What Happens When You Finally Take Yourself Seriously - Tracy Wong

0:00 When I feeling really tired, exhausted and then been crying

0:03 so many times, especially when I'm in Paris.

0:06 And so why am I up here? I can't understand the language.

0:11 And then my sharehold is like really poor because of the

0:14 really expensive living in Paris.

0:16 And you just find like, oh, I feel so hopeless a couple of

0:22 time. I keep thinking like, why am I

0:23 here? I want I want to gain more

0:25 experience, I want to improve and one sentence I always share

0:32 with lots of people, which is one of those celebrity chef.

0:36 Let's just share a quotation with me with saying like you

0:40 start something out of passion, but you keep doing it because

0:44 you're stubborn. So I think this is the sentence

0:46 that like holding me up whenever I'm feeling like struggle, I

0:52 want to give up. They just thinking about why.

0:56 Why? Yeah.

0:58 So you need to stop it enough in order to keep tracing the dream.

1:03 How many times have you gotten interested in something, found a

1:05 passion, but had to give it up because it's not viable as a

1:09 career? This episode is the first of

1:12 Mind Blends miniseries, Rewriting the script of your

1:14 life. My guest today, pastry chef

1:17 Tracy Wong, navigated financial uncertainty, self doubt and

1:22 external expectations to pursue a craft intentionally and

1:26 persistently. Her story speaks to anyone who's

1:29 learned to overwrite their instincts in favor of logic,

1:32 safety, or approval. Welcome to Mind Blend.

1:37 I'm your host, Karen Chong. In each episode, I talk with

1:41 people who've experienced something real and we breakdown

1:44 what made the difference so you can see yourself and the world

1:47 around you more clearly, spot what you might have been

1:49 missing, and move through life with a clearer way forward.

1:53 If you like what you're hearing, share with those around you and

1:56 subscribe to Mind Blend. You'll help a lot in spreading

1:58 the insights for anyone who can use them.

2:01 Let's blend. Today I want to talk about

2:06 chasing dreams, the kind of dreams that fire you up, not

2:10 just I want to make a lot of money.

2:12 My guest today is someone who has definitely gone through all

2:15 the hard work, chasing her dreams and actually doing

2:18 something and achieving her goal.

2:20 I have Tracy Wong with me here today, the founder of the pastry

2:24 brand T Suite Map Pastry Shop and owner of Canal Street Coffee

2:29 in Milton Keynes here in the UK and 1/4 finalist of Bake Off the

2:34 Professionals in 2020, a very famous British baking provision.

2:38 If you don't know about it already, hi Tracy, welcome to

2:41 Mind Blind. Hi.

2:42 Hello, Karen. Thank you so much for inviting

2:44 me to your show. I'm really excited and happy

2:48 about it. I have been really excited too

2:51 because one, I'm a sweet, like I have a sweet tooth as well. 2,

2:55 As soon as I know about your story, I was like, I want to

2:58 talk to Tracy. So tell me a little bit about

3:02 your journey, how you got here today.

3:05 It's quite complicated, but I tried to cut it short.

3:08 So I original from Hong Kong and then I bought in Hong Kong and

3:12 then I moved to Australia to continue my study and back to

3:17 that time I was just like studied my uni and now working

3:21 in Australia as a counsellor. And on my day off I just love

3:25 baking and then I just like bake cakes for friends.

3:29 And since then I'm watching MasterChef Australia.

3:32 If people live in Australia, if they know about the show, they

3:35 they will love it. It's so good.

3:37 So I get so many inspiration from the show and then one day

3:42 or thinking why don't I just try to go to a different country and

3:46 then tracing my dream. I love baking, but what if I'm

3:50 trying to become a chef and then learn as I work and Fast

3:54 forward? Then I went to the UK, two years

3:58 as a working holiday, throw myself into a hotel restaurant

4:03 working crazy hours and then a year in Paris and then Fast

4:07 forward. Now I'm have my coffee shop.

4:11 Wow, so you just decided that you want to do it and then you

4:15 move to? Basically, yeah, in the short

4:17 sentence, yeah, just try that step out of my comfort zone.

