CDI Student Team Wins 1st Place at Makro HoReCa Start-up Pitching Challenge 2025 with Roasted Duck Red Curry Bread
Congratulations to Team Gaeng Go Bun from the Culinary Arts and Design (CDI) program, led by Mr. Thianthong Wattaro, Mr. Jackrin Pichayanapakul, Miss Suchanan Sirirat and Miss Thunyarat Chaisittiroungkul, who won first place at the Makro HoReCa Start-up Pitching Challenge 2025 during the 18th Makro HoReCa 2025 Thailand's Largest Food Business Exihibition, held at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani.
A Challenging and Creative Competition
The Makro HoReCa Start-up Pitching Challenge 2025 was a unique platform that went beyond traditional cooking competitions. It combined culinary skills with business thinking under the concept "One Dish, One Concept," where participants had to create a signature dish that was not only delicious but could also be developed into a viable business model.
The competition required using Aro products to create special menus along with presenting business plans applicable to various formats—restaurants, cafes, Grab & Go concepts, or new business models in the HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant, Café) industry, emphasizing creativity, sustainable business planning, and professional pitching.
The Birth of a Creative Idea
When asked about the origin of their success, the team shared that this was their first competition, but their determination and passion for cooking led them to participate immediately. "From the given challenge, we wanted to create a dish that showcased Thai identity while being accessible to foreigners. We brainstormed and thought of Japanese curry bread, which is well-known and popular, but no one had applied this concept to Thai curry. This sparked the creative idea of roasted duck red curry bread, combining Japanese-style food presentation with authentic Thai flavors."
The choice of roasted duck red curry came from research showing that Aro products included high-quality duck, and roasted duck red curry is a popular dish in Thai restaurants that foreigners recognize well.
The Journey to Perfection Was Not Easy
After getting the idea, bringing it to reality became a greater challenge than expected. "We drew inspiration from Japanese curry bread, so we chose Japanese donut bread as the base. For the roasted duck red curry filling, we adapted recipes we learned and developed them for bread filling."
The first trial succeeded beyond expectations, but when scaling up production for the second attempt, problems emerged. "This time we made larger quantities and encountered many issues because our bread was handmade. The first problem was soggy dough from too much curry liquid, but when we reduced the liquid, the dough became dry and cracked. There were also issues with uneven filling distribution." Through determination and teamwork, they continuously developed and refined the recipe until achieving bread with the perfect texture—not soggy, easy to wrap, and evenly filled.
The challenges didn't end there. When entering the storage phase, the team faced new problems once again. "The matter of storage at the right temperature is very important, because the roasted duck red curry filling is a coconut milk-based curry. We had to make the bread stay as firm as possible. Additionally, we had chef instructors from the Culinary Arts and Design program providing consultation on developing and improving the quality of the curry-filled bread and packaging. Finally, we found the optimal point and were able to produce a large batch to successfully enter the actual competition round."
Pitching: Transforming a Great Menu into a Start-up Business
Beyond creating a quality menu, what made this competition different was the emphasis on presenting business plans through pitching—a new challenge for culinary students. "Another critical aspect was planning a real business from our created menu—what would it look like if we actually sold it?" The team described their preparation: "We had many meetings about this, but fortunately, we had A.Sarntoon Wuttisaksripol, a guest lecturer from the Entrepreneurship and Business Management Faculty, who helped us structure our business plan, providing close guidance from business structure planning to Q&A preparation and techniques for winning over the judges."
After the presentation, judges provided both praise and challenging questions, but they answered confidently and received valuable advice on cost calculation, reasonable pricing, and the importance of clear product branding.
Lessons More Valuable Than Awards
While winning was an honor, what the team gained was worth more. "This competition gave us a more realistic view of actual work. We understood that everyone has their own thoughts and different opinions, so working together requires finding common ground."
Regarding the biggest challenge: "The hardest part was preparing the business plan pitching—calculating business costs, various expenses, and preparing to answer questions."
Strengths Leading to Victory
When asked about their success factors, the team gave a clear answer: "The main thing was how we interpreted the brief, which was Grab & Go and creating a real business. Roasted duck red curry bread perfectly fits the Grab & Go concept with convenient, fast sales. Customers don't wait long and receive hot, delicious food. The secret is in the production process. We designed it so customers could get food quickly. This roasted duck red curry bread can be frozen in advance, and when it's time to sell, it only takes 5 minutes to deep-fry for hot, delicious food."
The team also shared knowledge from their studies: "Many people mistakenly believe frozen food isn't delicious. In culinary education, freezing is actually the most suitable method for selling Grab & Go food without losing flavor."แ
Inspiration for the Future
The path from student to future entrepreneur begins with small steps like entering competitions, learning from mistakes, and never giving up. Roasted duck red curry bread may be just the beginning, but the lessons and experience gained will be an important foundation for creating future food innovations.
