Last January, Malaysia won the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie for the first time. We talked with Otto Tay, MingAi Loi, and Wei Loon Tan, the team members, about how their victory will have an impact on pastry being more common in the Asian country, what aspects have to be combined to win this championship, and how they have prepared for this edition of the Cup, among other issues of interest to all those countries that want to play a good role in the future in the most prestigious pastry competition in the world.

How do you get involved in the pastry trade? Have you all learned your skills at the Academy of Pastry Arts?

Otto Tay.- Since I was 7 years old, I knew I had a love for baking and pastry. When I was old enough, I decided to study in a Pastry Institute and graduated at the age of 21. Then I started my job in the Hotel Food and Beverage sector. After I worked for few years in the Hotel industry, I chose to enter the Academy of Pastry Arts and became a pastry chef instructor in order to teach and share my knowledge to the younger generations. Even though I am no longer working in this Academy, it is the place where I met and learned from a lot of talented guest chefs from all around the world.

MingAi Loi.- I started my career at the age of 20 and learned from local pastry shop for three years. At age 24, I decided to study at the Academy of Pastry Arts in order to gain more knowledge and skills. That is where I started to participate in pastry competitions to sharpen my skills. After I graduated, I made a move to the industry and worked at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center to get more exposure. Then when I was 26, I worked for a restaurant in Beijing, China in order to obtain overseas working experience. After a year, I came back to Malaysia to work for the Academy of Pastry Arts to be a Pastry Chef instructor and continue to polish my skills while teaching.

Wei Loon Tan.- I used to work in the hotel industry in my early 20s and I learned from different chefs to strengthen my basic skills in pastry. When I moved to the Academy of Pastry Arts, I got to meet and work with a lot of experienced pastry chefs every year. All these pastry chefs are either MOF or world champions. All these encounters and sharing throughout the years helped me to build a better understanding of pastry and how to be one of the best pastry chefs.

Do you think that being instructors of the Academy of Pastry Arts has made your training for the CMP grand finale easier?

Otto Tay.- I am currently working as Corporate Pastry Chef for Dobla Asia Pacific. It has never been easy for me since my work is based in Vietnam. Starting the month of August 2018, I had to travel back to Malaysia every weekend just to train with my teammates and intense training was necessary. Dobla was very supportive throughout my training period by handling my transportation and my working schedule in a more efficient way. Not to mention, the Academy of Pastry Arts was helpful as well by providing a classroom for our training purposes.

MingAi Loi.- I would say yes. This is because being an instructor, passing your knowledge to your students is the objective. So, it pushes me to expand my knowledge on food and technical skills. Gaining more knowledge will always be useful and will be of good use in the future when needed under circumstances. Also, the facilities provided in the Academy of Pastry Arts certainly made it easier for us to train since all the tools and equipment are within reach and we were able to mobilize them easily.

Wei Loon Tan.- Yes, definitely. I have been working in the Academy of Pastry Arts since the school first opened. The Academy of Pastry Arts always provides different methods to improve ourselves, in terms of skills and time. Most of us were nobody when we joined the Academy of Pastry Arts but as years passed, it has made us who we are today by always organizing trainings for us, supportive in competing locally and internationally, and providing resources (ingredients, equipment, tools, etc) that needed for either events or competitions.  

Do you have many previous experiences in competitions before the last Asian Pastry Cup?

Otto Tay.- Yes. I had participated in various local competitions in Malaysia that I lost count of. Also, I participated in three editions of the Asian Pastry Cup: in 2012, 2014 and 2018. The reason for all these competitions that I joined is for me to become stronger and have the chance to compete in the CMP. This year is the 3rd year I competed in the CMP.

MingAi Loi.- I participated in different kinds of pastry competitions since 2013, but the CMP is my first time. It was a good experience for me, I am honored that I got the chance to compete in CMP 2019 with the team.

Wei Loon Tan.- Yes. 2012 in Mondial des Arts Sucres (as Candidate). In 2013 and 2015 in the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtissière (as Candidate). In 2014 and 2018 in the Asia Pastry Cup (as Candidate). In 2016 in the Asia Pastry Cup (as Team Manager). In 2017 in the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtissière (as Team Manager)

How many times have you dedicated training for the Coupe du Monde? Has it been easy for you to organize your trainings?

Otto Tay.- We had more than 15 trial runs as a team and each training takes up to ten hours. It was never easy since I had no choice but to travel back and forth between Vietnam and Malaysia every week. For instance, I reached Malaysia from Vietnam on Friday; preparation for Saturday’s 10-hour trial run; travel back to Vietnam on the Sunday. It was truly exhausting not only for me, but for my assistants as well because when I was not in Malaysia, they were the one who were responsible for my training’s preparation and I had to make training arrangements through calls.

MingAi Loi.- It was approximately 15 times. It was quite tough for the three of us to get together, especially when one of my teammates is based in Vietnam. So, it was difficult to organize the same schedule to train at the same time. But fortunately for my superior/employer – Chef Niklesh was the one who arranged our teaching timetable so that it doesn’t clash with our training schedule. He also provided a kitchen and ingredients for us to do our training.

Wei Loon Tan.- The training started half a year before the competition, and we trained together for 10-hour each session almost 15 times. It had never been easy to assemble everyone as one of our teammates is currently staying in Vietnam for work. Even though we could arrange the trial run’s preparation in the Academy of Pastry Arts, due to everyone’s inconsistency of schedule, it took awhile to adjust.