Sunday, October 18, 2015

Pastry Master Chef Jess Chiam Ko Seen Creates Beautiful Christmas Pastries Using Selbourne Chocolates


Master Chef Jess Chiam Ko Seen, a pastry chef with over 18 years of experience and numerous accolades under his belt, meticulously works on Christmas-themed pastries that include triple chocolate cookies, cupcakes with chocolate ganache, and pink macaroons in a demonstration held at the Academy of Pastry & Bakery Arts Philippines.

As a home cook and foodie, it was truly an honor to watch this master pastry chef create beautiful Christmas desserts.



Chef Jess is such a pleasure to watch. The level of care and finesse he showed in crafting each piece of pastry shows his mastery in the elements of the petit four. He is, after all, a champion at the 2014 Asia Pastry Cup and has led a team of pastry chefs to 4th place at the 2015 Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie. He is recognized as the best pastry chef of Malaysia from 2011-2013. He is also a silver medalist in both the 2013 Culinary Olympic (IKA) National Team and the 2006 Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg. He is a true master at his craft and a very respected mentor to a number of world-class pastry chefs around the globe.

Chef Jess is now an Executive Pastry Chef teaching full time at the Academy of Pastry & Bakery Arts and is the coach of the Malaysian team for pastry after over 16 years of working experience in some of Malaysia's top hotels.


"It took me a week to prepare the elements of the petit four. You will eat it in less than a minute. All I hope is that you will like it," said Chef Jess.


The pastry he made in the demonstration all used Selbourne chocolates, a leading compound chocolate brand in Asia that is part of the Barry Callebaut gourmet division. Barry Callebaut is a brand used by pastry chefs and other culinary professional around the world.

I was lucky enough to work with Callebaut Couverture Chocolates when taking the part-time chocolates class at the Academy of Pastry and Bakery Arts Philippines (more of that in a future post), and I was excited that they also had a compound brand available.

The main difference with compound and couverture chocolates is that you would need to temper couverture chocolates to allow the cocoa butter to crystallize - thus requiring a lot more time and technique so that the chocolates can set and have a beautiful shine. Compound chocolates are easier to work with for home cooks and Selbourne still has that intense chocolate taste that you look for in quality chocolate.


"The quality is so fine that it produces an excellent and intense chocolate taste. It can also withstand higher temperatures, which is specifically manufactured for the South East Asia climate," said Kaisheng Tay, representative of Barry Callebaut. The Barry Callebaut Group is the world's leading maker of of top quality chocolates and other cocoa products used by bakers, chocolatiers, and pastry chefs worldwide.

The result of Chef Jess Chiam's pastry demo is a beautiful set of pastries for everyone to enjoy.


A demo at the Academy of Pastry & Bakery Arts Philippines isn't compete without their signature DESSERT BUFFET. Here are some of the amazing treats they served up.






If you want to learn how to make amazing pastries, you can't get better hands-on pastry training in the Philippines than at the Academy of Pastry & Bakery Arts. They will show you all the skills you need to succeed in a professional kitchen after months of intensive training. 

For more information and inquiries, check out the details below. 

Academy of Pastry & Bakery Arts Philippines  
4th Floor Metro House Bldg.,Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City


Cheers, 
Chef Jay

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