Hualien student wins three gold medals in international sugar art competition

Huang Shih-chia, an architecture student from Hualien Vocational High School, won three gold medals at the 2026 IAFBC International Asian Food Beverage Challenge held in Okinawa, Japan. Under the guidance of coach Huang Xiang-han, Huang applied architectural principles of proportion, structure, space, and color to the art of sugar craft.

His winning categories included ‘Decorative Wagashi Display’, ‘Starry Sky Lollipops’, and ‘Creative Cupcake Design’. His Wagashi work, themed ‘The Whisper of Space: The Moment of Blooming’, utilized Nerikiri techniques to blend geometric architectural order with the fluid imagery of flowers.

The competition, held from August 27 to 30, featured 421 contestants from ten countries, including Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, Indonesia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Vietnam, and Finland.