Kay-Lene Tan
Kay-Lene Tan is a Head Pastry Chef in two of Melbourne's most notable restaurants, Tonka and Coda. Kay-Lene started out as a documentary filmmaker before making the shift to culinary arts 10 years ago.
Executive Pastry Chef at LK Hospitality
Kay-Lene Tan, the Executive Pastry Chef at LK Hospitality, crafts desserts that narrate the stories of her past, blending old and new recipes with flavors from her childhood and traditional cooking techniques requiring precision and delicacy.
Fresh out of pastry school, Kay-Lene trained under the legendary Chef Joel Robuchon, named "Chef of the Century" by French restaurant guide Gault Millau. She further honed her skills with notable chefs like Jason Atherton and Andres Lara. Her dedication and talent earned her the Hostplus Hospitality Scholarship, which provided opportunities to work with acclaimed chefs Dominique Crenn and Juan Contreras at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco.
With over a decade of experience, Kay-Lene has received numerous accolades, including being the first runner-up for the San Pellegrino Young Chef of the Year award in the Pacific region in 2015 and winning the Rising Star Award at the FoodService Magazine's Women in Food Service awards in 2017.
From her beginnings as a documentary filmmaker to her career transition into pastry, Kay-Lene's journey exemplifies that it's never too late to follow your passion and transform it into a fulfilling career.
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