The Battle of the Pastry & Bakery Chefs 2025, held from 18/7 to 20/7 in Penang, saw the Vietnam team achieve outstanding success with 16 gold, 5 silver, and 11 bronze medals. The team also won the overall championship trophy.
 |
Chefs from Nhat Huong Academy receive medals at the competition. Photo: Nhat Huong Group |
Chefs from Nhat Huong Academy receive medals at the competition. Photo: Nhat Huong Group
Instructors from the Nhat Huong Baking Vocational Center, part of Nhat Huong Group, played a significant role in this victory. Chef Pham Hai Anh, a cake and European pastry instructor at Nhat Huong Academy, secured three medals. She won gold in the Modern Stylish Wedding Cake Display category, silver in The Moon Cake Visionary category, and another gold with Pham Thi Som in the Merrylady Dress A 2 Tiers Cake team event.
 |
Chef Pham Hai Anh creating a wedding cake. Photo: Nhat Huong Group |
Chef Pham Hai Anh creating a wedding cake. Photo: Nhat Huong Group
Chef Hai Anh initially pursued baking as a hobby. Starting with small cakes for family and friends, she discovered a true passion. A turning point came when she enrolled in a professional course at Nhat Huong, which provided her with the foundation to turn her passion into a career. After several years, she transitioned from student to instructor, inspiring young people with her philosophy that "baking is a blend of technique and cultural storytelling."
For her first international competition, Chef Hai Anh chose three categories, requiring meticulous preparation in concept, technique, and endurance. Beyond time constraints, she had to adapt to international competition conditions, from ingredients and equipment to the climate. However, she viewed these challenges as opportunities for learning and growth.
All three of Chef Hai Anh's competition pieces showcased Vietnamese identity: from the dragon and phoenix imagery on the wedding cake and the conical hat and lotus flower motifs to the mooncakes evoking the spirit of Tet reunion (Lunar New Year).
"Through my entries, I tell the story of Vietnam," she explained, "because every international competition is not just a display of skill, but also a chance to share our national culture."
 |
Chef Hai Anh's mooncake creation at the competition. Photo: Nhat Huong Group |
Chef Hai Anh's mooncake creation at the competition. Photo: Nhat Huong Group
To support her creative endeavors, Nhat Huong Group sponsored all the decorating cream for the Vietnamese team. The contestants praised the quality of Nhat Huong's cream, particularly the Silver line, for its smooth texture, ease of use, and durability.
Nhat Huong Group is a leading Vietnamese enterprise in the production and distribution of baking and beverage ingredients. The company boasts a comprehensive ecosystem: manufacturing cream and other baking and beverage ingredients; providing vocational training in baking and beverage making; and operating a supermarket chain supplying ingredients and equipment for these industries. Nhat Huong's representatives expressed their desire for each student to not only master the techniques but also cultivate creative thinking.
The Battle of the Pastry & Bakery Chefs 2025 brought together over 400 professional and semi-professional chefs from various countries, under the supervision of Worldchefs (World Association of Chefs' Societies). This year's Vietnamese team comprised 15 chefs. The team was jointly organized and led by the Saigon Chefs Association (Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association) and the Vietnam Pastry Association (Vietnam Tourism Association).
Thanh Thu
