Meet the Chef with Paola Chang
The fifth edition of Meet the Chef has us crossing the ocean and landing in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We welcomed Paola Chang, a student of the Extended online B·Concept pastry course, pastry chef, teacher and founder of Lab Sucré, an inspiring project.
Paola was born and raised in Argentina, though she is of Korean descendance. Over the course of her professional career, she has worked in countries very different from one another, such as Korea and France, meaning she has had the extreme pleasure of getting to know both European and Asian pastry.
After years of travelling the world and learning the ins and outs of the sweet universe, she decided to realize her dream and create Lab Sucré, her signature pastry shop in which she communicates and expresses her own personality, identity and versatile style.
Living amongst such diverse cultures awakened a desire to find an middle point between them where she could feel comfortable, not only in terms of flavors, but also textures and techniques; she combines European, eminently French, foundations with Asian ingredients and products, without forgetting about her Argentinian origin on top of that. A very surprising and interesting fusion !
Her approach includes both traditional as well as seasonal products, elaborated with high quality, mainly oriental ingredients such as matcha, toasted black sesame or misagru, which comes from Korea. She also uses fermented soy paste in elaborations such as toffee, or yuzu, curry, corn, Korea mustard, and others. And of course, alfajor is a classic Argentinian product which could not go amiss in her collection.
For Paola, the flavor of a product is most important, but at the same time, what she enjoys and is fascinated by the most is the development of the product; from brainstorming ideas, to designing an attractive, delicate appearance, to creating the elaboration itself. She dedicates weeks and months to this process, given that her main motivation is achieving a result with its own unique identity.
At Lab Sucré, you’ll find elaborations that call your attention because of how light they are, as well as less sweet and invasive. What’s more, she offers a few vegan and gluten-free options, made with plant-based flours which she prepares herself. Her intention was to create tasty elaborations of excellent quality, which is why she also uses fresh fruit in the majority of them.
Lab Sucré is an innovative space open to very diverse proposals and ideas, which has successfully seduced the more traditional Argentine public. It has aroused the curiosity of customers, who are increasingly encouraged to try and move away from the "known".
But what’s next the next pastry goal for Paola? She is without a doubt a very ambitious woman who wants to continue adding her grain of sand to the pastry shore. She’s currently working on a new project directed at pastry professionals. 🤎 Its mission is to help and bring value to different aspects of the trade: business management, business philosophy, branding, and more.
"I was motivated, not only to have a business, but also to be able to express pastry from my own temple," says Paola.
The B·Concept online and extended course has totally changed her perspective and vision. Prior to this training, she was introduced to the world of vegan pastry by taking other courses and practicing with basic recipes that she didn't quite like. She kept repeating the same question to herself, "Why can't I make a vegan product that is tasty and enjoyable?" That's how she started to find out more about the B·Concept and, after participating in one of our webinars, she was sure it was the way to go.
Paola has begun applying the B·Concept method to the design and development of a section of vegan pastry she will include in her new project. Additionally, in her country it is hard to acquire many ingredients not typically found on the market, which is why learning about molecules within pastry and the formulation of recipes has helped her in substituting ingredients for others and still get her own, unique pastry style across.
She is currently working to incorporate more products which address different needs and increase her offerings so as appeal to new customers. If something isn’t working, Paola will search for and find the desired solution and balance.
"For me the course has given me EVERYTHING I needed, in terms of design, calculation and new product development. Today I can make my recipes from scratch". Paola Chang.
The B·Concept has been a "necessary change" for her and for us it is incredible to see how our method helps so many people around the world and opens their eyes. We hope this interview has awakened your desire to continue learning to offer your best version in each of your creations. 🤍
We’d like to thank Paola Chang for her participation in this very inspirational section and wish her all the luck in the world for her projects. We hope to see each other again soon in Buenos Aires. Don’t hesitate to visit her Instagram page and learn more about her!
If you’d like to know more about the course she took in our Pastry School, here are all the details:
