Cloudstreet's Maira Yeo on what it's like to be Asia's Best Pastry Chef 2022

Even if you've not been to Cloudstreet, you might have heard of it: The restaurant that serves a fusion of Sri Lankan, Australian, and European fare in the heart of Amoy Street is a hit with gastronomes, and is regularly featured on Singapore’s (and Asia’s) best restaurants lists. Apart from having two Michelin stars, it also ranks 44th on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022. To cater to growing demand, the restaurant recently opened a dessert lounge on the second floor of its 40-seater space.

Helming the opening was Maira Yeo, recently crowned Asia’s Best Pastry Chef in April by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. She came onboard in 2020 armed with an impressive resume, having cut her teeth at several notable restaurants around the world, including the two-Michelin-starred Aska in New York. The 30-year-old shares how she climbed her way up, her favourite creation thus far, and the trail she hopes to blaze for younger pastry chefs.

Always up for new challenges

At 14, Maira already knew that she wanted to be a pastry chef – she “realised it was something fun to be after watching the Korean drama My Lovely Sam Soon”, which follows the romantic chronicles of a talented dessert chef.

Following the completion of her diploma in Culinary & Catering Management at Temasek Polytechnic, she worked for a few restaurants before joining the one-Michelin-starred Meta at Keong Saik Road, and honed her skills there for over three years. In 2019, she left to train at the well-loved, but now shuttered Patrice Patissier in Montreal, and subsequently worked at New York’s Aska, which has gained a reputation for its innovative Nordic cuisine.

“I e-mailed them to ask if they were willing to take me in for a stage [an internship where a chef works briefly for free] and they were kind enough to welcome me,” she says. “The stints taught me to have different perspectives when looking at things, like how to source locally when you have good produce around you, and how to be creative when preserving flavours.”

When the Covid-19 outbreak happened, she returned to Singapore and, shortly after, took up her position at Cloudstreet, an opportunity she says she is “extremely lucky” to have.

“Cloudstreet’s culinary identity has always been on its own. It can’t be boxed in, and the restaurant is constantly striving to showcase lesser known or more unique ingredients, which is what makes it so interesting and great. This allows me to constantly seek out new challenges.”

And challenged she has been. With her “preference for making savoury-style desserts”, she is always seeking out unconventional ingredients. Her favourite creation thus far is a pre-dessert on Cloudstreet’s current menu that features celtuce [a celery-like vegetable from the lettuce family] prepared in a few different ways.

“The celtuce sorbet and confit celtuce cubes are placed at the bottom of the bowl and covered with a layer of yoghurt and green chilli. Coriander cress leaves are added at the top, and at the table side are celtuce juice and vanilla oil,” she explains. “Cloudstreet’s desserts are somewhere in the middle between Asian and Western desserts. For example, the coconut caramel, one of our petit four items, is made with coconut cream and gula melaka. However, the technique we cook it with is the same as what we use to make a pate de fruit, which is a traditional French candy. So although it has an Asian flavour, the technique to make it is Western.”

Honing creativity with practice

Bring up her recent win and Maira will immediately point out that the award was not just for her, but also her team. She also candidly says that she does not feel any pressure to perform “better” because of it.

“I don’t think that’s what the award is meant for – it is just a sign that we are moving in a direction [the judges] agree with,” she says.

Not that she believes she is at the top of her game. In fact, she reckons she’s “quite far from it”. “I’ve just been very lucky to work with a very talented and competitive team, and to have been surrounded by the
right people. Since we spend more than 12 hours with each other, it is extremely important that we are positive and driven. That way, we can take turns to motivate each other when one person is down, or even better, contribute to improving our workflow.”

As for what Asia’s Best Pastry Chef thinks is a dessert best suited for Singaporeans, it is something “cold, light and refreshing, but not too sweet and creamy”, so that we can “get relief and comfort from the hot and humid weather”. Still, she emphasises that our palate is “growing”.

“Instead of saying that our palate is changing, I’d say it is growing quickly with experience. There are so many great restaurants in Singapore now with their own unique desserts, and as we get to sample a greater variety of desserts, we are, in general, more willing to try different flavour profiles,” she says.

And the trail she hopes to blaze for younger pastry chefs? To help them hone their creativity and find their own identities when creating desserts.

“I hope that I can give them the opportunity or platform to develop a wider range of styles and identities in the dessert scene. There is nothing wrong with classic flavours and techniques, but I always find it cool when people explore other options.

“Every alternate Saturday, our junior pastry staff take turns presenting a dish to Chef Rishi [Naleendra, the chef-owner of Cloudstreet] and I. They are encouraged to experiment with any idea or technique they are curious about, especially if it’s not something that we typically do. It is important to me that they are given the opportunity to explore their creative selves, because I believe that creativity is more of a skill than a talent, which means that it can only get better with practice.”

Here's her advice on how to hone a specialised skill: