“I always want the best”
While not the sole reason for her sweet success, politeness played a key role in seeing Judy Lan (Baking and Pastry Arts ’23) become Canada’s representative in baking at WorldSkills 2024, to be held in Lyon, France.
Certainly, there are her skills to consider first. Early in her program, chair Alan Dumonceaux (Baking ’05) recognized an aptitude he felt could propel Lan through the regional competition at SkillsAlberta, then nationals at SkillsCanada and perhaps beyond. He asked her if she’d try.
“I’m not great at saying no,” says Lan, with a laugh. “So I just said yes.”
Having demonstrated a talent for everything from bread (currently, she works at Brio Bakery, a sourdough specialty shop owned by Todd Barraclough, Management ’17) to pastries to sugar sculpture, the 20-year-old baker will soon start preparing for a global event often billed as the Olympics of the trades.
Here’s a look at the other ingredients that have combined to make Lan one of Canada’s hottest young bakers.
Practise, with a dash of persistence
When Lan and a training partner first began to work on the series of tasks (three cakes, tarts and an artistic chocolate showpiece) they knew they’d face at the skills competitions, the list seemed daunting. In fact, on the first go, they couldn’t complete them in the allotted time.
“Me and my classmate looked at each other thinking that maybe we should just quit."
“Me and my classmate looked at each other thinking that maybe we should just quit because this is embarrassing,” says Lan. “But we still thought maybe we can give it another try.”
By their fourth go, their technique was as refined as white flour, and Lan was ready to go.
A dollop of drive
“I always want the best, which is kind of ambitious,” says Lan, who recognizes that she habitually holds herself to a high standard.
“But I just wanted first [place], and then I got it. So that made me happy. And it got me to SkillsCanada.”
Good coaching, to taste
Dumonceaux and other instructors helped Lan hone the skills she’d been working on since embracing the hobby as a teenager, after coming to Canada from Taiwan in the late-2000s. But the training was also collaborative, she notes.
“He had lots of ideas,” says Lan. “Our ideas aren't always the same, but we can talk and then get to a middle ground, which both of us liked. And then we just went with that.”
An ample ability to multitask
The SkillsCanada National competition was held on May 25 and 26 in Winnipeg. For a student wrapping up her program, this timing presented a challenge.
Training only began in early April, says Lan. In the meantime, school didn’t stop. “It just kind of made it more stressful.” Nevertheless, she found a way to manage the workload, ensuring that she’ll cross the stage at NAIT convocation in late June.
Confidence, artificial or natural
When it came time to compete, Lan was nervous – the pressure was on to do a lot of work in a short time. She willed herself to not let that get the best of her, keeping as cool as chilled cookie dough.
“I wouldn’t say I was confident but I stayed calm and just had positive thoughts, because that's the only way to get through it.”
Throughout, Dumonceaux cheered her on. “Alan just kept saying to me that he believed I could do it, and it kept me going.”
More than a pinch of patience
Most competitions at SkillsCanada spanned two days. Baking, however, was one, and held on the first day. Results were announced only once all the events were done – with the baking outcome saved almost cruelly for last.
“I was nervous and waiting,” says Lan.
When she was revealed as the winner of the event, “I heard my name and I went up. I was kind of shaking on stage … from being nervous and happy at the same time.
"I saw Alan with a big smile on his face, filming me, and that made me happy, too.”
Another portion of practise
Lan won’t know the scope of work that will be required at WorldSkills, but Dumonceaux is certain part of it will involve sculpting sugar. Luckily, he knows a guy.
Between now and the event in late-summer 2024, Lan will train with one of Dumonceaux’s colleagues in France.
“It's definitely a learning opportunity,” she says. During her time at NAIT, she had limited time to spend on the unique culinary art form. “This gives me more time to know about sugar and get comfortable with it.”
A healthy dose of hands-on learning
As a home baker, Lan wowed friends and family with cakes, cookies and more. But she knows that she needed a formal education to expand her understanding of all that baking encompasses.
“At NAIT, we kind of touched on everything,” she says. “I didn't know sugar and chocolate showpieces existed.”
A touch of dreaming (balanced with a strong focus on the moment)
One day, Lan would like to devote more time to cakes and confections – perhaps, she says, as an employee in a famous bakery. For her, it would be the next stage of learning a craft she has come to love.
But the reality, says Lan, is that “I haven’t thought that far yet.”
For now, though, her focus is on the next stage of competition. Her career to come will be the icing on a cake that – given the expectations she’ll have of herself again – she may be just about to bake.