4:20 And then I always thinking why just give it a go if things

4:24 didn't work out and I can always go back home.

4:27 Yeah, I think having that fall back, it's something that you

4:30 that help people, like give them courage to step out of their

4:34 comfort zone, like this is not the end of the world.

4:37 Yeah, I think that is the most difficult part for most of the

4:40 people, especially like Asian people or not within naming

4:43 different like culture or different type of person.

4:48 But most of the people will be hot for them to do something

4:53 that they never try to do it and then have no job left your

4:57 country and then try something different.

5:00 That's that's the most difficult part, I think.

5:03 Yeah. So did you just self-taught

5:05 yourself baking? Yeah, it's kind of yeah, that's

5:09 that's correct. So basically like when I work as

5:13 a counsellor, office work and then basically on my day off

5:17 Saturday, Sunday, I'm have nothing to do.

5:19 And then I kind of thinking, OK, let's do some baking, making

5:23 cakes for friends. And then our mutual friend, like

5:25 why that she must know about like my funny story, I always

5:28 make like so many different cakes for them to try and I make

5:32 them birthday cakes and just follow recipe.

5:34 And I, I quite enjoyed it at that time, basically because I'm

5:38 so stressful with my office work.

5:41 And then on my free time, I just like focus on the recipe, how

5:45 many sugars, how many flours, and then you mix everything

5:48 together and then you just like a little kid, like sitting in

5:52 front of the oven and then just waiting the thing to rise.

5:55 If there's nice, then just so happy to share with your

5:58 friends. But if it failed and I'm really

6:01 stubborn and it's like do that again, do that again until I

6:04 can't get it right, then I will try the recipe again.

6:08 Wow, that's amazing. Like I beg for fun, but I see,

6:13 yeah. Yeah, you need to do like

6:15 something that you enjoy doing it.

6:17 Yeah, but when it fails, I'm like, what do I do with this?

6:20 Like so my husband eats the failed stuff as well.

6:24 Yeah, thankful for that. No, no, no.

6:28 I mean, that's, that's the part Like a lot of people, they try

6:32 something, they fail and then they give up.

6:35 But if you're interested enough, then you would just like keep

6:38 doing until you succeed. I think that's the difficult

6:41 part. Yeah, like not giving up.

6:44 It's a difficult part. So you've experienced so your

6:47 own culture, Hong Kong culture, Australian, UK and French.

6:54 Like what? How has all these shaped you

6:58 today? I think for my personality, I

7:04 think I can say I'm quite stubborn in a good way.

7:08 It's like never give up, but sometimes could be like

7:11 stubborn. But also for my culture and my

7:16 background as a Chinese, as a people from Hong Kong, we love

7:21 dessert, but we don't we don't like something overly sweet.

7:25 So that's why when I go out for dessert, I will be very picky.

7:30 So that's that's the thing. And then when I moved to

7:32 Australia, I raised and studying and working there.

7:36 And then luckily we, we got so many different option over

7:39 there. We got like good coffee shop and

7:42 dessert. Everything is like quite good

7:44 over there. But I was thinking like, I've

7:46 been there for like 12 years. I'm not going to like travelling

7:49 around in Australia. So a little bit funny, like

7:52 you're from Hong Kong and then you're travelling around Hong

7:54 Kong. So then at that time I was, OK,

7:57 let's try to go to the UK then because it's a beauty that I can

8:01 apply the working holiday and then everyone know about like in

8:06 Paris or France, they do the best dessert in the world.

8:09 And then it's really close to the UK.

8:11 And I was like, OK, let's try to do it.

8:13 And then that's how I start gaining my experience.

8:19 And then that's how I share it to combine Asian culture, like

8:23 Asian ingredients with like more Western style into my creation.

8:30 So something different. And then have my own brand as

8:34 well. So when people taste it and they

8:35 know, oh, this must be from crazy because they have the

8:39 identity and then something different they can see from my

8:42 creation. Wow, Yeah, like I I have seen so

8:46 many even high end restaurant, high end dessert places now they

8:51 have a lot of ingredients that normally typically historically

8:54 you don't see in Western dessert.

