Creating a recipe is like an adventure, like when you walk down the street and smell roasty flavour and you think, ooh, I want to make a dessert with roasty flavours. Or when you see kumquats, because I love kumquats, and then I think about them being bitter, so I pair it with a sweet item. Dates are naturally sweet, so you pair them together to make a jam and that’s quite nice with chocolate and then that becomes a dish. Then the overall dish, you don’t really know what it will look like until you have all the elements there.
I met Jess at the April launch of the Afternoon Tea Experience where London’s Mandarin Oriental have lent their Executive Pastry Chef, Paul Thiéblemont, to Conservatory at Crown until the end of June.I usually chat to chefs who have been in the game a while and are head chefs or owners, but I was impressed by Jess’s enthusiasm and desire to know more, and I was keen to hear about where it all began for her, how she got to be MasterChef’s youngest contestant and what she is up to now. We have been trying to meet up for a chat for a few weeks, but Jess’s busy schedule, and then an injury meant that we didn’t get to talk until now.
Jess, I usually talk to head chefs, but when I met you, I thought it would be interesting to talk to someone at the start of their journey. When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
I always loved baking, probably from the age of 13. I was never all that academic. I failed Maths and English, but Food Technology is what I really loved. I was brought up in a family that really loves cooking. My mum had a restaurant in Perth before I was born, then she opened another one here, in Bayswater, when I was 14. So that’s how I got into hospitality.
Did you learn a few techniques from her?
No, my mum is the entrepreneur and my dad is the cook. My brother is also a chef here at Crown.
What a family! I’ll have to get invited to your place for dinner! When you decided to get into it seriously, did you go to cooking school?
It was a funny story. I wanted to go to culinary school right after Year 12, but for some reason, every time I wanted to apply, something was drawing me back. It was such a blessing, because with MasterChef, you can’t have any culinary training; no certificates. So I thought, why not give it a shot. To get on the show was phenomenal.
When was that?
I was 19, so this was 2017. We started filming in November 2017 and finished up in May, 2018.
That’s exciting to be chosen and to get through to 4 out of 24. Was it what you imagined it to be?
It’s so much different. I didn’t expect it to be as warming as it is. The thing with reality tv is that you think it’s all bits and pieces that are made up, but it truly is such a hearty show. I didn’t know how to cook until I got into the show. I searched up on You Tube how to debone fish and chicken, but ultimately I learned so much from my peers; from the contestants and the judges and being in the most eliminations in that season, I got to learn so much from each professional chef as well.
So how does it work, do you go in with your own recipes?
With us, we jotted own recipes. Like with shortcrust pastry, everyone has their own shortcrust pastry and ice cream bases. With ice cream bases, you can add anything. You can infuse the cream with rosemary or with mint, you just need that one base recipe and it will do for everything.
When you set off on a challenge , it feels as though there is a lot of pressure, is it really like that?
Yes, the timing is exactly how it is. Some people won’t get anything on the plate and some people stress and just put anything up. It was a really stressful environment, but I think that’s what chefs thrive on that. You don’t want to get comfy, you want to be challenged all the time and each new challenge is such an exciting experience. I was scared of the elimination rounds but once I did it, I said, you know what, I’m happy to be in an elimination because you get to cook all the time, rather than just standing up.
What sort of advice did the professionals give you?
Keep clean. I think that was the one thing that really stuck. I stared off very messy on the show and then throughout my journey, about halfway through, I couldn’t stop cleaning. and I realised I had so much time on my hands once I started cleaning up and putting things away as I went. And even now, working in industry, it has really helped me because, not having any culinary training and getting straight into the kitchen, that advice from the chefs has helped me on my journey as a chef.
When you come out of MasterChef at the other end, is there an alumni, or continued support from the people you met?
Yeah, from the people you meet. The show itself, has so many contestants passing though, they can’t cater for every individual, but MasterChef is the stepping stone to you getting out of your comfort zone and finding your own connections. Through it, I was able to connect with people from Om Nom, people from The Press Club. I even got to travel to Jakarta to collaborate with people from a hotel there. Every day, every step, you get new connections and it’s really good.
You came out of MasterChef with no culinary training as such, but now an amazing and quick education and what happened next?
I had a tough month. I was so used to being a waitress, and now I wanted to be a chef. It was difficult because in a lot of places, they would say, you can’t just jump into industry, you have to have some culinary training. But I was lucky enough to do some work experience, they saw some potential and they said, why don’t we bring you in and see how it goes. From there, I was able to work in industry and learn from there. But it is so different.
