In retrospect, it is fortunate that his school grades were not quite good enough to pursue a career in flying. After receiving a school leaving certificate after tenth grade, he began an apprenticeship with his father Wilhelm. "The other confectioners in town obviously didn’t want to train the son of a competitor," he explains. During his training, his parents sent him to France, where he later learned the fine art of "grande pâtisserie" from the country’s top-level confectioners (such as Fauchon, a touchstone of luxury food in France).
However, his experiences in France were more bitter than sweet on account of the language, the long working hours, and the extreme demands placed on apprentices. Nonetheless, Siefert went on learning and discovered his artistic flair. "Today I write poems, paint, and sculpt," he says. That is quite unusual for a confectioner who was born in a deeply rural region.
Siefert became a master confectioner at the age of 23 and then acquired the finishing touches at the school for master craftspeople in Alassio, Italy. "If I were to lose my sense of curiosity and stop wanting to learn anything new, I’d be as good as dead," he says. Only seven years later, before he turned 30, he won the title World Confectioner Champion. It was a hard act to follow. Siefert is reluctant to repeat his achievements, so he decided to put his pedagogical talent to work as well.
Together with his sister, he took over the ownership of his parents’ café with its rich tradition and renovated the half-timbered building in line with the requirements of a listed building. There he began to work as a coach and a consultant. In this phase of his work he was, and still is, supported by his sister Astrid. During this period he also met his future wife Isabel, who was named "Confectioner of the Year" in 2003.