ONES TO WATCH
ON THE RISE
MEET THE GASTRONOMIC MAESTROS SET TO EXPLODE ONTO CAMBRIDGE’S CULINARY SCENE THIS YEAR. TO FIND OUT WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS, MIRIAM BALANESCU VENTURES INTO THEIR KITCHENS...
MATCHA MADE IN HEAVEN Go (dough)nuts
ife has been hard to predict,” laughs Chin Chin Bakery’s pioneer, Peichin. Founder of multiple foodie businesses in
“There’s so much the doughnut can do to lift up a person and brighten their day”
London – from Pantry & Co to Halex – she originally studied and worked in fashion, but a re-evaluation brought her irresistible bakes to London. “I felt like I had kind of misplaced my priorities. My children were quite young when I started the business. So I literally missed out on a big chunk of their growing up.” Now the chef and baker hopes to focus on the simple joys in life. Peichin has begun crafting delicious doughnuts which she’s already supplying to Flourish Farm Shop, with a store in Cambridge soon to follow. Peichin’s passion for food began at her father’s restaurant in Taiwan. “I’ve been working alongside him since I was eight, because in the family business, you work together,” she explains. “In a traditional domestic kitchen in Taiwan, there are no ovens, so I didn’t grow up with baking. If you make any cakes, they’re steamed or made with sticky rice. Flour is a very European ingredient. I feel I discovered baking when I started Pantry & Co.” She has come a long way since her first bake for her husband’s birthday (which ended with a shop-bought Tesco muffin). “I want to do something I love and something I’m really good at,” enthuses Peichin. “For me, the joy of delivering a cake that’s had all this effort put into it to someone’s table is what I love.” Now turning her attention to the wonders of the doughnut, she insists that this pillowy delight – which takes up to 48 hours to create due to time spent proving the dough – is well worth the effort.
RISE AND SHINE Doughnuts from Peichin’s micro-bakery are sure to make you smile
“Doughnuts are a guilty pleasure for a lot of people,” she says. “I feel like there is so much they can do to lift up a person and brighten their day.” With flavours spanning classic vanilla custard to mellow matcha, Peichin has even crafted a dairy-free version with cereal milk for her son. “When you get to my age, making people happy is a simple joy,” Peichin continues. “When I was in the business in the past, I spent so much time worrying about invoices or other things, but not about the things I love. “The doughnut is a very humble product,” she declares. “It’s not going to stop your problems; it’s not going to solve climate change. But it makes you realise that if I can enjoy this mouthful, I can make it through the rest of the day.”
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