Guía De Alimentos: Special: Christy Tania- Om Nom Dessert Bar

Christy Tania is the owner of the "Om Nom Dessert Bar" in Melbourne.

She Says:

"I have learnt many different things from many different people growing up. One of my biggest influences was my grandfather and also my dad, who both shared similar characteristics. My father was a labourer by trade and came to Indonesia, with literally nothing on his back. His priority and focus was to feed and provide for his six children. It is these stories that remind me when I hit an obstacle in my life, to just press on and keep going. There is no time to dwell, learn from your mistakes and make it happen. My mum has also been a very strong influence on me, and is probably the hardest and strongest woman I know. There were times though where I found her strength intimidating. For example, she strongly believed that even as a woman in our culture, I could still be independent, get a good education and be financially successful on my own. She also did not want me to be emotionally or financially dependent on any guy or relationship, it was all about me making my own way. I look back now and I can see the confidence and strength it has given me, to be where I am today."

http://sheissarahjane.com.au/sisj-interview-christy-tania-om-nom-head-chef/

The Beginning:

Actor John Depp always liked to turn away the first plate that he was served at the legendary Ritz Hotel in Paris. It was his thing, his idiosyncrasy. So when he was presented with an exquisite and perfectly executed dessert by Christy Tania, he stayed true to form.

The plate went back to the kitchen and in keeping with hotel policy to satisfy every whim of its clientele, Christy started over. Similarly when Nicolas Sarkozy, then President of France, returned his pancakes, not once but twice, Christy lifted to the challenge and pleased his palate on the third attempt.

The experiences served the young chef well, reinforcing as they did her intuitive response to stay calm under pressure while remaining grittily determined to succeed, whatever the odds. These characteristics coupled with a maestro-like flair for creating sweet sensations have made her the new darling of Melbourne’s culinary set.

As head chef at Om Nom, the 40-seat dessert restaurant and bar at the Adelphi Hotel, Christy has not strayed far from her classical training as a pastry chef. She studied at the Ducasse Institute Ecole Nationale Superieure de la Pattiserie, a school run by the fabled chef Alain Ducasse, at Yssingeaux, an hour’s drive from Lyon in France. It was an improbable choice of career for a woman who at 23 was the youngest female project manager with IBM in Singapore.

But the lure of a kitchen filled with possibilities for creating art that could be eaten proved far stronger than a lucrative and high-powered job in the corporate world.

“I just felt I was meant to do something bigger,” she explains. At the time she wasn’t exactly a pastry virgin as she had already launched a hugely successful side business baking wedding and birthday cakes while still working with IBM. But she wanted to take the craft to a more professional level. In a month, she quit her job in Singapore, folded her business, and flew to France. It was a bold but brilliant move. She found her home in the kitchen.

http://www.theage.com.au/advertisers/brand-discover/vagisil/empoweringwomen/

Two of Christy's Desserts