Dessert Queen
the chef Janice Wong continues her pursuit of perfection through constant experimentation and ceaseless curiosity
Pastry chef Janice Wong is on top of the world. As Singapore’s reigning dessert queen—who trained under culinary masterminds Pierre Hermé, Thomas Keller, Oriol Balaguer and Grant Achatz— she changed the perception of dessert as an afterthought into the highlight of every meal, a novelty she first introduced to the Singapore dining scene a decade ago with 2am:dessertbar. The popular fine dining dessert spot in Holland Village features an open kitchen, giving customers a full view of the preparation and plating of delectable dessert concoctions. Such gastronomic innovation and her painterly sweet creations set her on a meteoric rise in popularity, leading to the opening of two more establishments: Janice Wong in Paragon and Janice Wong at the National Museum Singapore. Her empire has also expanded to Hong Kong and Japan.
With her present status, it would be easy enough to rest on her laurels; however, Wong works even harder now splitting her time between Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong. “I travel a lot for work and spend about 400 hours in the air every year,” she says, professing that she considers flying to be her spare time.
Creative as ever, Wong’s mind is continuously on overdrive, dreaming up new desserts, edible pastries and art installations. As for inspiration, she mainly draws from her daily experiences. “It’s not only about one moment of my life. It’s everything combined—the stories, journeys and people I meet—that I carry forward.”