{"id":182815,"date":"2021-08-23T09:30:11","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T01:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/?p=182815"},"modified":"2024-12-03T14:30:26","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T06:30:26","slug":"interview-phoebes-kitchen-hong-kong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/interview-phoebes-kitchen-hong-kong\/","title":{"rendered":"Have you tried the Mooncake Wellington yet? Our interview with its creator, Phoebe Chan, will make your mouth water"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you like mooncakes<\/a>? Are you also a fan of Hong Kong\u2019s butchers<\/a> and steakhouses<\/a>? If the answer is yes to either, or both, of these questions, you\u2019ve got to try the Mooncake Wellington from Phoebe\u2019s Kitchen<\/a>. (And even if you answered no, we\u2019d say the same thing TBH \u2013 because they\u2019re absolutely delicious \u2013 and unique, too!) Perhaps most impressively, the person behind Phoebe\u2019s Kitchen is only 22 years old. While some of us are still struggling to use the stove properly, Phoebe Chan has already made a name for herself as a budding chef and the proud creator of Hong Kong\u2019s first Mooncake Wellington<\/a>. How does she do it? Find out in our interview with Phoebe below.<\/p>\n

Meet Phoebe Chan (@xphoebeskitchenx), the young mastermind behind Hong Kong\u2019s famous Mooncake Wellington<\/h2>\n

Hey Phoebe! Thanks for chatting with us. It\u2019s amazing how you\u2019ve become so good at cooking at such a young age. When did you learn how to cook?<\/h3>\n
\"phoebes
How chefs like Phoebe can remain unfazed by flames like these, we’d never know…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I started cooking back when I was still in primary school. As my parents were always out working, my three siblings and I would help with the chores at home. We\u2019d take turns doing the laundry, mopping the floor, throwing out the rubbish, and \u2013 my favourite activity of all \u2013 cooking up a meal for the whole family. At first, I simply looked at how Mum cooked and followed her ways; soon, I realised how much I enjoyed serving people a whole table of food and pleasing their palates. And before I knew it, I was on my way to become a chef!<\/p>\n

How has been your journey to becoming a chef so far?<\/h3>\n

Actually, I had once planned to study sports science in university, because I liked playing sports, especially rugby. But, perhaps by fate, I was abroad when the interviews were scheduled to happen. So I ended up choosing hotel management instead; I\u2019ve been very happy with this decision because I\u2019ve always loved cooking, and so far, I think it\u2019s worked out well!<\/p>\n

Moreover, my family\u2019s always been very supportive of me, even when I chose to take a break from my studies last year to concentrate on building my culinary career. Since then, I\u2019ve gone to Hugo\u2019s in Tsim Sha Tsui for an internship in the kitchen. Following that, I spent six months at the F&B back office for Hyatt Hotel Corporation earlier this year. And of course, I\u2019ve been honing my skills and recipe for the Mooncake Wellington the whole time.<\/p>\n

So it was during this year off when you perfected the recipe for your unique Mooncake Wellington. How did this creation first come about?<\/h3>\n
\"phoebes
The Mooncake Wellingtons are filled with beef tenderloin, parma ham, and mushroom paste \u2013 just like the classic beef wellington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This idea sprouted in 2020 when I noticed that Hongkongers generally really liked beef wellington, and the mooncake is a cultural symbol. So, I put two and two together and there it was \u2013 my special Mooncake Wellington. When I first shared my creation on social media, there was an overwhelmingly positive response \u2013 it had over 57,000 likes, 13,000 shares, and it was even featured on Subtle Asian Traits! This was certainly unexpected, but of course, it was a pleasant surprise. Seeing how the Mooncake Wellington has so much potential in the market, I decided to launch it as a product. At first, I had planned to just make the Mooncake Wellingtons in small batches at home. But, my parents encouraged me to make it a bigger venture since it was such an innovative idea. So, here we are this year.<\/p>\n

What were some of the challenges you met along the way with this invention?<\/h3>\n

Perfecting the recipe, especially that of the pastry, took ages. There were many, many rounds of trial and error at home. To refine the taste, shape, cooking time, and the use of ingredients, I had to make over a hundred Mooncake Wellingtons over the span of a few months.<\/p>\n

Another huge obstacle was finding factories that were actually willing to invest in and manufacture my mooncakes. As factories usually deal with bigger clients, such as hotels and catering companies, many wouldn\u2019t entertain my small business. Even after having to narrow down to a few from the dozen or so factories we started off with, I had to make sure they could actually achieve what I wanted, whether it\u2019s standardising the quality of the ingredients, or honing in on the design of the pastry. To pull this off, I had to make factory visits from time to time, communicate with the teams there, tweak the recipe if necessary, and monitor every detail. It\u2019s quite a lot of work!<\/p>\n

Thankfully, my family is always super helpful. My brother is in charge of the marketing, and my family members always help eat and comment on my products (including those hundred \u2018failed\u2019 Mooncake Wellingtons!) Plus, my goal isn\u2019t to make a huge profit; I\u2019m just aiming to make a start this year and establish my brand, so there isn\u2019t too much pressure to earn a lot of money.<\/p>\n

Although your family is very supportive (bless them), many university graduates in Hong Kong go on to have \/ look towards more conventional careers, like law, finance, consulting, or medicine. Have you ever felt the pressure to conform to this?<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n
\n
View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Phoebe\u2019s Kitchen\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83c\udf73\ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddf0\ud83d\udda4 (@xphoebeskitchenx)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n