Young baker tastes success in global event

Zhang Ziyang is hoping to see his career continue to rise. Cheng Si reports.

Winning a bronze medal at the 45th WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia, in late August was not a finale for Zhang Ziyang, who was involved in the baking event, but a fresh start for his career.

"I think some time or another, I will win the world baking championship, but there is still a long way to go, requiring greater efforts and patience," the 20-year-old said.

Zhang, from the Wang Sen Institute of Western Cuisine in Suzhou, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, first came into contact with WorldSkills when he acted as a volunteer for his school's trials for the 2017 competition, which was held in Abu Dhabi.

"Back then, I thought the competition was really cool and amazing, and I hoped that one day I would be one of the competitors on the world stage," he said.

Zhang said his poor academic performance in junior high school led his parents to send him to his uncle's bakery to learn how to make cakes at age 16.

"Academic studying won't bring me a good life; maybe cakes can," he said, laughing. "Initially, I didn't like learning to bake because I had no patience for the work. But gradually, I found it really interesting because delicious desserts can make customers happy."

Having followed master bakers for a year, Zhang won a place at the institute in 2016 to learn how to make bread.