Two years into her first real pastry job, felt broken. She’d given up her documentary filmmaking career to pursue a life in sweets, gone back to school and even scored a dream post at in her hometown of Singapore.
The chef, now head of pastry at Melbourne’s lauded and restaurants and deliriously celebrating her win, recalls the brutal kitchen conditions in her early years. “Working for such strong-willed chefs, with old-school ways of thought, it was really challenging. There were so many times when I wanted to give up.”
Tan traces her love for food – the force that ultimately saw her push through “the ring of fire” – back to a single memory. “My mum and grandma were making , a dessert traditionally eaten during , a festival signifying the coming of Chinese New Year,” she recounts. "Mum was stirring the sweet peanut and ginger syrup and grandma was telling me I needed to make the white and pink glutinous rice dumplings more round like a ball.” She was seven years old.
Working for such strong-willed chefs, with old-school ways of thought, it was really challenging. There were so many times when I wanted to give up.
Today, these memories shape her coveted desserts, from the flavours she enjoys – such as pandan, ginger, coconut, (palm sugar) and black sesame – to the stories behind them. “I believe you cannot know where you are going if you do not appreciate where you came from."
Tonka’s , for example, harks from those times in Singapore. “In Asia, minimarts sell ice-cream on a stick called . It comes in traditional Asian flavours, such as red bean (Mum's favourite), durian (Dad's favourite), palm seed and sweet corn,” she says. “My brother and I love that sweet corn flavour, but I have not been able to find it in any ice-cream here, so I decided to replicate it myself. To date, it is one of my favourite bombe Alaska flavours I have created for Tonka.”
The chef's sweet corn and coconut bombe Alaska has an Asian origin story. (David Hyde) Source: David Hyde
A was, likewise, inspired by her mum's love for carrot cake. When the scholarship's judges came knocking, Tan served these standouts, plus two more currently on the menu at Tonka. “Go big or go home!” she says.
'Dessert is like the kiss goodnight from your mother before you go to sleep'. It’s the final note, the one you’re remembered by, and restaurants are acknowledging that.
The scholarship, in partnership with the , will see the young top chef (who also won her round during her appearance on last year) embark on a once-in-a-lifetime, cross-continental tour, staging ("chef speak" for gaining work experience) at three of the world’s best restaurants. She hopes to visit Dominique Crenn’s in San Francisco and under in Slovenia – coincidentally, they're both run by female chefs.
While bakeries, patisseries and single-concept sweet venues dominate the dessert landscape today, both on home ground and abroad, Tan proudly defends temples of haute cuisine. “When I arrived in Melbourne, I worked in a patisserie for three months and was pretty bored.” Don’t get her wrong; one of her favourite pastimes is watching bakers on Instagram (, and are favourites). “I have so much respect for them, but I just love the rush of lunch and dinner service and working with giant teams of chefs specialising in everything from butchery to fish.”
The carrot halwa dessert is inspired by her mum's love for carrot cake. (David Hyde) Source: David Hyde
As for the industry, she sees restaurant pastry chefs finally getting their due. Tan, for one, is the first pastry pro to be awarded this honour. She quotes : “'Dessert is like the kiss goodnight from your mother before you go to sleep'. It’s the final note, the one you’re remembered by, and restaurants are acknowledging that.”
In this column, , I scour bakeries, patisseries and dessert joints from around the world for the hottest sweet trends, up-and-coming ingredients and game-changing pastry techniques.
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