Cheryl Cheong, Samantha Tay and Liyann Seet in a Gaggenau Kitchen

Words by Daphne Chen-Cordeiro

April 01, 2021

Cover From left: Cheryl Cheong, Samantha Tay and Liyann Seet

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Kindred Folks cafe owner and baker Cheryl Cheong spends her off days baking, and with the best equipment no less

Cheryl Cheong loves to bake, and her love for making desserts started when she was young, and baked cookies and muffins with her mother, Dolly. Today, she is the one-woman show behind the three-and-a-half year old café Kindred Folk which specialises in handmade ice-cream.

She bakes and makes ice-cream daily, and outside of work, she bakes for fun too, “It’s relaxing and a creative outlet for me. I get to experiment with new recipes. There’s no time pressure nor stress if something goes wrong.”

“It makes the process a lot more enjoyable and smoother when you have good equipment. For example, a great oven ensures better results when baking. That way, I can challenge myself even more with new recipes.”

Above From left: Samantha Tay, Cheryl Cheong and Liyann Seet

Cheong gathered her good friends, aesthetic doctor Samantha Tay and hedge fund partner Liyann Seet for coffee, but not before baking a fruit tart together. Tay herself is a seasoned baker and is always up to try out a new recipe, especially in the minimalist Gaggenau-equipped kitchen.

Here’s what they used

The Gaggenau oven 400 series featuring a stainless steel-backed handle-less glass door, with TFT touch display on the top and a beautiful cobalt interior. There are 17 heating methods with core temperature probe, rotisserie spit and baking stone function and and electronic temperature control from 30 °C to 300 °C. The Pyrolytic system allows for easy cleaning too.

The Gaggenau flex induction cooktop 200 series is a minimalist beauty. It allows free positioning of cookware within the rectangular cooking area alongside a highly-efficient ventilation system integrated within the cooktop. The Twist-Pad control comes with a removable magnetic knob—that is so chic, but so practical too as it can be placed remotely (for example, high on the fridge) to “lock” the induction cooktop.