In the wake of the international Cake Champions competition I caught up with the incredibly talented, Minh Tang of Comin Bakehouse (Saigon, Vietnam).
Minh scooped up first prize in TWO categories of the International Cake Champions competition! Her stunning, sweet art came out tops in the One Tier Wonder beginners category, as well as in the Fairy Tale Wedding Cakes category.
What a true pleasure it is for Flavour Nation to be a cash prize sponsor for both these categories of the Cake Champions competition!
Congratulations, Minh!
Interview with Minh Tang of COMIN Bakehouse
Let’s dive right in…
Dalene: Where did your love for baking come from?
Minh: During winter I often wanted to bake a real good cake for myself, and so my baking journey began. I fell in love with the freshly baked cake aroma from the oven. It made me feel warm and cheerful; most of my troubled thoughts become insignificant.
Dalene: Where did you hear about the Cake Champions competition?
Minh: I heard from a friend.
Dalene: How long have you been baking for?
Minh: I’ve been baking breads for 4 years, but in the recent 2 years, I started to make cakes.
Dalene: I see you’re located in Vietnam! What is the baking scene like over there? Are there a number of home-based baking businesses that serve the community, or are there more traditional shops where families go to purchase cakes and sweet treats?
Minh: We have a variety of bakeries, mostly traditional bakeries selling mass produced, industrial manufactured kinds. There are many home based bakeries. I am one of which, developed into small a to medium sized bakeries. Some go into pastry, some go into cakes. Overall, the market has started to develop very quickly in recent years.
I want to become a Cake Designer, and open a cake studio, making cake, teaching and collaborating with other cake artists all around the world.
Dalene: Which three cake artists do you admire most?
Minh: I would say, Lima cake, Tortika Annuchka,and Glena Gnut.
Dalene: Tell us a little bit about the cakes you entered into the competition. Which elements were the most challenging or enjoyable for you to create?
Minh: The most challenging aspect is to work out the design, especially to combine classic and modern elements.
I love painting so the most enjoyable element is the lower tiered cake. Flowers is also my interest but the effort and time put in for one wafer paper flower is a little hard to be called enjoyable but the result often brings joy.
For the fairy tale wedding cake, I struggled a bit with designs because I didn’t want it to be too traditional, but ‘fairy tale’ is something linked strongly with my childhood memories, with traditional aspect of my life, so to add a more modern approach to it required a lot of thinking.
For the one tiered wonder cake, I tried to work with my composition using knowledge from real flower arranging classes and books.
Dalene: How have you learned, and levelled up your craft over the years?
Minh: I’m self taught. I learn from paper art, flower art, painting, architecture … I also learn form books and other cake artists. My skills levelled up over the years thanks to a mix of techniques from many form of arts.
Dalene: Do you have an inspiring quote about life, or being creative that speaks to your heart?
Minh: “If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you’re right.” This inspiring quote motivates me quite often when i fall out of my comfort zone.
Dalene: Do you have a piece of advice or encouragement that you’d like to share for anyone who is thinking about getting into baking as a creative outlet, or as a profession?
Minh: When you start baking and creating, failure is a part of your journey. Don’t be scared. Keep trying, the way you fail is the way you learn.
Dalene: Minh, thank you so much for being open to share, and for giving us a peek into what (and who) inspires you to create the wonder you bring to the world of sweet art!
Check out Minh Tang’s COMIN bakehouse portfolio of delicious artistry, over at her Instagram and Facebook profiles! What a treat!