8:57 Yeah, I'm really. Yeah, that's it.

8:59 But going back to when you first applied yourself in the UK to

9:03 get yourself enrolled or employed at a restaurant, how

9:08 difficult or easy was that? Because I'm sure they wanted

9:11 some experience of you as a tissue or something.

9:16 That's it. Yeah, I think that's quite

9:18 difficult. Like now.

9:19 I still remember what happened for my first few months when I'm

9:23 in the UK. So basically I did some quick

9:26 courses before I moved from Australia to the UKI went to

9:31 Taiwan for three months so I'm doing internship over there.

9:35 I do some courses, intensive courses to learn all the basic

9:38 in three months and then done about a month internship at one

9:44 of the petitioners shop. And then I gain a lot of

9:47 experience there by just watching because like basically

9:50 you're coming chef, like basically you're not even a

9:52 chef. Like you just go there helping

9:55 out the chef to wear ingredient and then prepare lemon juice and

10:01 basically just all the basic job.

10:03 But it's just like open up a lot when I in that environment.

10:08 And then you just like a sponge. You just want to absorb like as

10:12 much as like information and experience as possible.

10:17 Then when I arrived to the UK and then I just keep applying

10:22 jobs and looking for like anywhere if they willing to give

10:27 me an opportunity to work for them.

10:30 And it's funny story though, like when I moved to the UKI was

10:34 like, I would never, never work and live in the in London

10:38 because first, it's really expensive.

10:41 Secondly, it is it's very expensive and I just don't

10:46 really like like too busy. It sounds funny.

10:49 I'm from Hong Kong, but I want to like have a little bit

10:52 peaceful. But unfortunately all the like

10:55 good restaurant and restaurant, they all in central London.

11:00 And so never say never. If you say that you end up we'll

11:03 be landing there. So my first job, I found it will

11:07 basically in the most busiest places in London it near the

11:11 Tower Bridge. So then yeah.

11:14 So basically the the restaurant that opened like almost like

11:17 24/7, they open like half 7-8 in the morning and then they finish

11:23 like kind of like midnight or until the last order.

11:27 So luckily I found the job there and then the chef gave me the

11:32 position and was I was super happy.

11:35 But it's took me about like 2 months before I found that job.

11:41 And then straight away I just found like shared house closest

11:45 to the restaurant. Basically within within half an

11:49 hour I can get to my work and and then since then I start my

11:54 like 90 hours a week, 100 hours a week work.

11:56 My God, yeah. At my peak that was at a

12:01 consulting company, I think it was 8080.

12:06 And then back to when I work in Australia as an office work like

12:10 counsellor which is 4045 hours a week.

12:13 Yes, the. Normal.

12:16 Yeah. Normal working hours, yeah, but

12:19 that's a big change. But everything is like very new

12:23 and then excited and then yeah, it's, it's just like a new page

12:29 of life. So how did you end up in Paris?

12:34 So Paris will be as I only have two years working holiday to

12:39 work in the UK and then I gain my experience in a restaurant

12:43 and then I change job to a five star hotel and then I love it.

12:47 The team is amazing, but it's really difficult to get a

12:51 working visa. Basically they have to prove

12:54 that like we can only employ you, but no other people can

12:58 take this job, which is impossible at that time.

13:01 I'm still kind of like normal combat chef or maybe slightly

13:04 better chef tea party, but it's still like at least you have to

13:08 be a head chef, have like so many year working experience in

13:12 order to apply the working visa. So and I kind of thinking I

13:18 still want to learn more. I still want to work in this

13:22 industrial, this career. Then I apply one year working

13:26 holiday in France. So that's how I land in Paris

13:32 for another year, 10 months I would say, and that it's another

13:36 nightmare starting. Like tell us more.

13:41 It's just it's. Really funny the one that went

13:43 in the UK and I work with so many different French chef and

13:48 then they can speak English of course, because they work in the

13:50 UK, but of course they still very French when they speak

13:54 English Same when we are Chinese.

