Pastry chef Roger Fok started his professional career in 2006 at the Konglong hotel in Hong Kong before taking up the position of Pastry Supervisor at the JW Marriot (also in Hong Kong) where he works under the tutelage of some of the world’s most renowned chefs. Always out to improve his all-round skills and challenge his own limitations, Fok regularly partakes in culinary competitions. As a member of the Hong Kong national team he won first prize at the 2013 Salon Culinaire Mondial in Switzerland. His participation in the 2013 Top Patissiers in Asia, which was held in Japan, earned him third place.

“I love chocolate. My biggest motivation for participating in the World Chocolate Masters is to express my love for chocolate. Representing Hong Kong in this international competition and going to the final are a dream come true”, Fok confided to us.

After graduation from university, Hisashi Onobayashi joined Club Harie in 2002, where he currently holds the position of yokaichi harie-kan or chocolate sector chef. Always out to improve his skills, Hisashi participated in numerous competitions, earning himself a gold medal in the chocolate showpiece segment of the 2007 Japan Cake Show, first place in both the chocolate showpiece and entremet category at the 2010 Top of Pâtissier, and the world title as a member of the Japanese team at the 2012 World Pastry Team Championship in Texas, at which Hisashi also won the category award for best chocolate showpiece.

Hisashi participated in the national qualifiers for the previous two editions of the World Chocolate Masters, coming in second twice. Crowning himself 2015 Japanese Chocolate Master, he finally won the long-coveted ticket to Paris. And now he’s eager and ready to compete for the title of 2015 World Chocolate Master.

Sang Kyun Jeong briefly worked as a pastry chef at Napoleon Bakery before switching to the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, where he has been creating the most inspirational desert plates for the past 15 years. Sang Kyun Jeong is no stranger to the world of culinary championships either. Before earning a spot in the 2015 World Chocolate Masters final, the pastry chef won the grand prize at the 2010 Luxembourg Culinary Olympics and a gold medal in pastry at the 2012 German Culinary Olympics, and demonstrated his leadership skills as the captain of the Korean pastry team at the 2008 World Pastry Team Championship in the USA.

Sang Kyun Jeong says he draws inspiration for his creations from both nature and everyday life, ranging from the colours that paint the streets of Seoul to contemporary lifestyle trends. He typically gives a refreshingly innovative twist to traditional Korean ingredients.

After graduating from the Nankai University of Technology, Chia Feng Tsai started working in a local bakery shop. But his hunger for knowledge and experience soon led him to take up numerous pastry and chocolate training courses in Tokyo and France. Chia Feng Tsai is currently Production Department Chef at Feeling 18°C, a boutique that sells handmade pralines and pastry in Taichung, Taiwan. In 2013, the pastry chef participated in the Taiwan Gateaux Competition, for which his chocolate showpiece earned him third place, and took the gold at the Taiwan Ice Cream Contest.

With over 13 years of experience in pastry, Chia Feng Tsai is no stranger to the World Chocolate Masters competition either. His participation in the 2013 national qualifying round in Taiwan earned him third place. But this year’s entry didn’t do him any worse: Chia Feng Tsai returned home with the title of 2015 Taiwan Chocolate Master and a spot in the world final.

Read the report on the Taiwanese qualifying round.