Her Instagram handle is certainly misleading. Those who follow janicewong2am will understand our concern.
The page appears to be that of an artist, someone who loves to play with colours, enjoys creating massive installations and is addicted to designing contemporary art patterns.
Chef Janice Wong’s creations, though, are not only art pieces, but are also desserts that take on different forms — from building blocks, stamps and flowers to marbles, and more.
The 34-year-old Singaporean, who is most well-known for her dessert restaurant 2am:dessertbar in her home country, also owns the Janice Wong Dessert Bar in Tokyo and the COBO HOUSE by 2am:dessertbar in Hong Kong.
She has also penned Perfection in Imperfection, which chronicles her culinary journey.
Talking about her love for dessert making, Janice reveals, “To me dessert-making is synonymous with happiness. It’s all about sweet experiences and tasting something that you love. Whether it is on the wall or on the plate, it is happiness.”
Despite being on top of her game, Janice, who remembers making tiramisu (also her personal favourite) since the age of nine, continues to innovate and experiment with unusual ingredients to create desserts that are truly marvellous.
The chef was in Bengaluru last week as part of World On A Plate, a culinary event that brought down chefs Gary Mehigan and Adriano Zumbo among others.
She created an exquisite installation of 1,000 chocolate lollipops made from 20 kilograms of chocolate for Fabelle. The installation took inspiration from the summer flavours of green mango and passion fruit.
Though Janice has been predominantly working in the South East Asian culinary circuit, she’s clued into what’s trending and working in India. She believes that Indians have an evolved understanding of desserts and chocolates.
“The modern-day Indian has a more refined taste and Indian desserts are certainly making a mark on the global map. However, the luxury chocolates segment is still fairly nascent in India and hence, there is a lot of scope for it to grow here on. Artisanal chocolate making is a trend that is here to stay,” she says.
Quiz her about her favourite Indian desserts and Janice replies, “Coconut-based desserts. They are extremely well-balanced.”
ayeshatabassum@newindianexpress.com
@aishatax