Here’s our pick of those living the sweet life, showcasing sugar, spice, and everything nice

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A swirl of molten chocolate and a dollop of rich, ivory-hued cream. Ripe, blushing berries from which crimson juices could burst at any moment with an intoxicating aroma. A flurry of icing sugar as delicate as a snowfall. Dessert, that satisfying final act of sugar and alchemy to round off an indulgent parade of savouries, so often looks effortless. Yet as those in the business will tell you, the profession of pastry chef is not all sweetness and light. It’s a demanding, exacting job, and a great pastry chef transforms often-simple ingredients into a tale of beauty on a plate—and the palate. Here are seven masters of sweets we love to follow, whose desserts will almost always elicit a double-tap on the screen.


Gregoire Michaud

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@gregoiremichaud

The former executive pastry chef at Four Seasons Hong Kong (and winner of our Best Pastry Chef 2013 award in the Hong Kong Tatler Best Restaurants guide), Gregoire now runs Bread Elements, a wholesale artisanal bakery. He still dabbles in desserts from time to time and is currently looking to open his own shop in the next year.


Jason Licker

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@jasonlicker

Sweet adventures from the self-proclaimed ‘food/booze lover’ and corporate pastry chef for Cé La Vi restaurants. Licker’s profile is abound with behind-the-scenes takes on the construction of the intricate desserts he creates for the Hong Kong branch.


Jessica Wu

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@jessckaw

Jessica Wu from Aberdeen Street Social documents plenty of her inspirations from around the world, and is not shy to post updates such as “Mont Blanc for breakfast”. Now that’s a #pastrychick.


Ludovic Douteau

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@ludovicdouteau

Douteau started out as The Peninsula's Executive Pastry Chef, but is now their Executive Sous Chef. He continues to update his feed frequently with photos of his creations for the Grand Dame, many of them sweet (for now). He may be a man of few words, but then it’s the visuals that really do the talking.


Marike van Beurden

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@marikevanbeurden

Frequent travel snapshots and highlights from both the pastry kitchen and the boxing ring (van Beurden is training for her first white collar boxing match) can be found on her feed. A typical caption: “Boxing diet got ruined yesterday by judging the Singapore Pastry Cup. 7 chocolate and 5 desserts needed to be tasted to find their winner!”

Want more? Van Beurden is also a regular guest blogger for Hong Kong Tatler Dining


Nicolas Lambert

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@nicolas_lambert

Feast your eyes on epic timelapse videos and beautiful top shots of intricate desserts from Caprice’s newest pastry chef. At the award-winning restaurant, Lambert fashions daring desserts such as the Le Baba au Rhum Façon Mojito – a feat of flavours and textures.


Ryan Zimmer

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@cookieboyhk

One to watch – Ryan Zimmer, self-proclaimed #sugardaddy and former pastry chef at JW Marriott, will soon launch his new business, Cookieboy. Inspired by the American tradition, Zimmer’s classic cookie creations will include flavours such as chocolate chunk, peanut butter, macadamia white chocolate and oatmeal raisin. Keep your eyes peeled for updates.


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