A Sweet Christmas: Pastry chef Janice Wong reflects on a year of new endeavours

Multi-hyphenate Janice Wong is not one to fit within a box. Pastry chef, chocolatier, entrepreneur, artist and advocate for the Singapore Cocoa Project are just some of the hats she wears. One thing that ties them together? They all revolve around sweet treats. 

Christmas is Wong’s busiest time of the year as she oversees the production of decadent cakes, bonbons and chocolate bars for the Christmas collection of her eponymous confectionery brand that has two outlets, with another at Republic Plaza opening this month. “You cannot not have a cake at Christmas,” Wong declares when asked what she cannot do Christmas without. 

Another thing Wong loves about the end-of-year festivities is the spirit of giving. “For me, Christmas is about gift-giving,” Wong shares with a smile.

“I have this thing with pastry chefs where we swap our desserts. Every year, I do this with Cheryl Koh (Les Amis’ pastry chef). I also exchange treats with my neighbour who makes these wonderful kueh. It’s a lot of fun.”

An assortment of Wong’s Christmas 2024 collection, including a chestnut and redcurrant Yule Log and pistachio, strawberry and pineapple Santa Pom Pom cake. (Photo: Janice Wong)

Throughout our conversation, Wong occasionally divulged tidbits that revealed her introspective nature. She reveals concerns about the Singapore Cocoa Project, a three-year-old community project, in which she sourced for cacao pods from Thailand and the Philippines, grew them into saplings and gave them to anyone who would plant them in exchange for cacao fruit. 

About 500 cacao trees have since been grown in schools and the homes of ambassadors.

“I had minimal expectations about the cocoa project,” Wong shares. “It is one thing to start an idea, but it is another thing to see it through.” She cited climate change as one of her biggest concerns, with the worry that people wouldn’t be able to harvest anything.

Looking back on the project, she says: “I am very pleased we proved that cocoa trees could grow here, and we even managed to make some chocolate!” 

What does homegrown cacao taste like? Considering the youth of the trees and its fruit, the chocolate is malty and fruit-forward. However, it remains a passion project as only two kilograms of fruit are yielded yearly. 

With one chapter closed Wong is ready to move on to the next. She also shares that in 2025, she will expand the 2am:dessert bar concept to Saudi Arabia as part of the country’s exciting Red Sea Project.