Sweet Things

With her edible forms of art, young Executive Pastry Chef Cindy Khoo of D9 Cakery at Hilton Singapore is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to innovative flavour pairings and unusual pastry profiles

- Priyanka Elhence

It’s not often that one hears of an engineering graduate who takes the world of pastry by storm. The young Executive Pastry Chef Cindy Khoo helming D9 Cakery at Hilton Singapore was actually doing a part-time café stint when she fell in love with cakes, and despite the unexpected tangent, started seamlessly on her pastry journey.

Always having been fascinated by architecture and modern art, Khoo was most interested in making her creations edible forms of art, a challenge that she still enjoys till date. Lauded as one of the youngest executive pastry chef in town, this innovative chef is known for her unusual flavour pairings in her wanderlust-inspired edible art confectionary pieces. Indeed, one look at her butterfly creation on our cover tells you the calibre of this talented chef.

We spoke to Khoo in detail about what makes her tick, her inspirations, her journey so far and what we can expect next from her.

What is it about desserts and confectionaries that makes you so passionate about them?

I started my career as a barista in a café during my college days and that was the time when I discovered my passion in creating desserts and confectionaries. Desserts are “happy food” that can be enjoyed at any time of the day and are always presented as a sweet ending to a meal which never fails to bring a smile to customers’ faces. It is always a pleasure to see their big smiles and to hear their feedback, whether positive or negative, all of which are insightful for my next creations.

I also enjoy exploring the various types of baking techniques, pairing of different unique ingredients from fruits to floral scents, tea blends, herbs and vegetables as well as styling and designing artisanal cakes that look like edible art pieces.