Pastry chef strives to deliver fullest flavor in desserts

Lee Shi-yoon, a pastry chef of Park Hyatt Seoul / Courtesy of Park Hyatt Seoul

By Jun Ji-hye

Lee Shi-yoon, a pastry chef of Park Hyatt Seoul, focuses on using locally grown seasonal produce when developing dessert ideas and menu items, based on the belief that local ingredients offer unbeatable flavor.

The veteran patissier also emphasizes the creative mixing and matching of flavors, as any single flavor has the potential to be paired with a wide variety of others.

"As a pastry chef and a pastry lover, my main focus is on taste. In every dessert I make, I am committed to delivering the best, fullest flavor," Lee said in an interview with The Korea Times. "It's essential that a good dessert brings pleasure to the palate, not just to the eyes."

Lee joined Park Hyatt Seoul last September after building her career for about a decade at various five-star hotels in Australia, including Hyatt Regency Sydney and Sofitel Melbourne on Collins.

Desserts in the summer afternoon tea set presented by Park Hyatt Seoul / Courtesy of Park Hyatt Seoul

She obtained a Bachelor of Business degree majoring in International Convention & Event management from Le Cordon Bleu, Adelaide, and a Certificate III Patisserie qualification ― in French "Superior Patisserie" ― from Le Cordon Bleu, Sydney.

At Park Hyatt Seoul, Lee is in charge of menu development and implementation, coaching and mentoring staff and quality assurance over the department.

Lee noted that a hotel pastry chef plays a different role from those working in restaurants or pastry shops ― a hotel pastry chef is involved in more managerial processes on a larger scale, such as overseeing desserts offered at multiple outlets, creating seasonal menus and coordinating with culinary teams for events and functions.

"At Park Hyatt Seoul, our emphasis is on starting with authentic ingredients, sourced in Korea, and applying modern principles and techniques in our recipes. Our pastry team devotes huge and ongoing effort to creating classic desserts with a traditional Korean twist. We believe this approach can appeal not only to Koreans but also to those who are not yet familiar with Korean cuisine," she said.

"In recent years, many renowned chefs have attempted to incorporate Asian ingredients as part of a quest for new flavors. Studying both Asian and Western culinary cultures has put me at an advantage by enabling me to combine a wide diversity of flavors and techniques."

With mottos of "never stop learning" and "never fear failure," Lee always tries to remind her junior chefs and herself of a message that there is always room for improvement, and all it takes is the application of an inquisitive mind and a willingness to learn from other people and embrace new techniques.

"It is a valuable experience that opens the door to learning different methods and other versions of creation," she said.

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