13:56 We speak like very like Hong Kong, Hong Kong style English

14:01 than most people say. But when I first before I moved

14:06 to Paris and then all my French chef there was like, Oh no, you

14:10 would be OK. Yeah, you would be if you like

14:12 working in Paris. This is not.

14:16 So basically I can't speak French at all.

14:18 So basically I can't just say when you and Zava, that's it.

14:22 And then soon I arrived Paris and I tried so many different

14:28 like stand on my CV, my hotel job, my hash chef in with a lot

14:34 of his French and then he helping me to translate all my

14:38 COA comfort letter in French. Professionally it's really good

14:44 and that's why I so easily I can apply the job and then send out

14:48 so many e-mail and and that was a phone call.

14:53 I will send e-mail, but like whoever called me, they speak

14:56 French and I can't understand at all.

15:01 So that was the worst nightmare ever.

15:04 And then I tried to use e-mail like Willy Brooklyn French to

15:07 ask them, can you e-mail me the details?

15:09 At least I can Google Translate. So we was talking about back to

15:13 like seven years ago when people just use Google Translate.

15:19 And yeah, so that was like really hard for the first month

15:23 or two. I went to do some courses to

15:27 learn the basic French. But like language, you need time

15:31 to learn and practice so you won't be thrown in two months.

15:34 That is impossible. I'm not that smart.

15:37 So that's why it's like really difficult.

15:41 But I did went through so many different interviews.

15:45 I went for trial shift and then it's just like when it eyes

15:48 opening, I went to some Mission Star restaurant for Interfield.

15:53 Trial shift kitchen was like super, super small, but they're

15:57 like 2 Michelin star restaurant. Then I realized how important

16:03 you need to be really organized. You need to be really managing

16:07 really well. When I used to work in a five

16:09 star hotel and then we got like big kitchen, you've got a big

16:12 teams. So basically you will never run

16:15 out of spaces. But I still get chef like Touch

16:20 me with a gear. You need to be organised.

16:22 You don't need to be having a big kitchen if you're organising

16:25 well. So that's come in practice and

16:31 really good experience for myself.

16:34 Well, I went for I think four or five interview and trial shift

16:39 in Paris. And then it is really hot and I

16:45 still remember a couple of the interview are using Google

16:48 Translate with the chef when we're having our interview.

16:52 Yeah, some of them are French, some of them are Japanese

16:55 French. So basically they are Japanese

16:58 chef, but they are through on in Japanese and French.

17:02 And then the partner is is local.

17:05 So they even was like sure, you want to give her a child shift

17:08 even like allow her to work in the kitchen for few hours to see

17:12 if she's capable because I can't really communication well with

17:17 your with the team and Fast forward.

17:21 And then luckily I found a job, found a job like a restaurant

17:27 job that worked near near Albertawa in in Paris.

17:31 So I worked there 8-9 months before my visa finished.

17:37 So yeah, that that was that was good 6-8 months experience

17:42 working in Paris, but I will never forget.

17:46 Yeah, like I'm sure. So you had the 90 hours in the

17:50 UK and then you end up like not speaking the language at all in

17:55 France. Like all this combined is like

17:57 mental and physical. I'm sure there are times that

18:01 you're like, I want to give up. Like you're.

18:04 Frustrated. Can you?

18:06 Tell us. Of those moments.

18:09 Yeah, I know that's happened like a lot of times, especially

18:12 when I'm in in Paris, like in the UK, it's it's kind of OK

18:16 because communication land growth is not a problems.

18:21 And now working with an amazing team.

18:23 And then no matter how tired I am working 90 hours, 100 hours a

18:28 week, once I step into the hotel, I just switch on.

18:33 I'm getting excited, get the work done.

18:34 And then when you finish, you're drinking beer with all the chef

18:38 like very good, amazing, good service.

18:41 And then go home, sleep and then come back again.

18:44 But a moment when I like feeling really tired, exhausted and then

18:50 been crying so many times, especially when I'm in Paris.

