The big switch
Karen Carlotta studied economics and worked in finance before following her heart into the kitchen.
As a young girl, Indonesian pastry chef Karen Carlotta loved creating make-believe dishes with flowers and leaves taken from her garden at home in Jakarta.
Now 26, she gets to do it for real as the pastry chef of The Pastry Bar in One Rochester, a wine bar in Rochester Road.
But her road to pastry-making was not always smooth. To please her parents, she studied economics at Tarumanagara University in Jakarta and worked as a finance executive.
But after only five months on the job, she quit to follow her true calling.
She moved to Singapore in 2003, as she has relatives here, and took a diploma in pastry and baking at Shatec Institute.
After graduating, she trained as a junior cook at Laurent Bernard Chocolatier at The Pier in Robertson Quay last year. She left at the end of the year to join One Rochester.
Now, as pastry chef there, she prepares all the desserts on the menu, and she has no regrets about her career switch.
Now, as pastry chef there, she prepares all the desserts on the menu, and she has no regrets about her career switch. She says: 'I just had to follow my heart as pastry-making is my passion. I can't stand a day not making pastry.'
Why did you decide to become a pastry chef?
Simply because I love desserts. I learn a lot from creating them - the ingredients, the method, the aroma, the taste, the balance, the texture, the appearance. Also, desserts make a sweet ending to a meal.
What is it like working at the Pastry Bar?
It's fun as I get to be creative. The space in our small kitchen is quite tight, but I have an assistant to help me out, so it's not so bad.
What's the best dessert you've ever had?
The Reif Lava, at our sister restaurant 1TwentySix in East Coast Parkway, created by executive chef Ahmad Refaie Othman, who is also known as chef Reif. It's a warm chocolate cake and banana rum souffle with home-made verbena ice cream and glazed truffle butternut squash donut. I like the mix of chocolate, banana rum souffle and ice cream, which creates a sweet and
surprising sensation on the palate.
What's the biggest disaster you've had in experimenting with new desserts?
Once I was busy and sought the help of a colleague to glaze the top layer of the creme brulee I was preparing. But instead of sugar, he used salt. Thankfully, it was not for a customer but for our management's lunch meeting, although I did get questioned by chef Reif afterwards.
If you had to eat only one dessert for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Simple fruit desserts, as I can play with the fruits to create different tastes. For example, fruit salad, fruit with whipped cream, or fruit gratin.
How do you keep healthy with all these delicious desserts around you?
Although we're surrounded by food, the fast pace in the kitchen sometimes means we don't have time to sit down for a proper meal. Also, the constant smell of food sometimes fills my stomach, so that's how I keep my figure lean. Then, of course, there's the constant physical workout we get in our line of work.
What do you like to eat apart from desserts?
Japanese cuisine. I can never get bored with its simplicity and extensive variety.
What advice do you have for aspiring pastry chefs?
I would tell them to always believe in themselves and to follow their hearts.
If you could make dessert for just about anyone, who would it be?
My mother. She does not fancy Western desserts, preferring Asian varieties instead. I love her so much and I want to make her happy with my desserts. Maybe I will create some fusion desserts.
What is your signature dish?
Chocolate souffle with poached peach in Rioja sangria, served with peach sorbet and sangria foam (above). The fruity flavours and acidity are put together to create a real unique taste.
