Now, she’s living it: as the pastry whiz at Coda, as a finalist in the Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year 2022, and as the mastermind of her own sweet empire, Kōri Ice-Cream.
Hi, my name is Joane Yeoh
Right now I’m working at Coda as head pastry chef. I’m also in the progress of opening my own brand, Kōri Ice-Cream .
I started my pastry journey at LuxBite where I was trained by the talented Bernard Chu, who became my pastry mentor and my business partner for Kōri Ice-Cream. I also worked in Spice Temple and Rosetta, Press Club, and Tonka before I got transferred to Coda. In between, I also went to Japan to stage at Chocolate Academy Tokyo and Narisawa. Before the pandemic, while working full time in Coda, I also had an off-site project where I ran dessert degustation nights every season in different locations.
All up, I’ve been cooking for 10 years, all of them in Victoria
And I’m passionate about ice-cream. I love making ice cream and sorbet to pair with my desserts, adding temperature and texture. I am lucky enough to have my dream ice-cream store opening soon which will showcase the flavours and combinations that I love. Also I love making desserts that combine Asian flavours with French technique.
Which means I enjoy cooking things like pavlova with osmanthus jelly and served with nashi pear sorbet, rizogalo tartlet served with cocoa yuzu sorbet and hazelnut financiers with hojicha ice-cream.
At 30 Under 30 I’ll be cooking something that has great umami flavour in the pastry. Simple but elegant.
The person I’m looking forward to working with for 30 Under 30 is everyone. I love to work with passionate and talented chefs, to make new friends in the industry, and to know and understand the minds behind the amazing work; to learn skills and knowledge that I might not have come across.
My favourite thing to eat in Victoria right now is XO pipis with Chinese doughnuts at Ling Nan or Supper Inn. It always tastes extra delicious after a long service at work.
Finally, the big change I’d like to see in our food and drink scene in the next 30 years is more options for plant-based desserts free of processed sugar that still taste heavenly. Nowadays people are getting more health and environmentally conscious, acknowledging the current food system is not sustainable in many ways. Daniel Humm has turned his Michelin-starred restaurant, Eleven Madison Park, into a plant-based fine dining restaurant, inspiring other chefs to make a difference, too.
Catch Joane Yeoh at the 30 Under 30 Gala dinner on Thursday 28 July and at the 30 Under 30 dinner at Matilda 159 on 2 Tuesday August. Follow her further adventures at @sweettoothjo, @jldegustation and @kori-icecream