A slice of sweetness inspired by love of a black labradoodle may sound like a stretch, but the workout was worth it for Victoria chef Isabel Chung – and not just because she dominated the competition.
Ahead of World Wish Day on April 29, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Make-A-Wish hosted the first Bake-A-Wish challenge – a friendly bake-off pairing top Fairmont chefs with young Wish alumni to create desserts inspired by the children’s personal stories.
The bake-off, hosted by content creator and on-camera personality Melanie Sutrathada, challenged both Make-A-Wish alumni – Roux,18, Theo, 9, and Jacqueline, 16, – and Fairmont chefs Nancy Guerrero from Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, Chung from Fairmont Empress in Victoria and Eraj Jayawickreme from Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle – to create the world’s most “wish worthy” dessert.
Each youth was paired with a chef to collaborate and share ideas for their dream dessert. Chung stole the show with her Passionfruit Strawberry Yogurt Cake inspired by Jacqueline (Jaki) via Zoom. Through the call, the pair talked about likes and dislikes and what flavours and foods were important to the teen.
“Getting a feel for what my Make-A-Wish alum would like in her Bake-A-Wish dessert really helped me to conceptualize a dessert and solidify a plan,” Chung said.
“Jaki might have been a little hesitant when we first started our call, but as we got to chatting, she opened up about her Guatemalan heritage, her love and respect for her mother and her six-month-old black labradoodle, Jack, who absolutely had to be included in her dessert. Talk about a challenge, how do you incorporate a puppy into your dessert?”
For that, she headed to the Empress pastry shop to pick the brain of executive pastry chef Gerald Tan. While he started with a cheeky suggestion to do a dark chocolate wavy garnish to represent the dog hair,
“Pastry and savoury cooking are two completely separate disciplines, so I required a bit of coaching. With chef Tan's support, I set out to create and refine some recipes that reflected Jaki's vision and would make a well-rounded dessert and, of course, something that I could execute in someone else's kitchen under just a tiny bit of pressure,” Chung said.
Jaki’s deep love for strawberries became the heart of the dessert that intertwines flavours inspired by the teen’s heritage. Infused with passionfruit, lychee, and the rich essence of her family’s chocolate production in Guatemala, the result is a Passionfruit Strawberry Yogurt Cake. To add a personal touch, delicate pink and white edible flower petals adorn the cake, a tribute to the colours Jaki chose for her Quinceanera, her wish granted by Make-A-Wish. As a heartfelt finishing detail, the dessert is plated on a black dish, symbolizing the six-month-old labradoodle.
The dessert is available at select Fairmont properties starting April 29, with proceeds supporting Make-A-Wish.
