The Power List 2022

We spotlight the women pouring heart and smarts into building F&B businesses that are not just successful, but soulful and filled with Singaporean spirit or spirits, in the case of one.

- Jeffrey Yan

JEANETTE AW

Once Upon A Time Patisserie

Why the pivot from entertainment to the food industry?

I’ve always known that it’s not something I want to do for life—I don’t want to be acting until I’m 60 or 70. Baking has always been therapeutic for me. Even after a long day at work, I would go home, bake at midnight, and bring things to the set the next day. When people enjoy and finish the food, and even remember it years after, that gives me a different kind of happiness. With food, it’s very direct; people don’t lie about it. If something is not good, nobody is going to scarf it down. For me, it’s a very pure way of communicating. I was self-taught but it came to a point where I wanted to empower myself with the right knowledge and techniques, and ultimately know how to create. As my end goal was to open my own patisserie, I didn’t want to rely on a chef or just lend my name to a shop—I wanted to be the one behind all the creations. That’s why I decided to do the nine-month course at Le Cordon Bleu. I wasn’t planning on starting a business so soon but the demand just grew very organically.

What have been some of the challenges you faced in this new industry?