in the hotel room in the middle of the night, due to the damage to the cake while being transported. He only slept for one hour that day. In order to present the work in the best possible condition in the last time, he persisted and worked hard. The attitude of never giving up until the last moment was worth praising, while the process of transporting works from the south to the north was difficult. When students encounter setbacks, they always have the encouragement and guidance of teachers, allowing them to maintain a positive attitude to tale the challenge of the competition.

【Hui-zhen Tsai from the Department of Hospitality Management, STUST, won a gold medal in the 2023 UAPP WPC.】

The gold medal-winning student shared his post-match remarks. He said that they greatly benefited the resources of STUST as well as the rich professional experience and guidance of their directors in the department—Jia-sheng Yeh and Zheng-sheng Lin—which were the key to breaking through the bottleneck. He did not like studying when he was in junior high school, but he was very interested in catering. They turned their passions for baking into reality at STUST after learning from their teachers and improve their professional skills. They won the gold medal in the first competition, which increased their confidence. They will work and study harder in the future to prove that students from universities of science and technology can also make a career.

【Hong-yu Chen from the Department of Hospitality Management, STUST, won a silver medal in the 2023 UAPP WPC with his work.】

【Hong-yu Chen and Jing-shiang Su from the Department of Hospitality Management, STUST, were assembling their plate-shaped dim sum work in the contest.】