How did you get into Crown?
I was a waitress at Nobu. Then I was working at Om Nom and The Press Club first, but I wanted to get my traineeship underway. My managers here at Nobu contacted me to see whether I wanted to come back to work. I said I would love to, but not as a waitress. They told me they offered traineeships, and I said I would love to do it here. At Crown, I stay in one place for six months and then move on to another venue, all within Crown.
Are you still doing pastry at Nobu?
I do pastry and larder section, but mostly pastry.
Is that where you feel most drawn?
Most definitely. Pastry is my passion.
It’s interesting that you say you’re not into Maths, but I think you have to be really precise in pastry.
My multiplication is pretty ok, but when it comes to algebra and so on…
What is it about pastry that appeals to you?
Mixing a batter feels very satisfying, or the final product when someone tastes it and gives you a review, I think that’s the best part of being a pastry chef; you get to see people smile at the things you make. That’s what I love about pastry.
It is very satisfying. Food has that power to make people so happy and it must feel good to be the one creating that.
It brings people together. When you go out with people, you suggest going out for dinner or dessert.
Where to from here?
At the moment I’m working on a cook book. It’s a bit of a hassle because when I started it, I was working on it with my uncle and it was going really well, but then it came to a stop. So for eight months, nothing was progressing. So, I decided to redo the whole process and I have finally got the document done. I just have to find out where I can print it, find a distributor and find a publisher. That’s my next step.
What kind of recipes?
Actually I’ve got it on my phone if you want to have a look. During my three week recovery I worked on it and finished it. It’s all about desserts and is broken down into five sections.
Are they original recipes?
Yes they are.
Where do you start with creating a recipe?
I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like starting an adventure. There’s a section on how to make the individual items…
I like this step by step imagery.
I had to do my own photography on my DSLR. I did everything on my own.
With the recipes, do you have an end goal in mind or do you start off with ingredients?
No. It really is like an adventure, like when you walk down the street and smell roasty flavour and you think, ooh, I want to make a dessert with roasty flavours. Or when you see kumquats, because I love kumquats, and then I think about them being bitter, so I pair it with a sweet item. Dates are naturally sweet, so you pair them together to make a jam and that’s quite nice with chocolate and then that becomes a dish. Then the overall dish, you don’t really know what it will look like until you have all the elements there.
It’s a really beautiful book.
Thank you. It may happen, it may not. I’m keeping the dream alive.
You’ve done the layout and everything yourself? It’s amazing. There is definitely a market for this. So now you’re at this stage, and things are going well and you have lots of ideas, is this going to be you, you’re a chef?
There are times when I think, is this what I really want to do with the rest of my life? There are times when it is really tough. I think that’s why my parents don’t really want me to become a chef. That’s not what they had in mind for me. But that’s what I have always wanted to do and at times it’s hard. I think I can see myself continuing as a chef.
For a young person these days, it’s unsociable, long hours, physically hard.
It’s 76 hours a fortnight. It does take up a lot of my social capabilities. I realised that when I was off for three weeks and thinking of going back to 76 hours was hard. But it’s not so bad. I like keeping busy. The socialising is here in the kitchen with the people you work with.
They understand and you’re all in the same position, so there is a camaraderie. In your spare time, if you have any, do you read other peoples’ cookbooks or look online or at Instagram for inspiration?
All of my inspiration has always stared from You Tube. You Tube is such a huge media. It has everything. You can learn to make macarons and desserts and just how to cook. That’s how I started off learning without going to school.
Do you watch it and do it at the same time?
I think I watch it and then I think about it and then the next day I watch it again and I reflect and then get all the ingredients and I try it out.
That’s cool. I’m not very patient with things like that. What would your advice be to your younger self before you started on this path? Is there anything you would change?
I think I wish I had taken it slow a little bit. I’m 21 now and I feel as though I am so much older than that. I wish I had lived a little bit more of my teenage life before getting into this kind of industry because coming into this industry you have to be very committed to your job. You have to know that it is going to be long hours and you won’t be able to have that social freedom and you will have to work hard for your position as well. You can’t get comfy because every day is a new challenge. I’m still very grateful for where I am, but I do wish I had taken it just a little bit slower.
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Crown Melbourne, Southbank