Why I opened a French patisserie
A Baker, an Accountant, and a Pastry Chef walk into a bar…
This is not a joke, but rather my journey to becoming a Pastry Chef.
I’m a baker from a family of bakers. My grandparents own a bakery in Hong Kong and my dad opened the first Asian bakery in Calgary, where his customers lined up out the door for his egg tarts. I grew up in this environment, making pastries and decorating birthday cakes.
I’m also a Chartered Professional Accountant, but that isn’t my passion. Even while I worked as a full-time accountant, I started a side business decorating wedding cakes. Within a couple of years, I was decorating ten wedding cakes a week. Accountancy quickly took a back seat to my love for baking and pastry arts.
My passion for pastry intensified with my travels. I still reminisce about my time in Paris, where my husband and I enjoyed the daily delicacy of French pastry (or patisserie). I thought to myself wouldn’t it be nice to take a bit of Paris home to Calgary.”
That trip accelerated my journey to become an accomplished French pastry chef. I studied under award-winning pastry chefs practicing for over a year to perfect the lamination technique for what would become Sucré’s signature croissants. I continue to test and revise the recipes for a balance of flavour, sweetness, and contrast in texture. I may not be Pierre Hermé, but I do make a mean macaron.
Everything I make is from scratch. It takes longer hours and a commitment to detail to make authentic French pastry. Seeing the customers enjoying Sucré’s products makes the effort worthwhile.
Bon Appétit.
Thx for this interesting bio that led to Sucre!
I love this, Yin!! Thanks for sharing a bit of your story. And the new website is beautiful. I’d love to write a review for your website. Let me know 🙂