Break the Mould
Gwen Lim doesn’t always follow the recipe. The chef gets a kick out of shaking things up—in fashion and in the kitchen
e have only one life to live and Gwen Lim, chef-owner of Patisserie G intends on living it colourfully in every way possible. When she acquainted me with her “toys” as her husband calls them—namely Christian Louboutin snakeskin boots, Chanel small flap bags and priceless heirloom jewellery from her mother-in-law—i noticed that the tips of her hair were a faded green. “My colourist and I decided to try something different. Have a bit of fun,” she says of her daring dye. “I was partially blonde when my hair was much shorter than it is now.” Her hunger for adventure reverberates from the kitchen to the chicest cities in the world. When she’s not whipping up lychee rose cheesecakes and chocolate bak kwa ice cream behind the counter, she samples Pucci, Alexis Bittar and Alessandro Dari in Florence, Prague and Firenze, respectively. Although being hands-on in her threeyear-old business means comfortable clothes most days—her The Kooples sheath dresses and traffic-stopping Converse sneakers gets the most airtime—she rarely colours inside the lines after the cookies cool. Costume parties are a particular favourite. So elaborate was her Old Shanghai outfit, her own family didn’t recognise her. Her Cruella de Vil and ’80s mob wife get-ups from previous years deserve bestdressed awards. “I don’t want to be a serious business owner all the time,” she says. “There’s a lot of satisfaction to be someone else for a change.”
I don’t do trends. Fashion is instinctive for me