Believe it or not, pastry is not where Executive Pastry Chef Kay-Lene Tan always pictured herself. Born in Melbourne, Kay-Lene grew up in Singapore and began her career in the media as a documentary filmmaker. When she felt her career stagnating, a quarter life crisis aged 25 saw her change direction and enrol in At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy’s Diploma of Pastry and Bakery Art.

It was soon clear that Kay-Lene had found her calling, and she passionately pursued every opportunity that came her way. She worked under chef Joël Robuchon – once named Gault & Millau’s ‘Chef of the Century’ – learning to master the French classics at his eponymous Singapore restaurant. From here it was onto Pollen, a more progressive space where she worked under acclaimed pastry chef Andres Lara who became her mentor, and where she honed her unique style.

Relocating to Melbourne in 2013, Kay-Lene worked at city institution The European before joining chef Adam D’Sylva’s team at Melbourne dining icons, Coda and Tonka. Across eight years here, Kay-Lene became Head Pastry Chef, and in 2018, won the Host Plus Hospitality Scholarship, earning the chance to learn from elite professionals around the world to further her career. She spent time with Dominque Crenn at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, as well as Hiša Franko in rural Slovenia, allowing Kay-Lene to build her skills and bring her career goals into focus.

Growing up with Peranakan heritage, Kay-Lene inherited a great love of food and family, and this connection serves as a constant influence on her cooking. Indeed, one of Kay-Lene’s guiding philosophies in the kitchen is that you can’t know where you are going if you don’t appreciate where you’ve come from.

With her dishes often drawing on childhood memories and rooted in nostalgia, expect to get to know bubbly Kay-Lene even better in the Dessert Masters kitchen, where she looks set to let her food do the talking as she aims for the top.