“We were overwhelmed with pride and joy when the ’Negaraku’ was played to the spectators at the World Pastry Cup and those watching live around the world. It truly showcased our spirit of Malaysia Boleh!” says Patrick Siau, Head Chef of Sunway University School of Hospitality.

While there are many firsts when it comes to Malaysians receiving international recognition, Malaysia’s very first win at the Coupe du Monde la Patisserie – World Pastry Cup 2019 held in Lyon, France has definitely taken the whole country by surprise when it comes to expertise in pastry.

When it comes to food, Malaysia continues to top as one of the few countries in the world with the most culturally diverse food options. In 2017, the world began to notice some of the most prevalent chef novices from Malaysia when Diana Chan, a Malaysian-born contestant won Masterchef Australia Season 9.

In January 2019, World Pastry Cup – a World Pastry Cup championship, an ‘Oscar’ equivalent for the pastry chefs of the world – played ‘Negaraku’, the Malaysia National Anthem for the very first time. The Malaysia National Pastry Team, led by Head Chef Patrick Siau from Sunway University School of Hospitality, has won first prize.

The team which include Tan Wei Loon, Corporate Pastry Chef and Loi Ming Ai, Executive Pastry Chef of the Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia; and Otto Tay, Corporate Pastry Chef at Dobla Asia, has beaten 20 other teams from around the globe to become the world champion.

“I am absolutely delighted by this achievement by the Malaysia team led by our very own expert Chef Patrick Siau… We are all very proud of what he has achieved and of the glory he has brought to the nation,” says Professor Graeme Wilkinson, Vice-Chancellor of Sunway University.

In order to meet the judges’ top requirements, contesting team are required to creatively produce three chocolate desserts of Grand Cru Valrhona, three frozen desserts from the Ravifruit range, 15 identical desserts on plate and three artistic creations made of sugar, chocolate and an artistic piece carved out of hydric ice. With only 10 hours on the clock, the teams are also contested under a common theme of Nature, Flora and Fauna.

The APC, cited as the largest ‘live’ pastry competition in Asia is the most spectacular and highly accredited competition in its category and serves as the official pre-selection platform for the World Pastry Cup.

The winning team created a chocolate dessert named ‘La Nature’ inspired by the lotus leaf while the flavours of their frozen fruit dessert ‘La Papillon’ which featured a butterfly on a flower was inspired by Pierre Hermé’s Ispahan. For their plated dessert ‘La Floraison’, the team incorporated the pomelo, Ipoh’s famous fruit which was presented in a cup-form made of Granita.

Capturing the judges’ attention was the team’s artistic creation showcasing meticulously crafted monkeys dressed like Elvis with the King’s iconic pompadour made of isomalt sugar and chocolate.

The Malaysia team also received the Vase de Sevres prize, a prize donated by the President of the French Republic which is awarded to the country that scored the most points for the Tasting.

In the months prior to the competition, the School of Hospitality at Sunway University actively came together and organised several initiatives to help raise funds for the team’s trip to France.