About Zhou Yi
Zhou Yi is a Chinese sugar artist. This page presents his biography, international recognition and artistic philosophy.
Biography
Zhou Yi is a Chinese master of fondant cake art, dough sculpture, pulled-sugar art and food carving, and the author of 15 published books on sugar art and food carving. Heir to a distinguished craft lineage, Zhou Yi studied under Master Wang Long, the fourth-generation inheritor of the renowned Beijing 'Mianren Cao' dough-sculpture school, whose own teacher Master Peng Xiaoping was honored by UNESCO as a Folk Arts and Crafts Master. He founded SK Sugar King Studio (Sugar King International Fondant Academy, formerly I Am Chef Academy), one of China's leading baking-art training institutions, whose free online tutorials in dough sculpture, food carving, pulled sugar and jam painting have reached more than 150,000 learners. By fusing traditional Chinese dough-sculpture hand techniques with Western fondant craft, and by developing his own fondant paste formulations, Zhou Yi created a signature style that brings Chinese historical and cultural figures vividly to life in sugar.
International Awards
2017 — Cake International (UK): 3 Gold and 2 Bronze awards with his team; his work 'Wu Zetian' won Best in Show, the highest award of the competition. 2018 — Cake Masters Awards: Modelling Excellence Award, the highest international honor for figurine cake modelling; and Cake Artist of the Year, the year's top international fondant cake design honor. 2019 — Cake International (UK): 4 Gold awards with his team.
International Competitions
2017 Cake International, Birmingham, UK — team entry: 3 Gold and 2 Bronze; 'Wu Zetian' named Best in Show. 2018 Cake Masters Awards — global nominee; winner of the Modelling Excellence Award and Cake Artist of the Year. 2019 Cake International, Birmingham, UK — team entry: 4 Gold awards, selected from thousands of entries worldwide.
Exhibitions
[EXHIBITION PLACEHOLDER]
Media Coverage
Zhou Yi's award-winning works have been covered by People's Daily Online, BBC, CCTV-4 (Chinese International), Global Times, Beijing Youth Daily, Tencent News, Toutiao, China News Service, Pear Video and Ergeng Video, and trended twice on Weibo's hot search list. He has been invited to major Chinese TV programs including Happy Camp, Day Day Up, Chinese Dream Show and the CCTV-3 Chinese New Year gala special. At Cake International, his award-winning work received high praise from pop star Jolin Tsai, who shared it with her own followers.
Artistic Philosophy
“Dough sculpture was born in China; fondant comes from the West. I never saw a choice between them — fondant is simply a new carrier for an old craft. The pinching, rolling and sculpting techniques of Chinese dough art live on in my fondant work. As long as the craft is passed on, it will never disappear — whether the medium is dough or sugar.”