18:54 And so why am I up here? I can't understand the language.

18:58 And then my sharehold is like really poor because of the

19:02 really expensive living in Paris.

19:04 And you just find like, oh, I feel so hopeless.

19:08 But then a couple of time I keep thinking like, why am I here?

19:13 I want I want to gain more experience, I want to improve

19:18 and one sentence I always share with lots of people, which is

19:23 one of those celebrity chef share with me when I was

19:29 watching back to when I watching MasterChef Australia and then

19:33 some of the Willow famous celebrity chef on one of the

19:36 episode. And then it's really inspiring

19:39 me. And she was she studied

19:43 accountant and then earning lots of money and then similar story

19:48 to myself or my story similar to her.

19:51 And then she quit her job and then went to Paris and then

19:55 became a pet chef and then one of the pet chef in the world.

19:58 And then she replied my message and I can't deliver it.

20:01 And then she share a quotation with me with saying like you

20:05 start something out of passion, but you keep doing it because

20:08 she's stubborn. So I think this is the sentence

20:11 that like. Holding me up whenever I'm

20:16 feeling like struggle. I want to give up.

20:18 They're just thinking about why. Why?

20:23 Yeah. So you need to stop enough in

20:25 order to keep tracing the gym. Yeah, like you can easily give

20:30 up. So I was a barista before and

20:34 oh, OK, very similar. But I'm not good with my hands,

20:38 so my protein is better than my hands.

20:41 So operations is not the best for me.

20:44 So physically, I wasn't really cut out to be a barista, but I'd

20:49 be a barista. Growing up like that was like

20:51 the only thing that I've actually wanted to do.

20:55 So after college, I eventually became one, but I lasted like

21:01 maybe a year and a half, but that was it.

21:04 Because I know it's not like I love coffee and I don't want

21:09 coffee to become something that I just associate with hard work

21:14 people, Yeah, like customers screaming at you.

21:17 So that's when I, like pulled back.

21:19 So I didn't like seeing stubbornness as and because I

21:23 wasn't like, I wasn't really that.

21:26 So now I just do it for fun. Yeah, yeah, you need to enjoy

21:30 it. And then I did few year barista

21:33 as. Well, really?

21:34 Oh yeah. Well, coffee shop.

21:37 Yes, I love coffee as well. So that's why I did like a

21:42 little burrito courses when I'm in Australia as a part time.

21:46 So I went for courses get a part up.

21:49 That's the that's the way to learn Australia, do a short

21:53 courses and then just like get a part time job working in the

21:58 coffee shop and then learn everything and then practice for

22:01 free. So.

22:02 Yeah, the practice I only get 2 drinks a day now I only get yeah

22:08 so definitely not enough. So how did so when your parents

22:12 visa was over, did you what? What did you decide to do?

22:18 So, funny story. Not funny, but it's the true

22:22 fact. And so I met my partner when I

22:29 was like working in the UK and then after my visa almost

22:35 finished in Paris and then he proposed and then he, he.

22:40 Yeah, so he's British. Like, I mean, he's from Hong

22:43 Kong as well. And then basically he proposed

22:46 and then I was like, OK, somehow I say yes.

22:50 And then that's why I apply. He applied the lifestyle visa

22:55 for me to stay in the UK. So I got a chance to move back

22:59 to the UK from Paris. But when I waiting for my visa

23:06 to be granted and I was back to Australia for a year, that's

23:12 where I start thinking to create cheese with map.

23:17 Glad it is part of the she is the main person to encourage me

23:22 to do so as well. So when I was waiting, my visa

23:25 in Australia is away about maybe 7-8 months.

23:29 So I went back to Australia. I have nothing to do except

23:33 baking cakes, making cakes for them.

23:35 Especially I wait for three years and this is like Tracy,

23:38 come on, get us some cake, make up some dessert.

23:43 So same again, start baking and then making cakes for them.

23:45 And then she was just thinking, well, why don't you start your

23:50 own business? And then Instagram quite popular

23:53 back in that time. So she encouraged me to like,

23:57 wow, let's start your own businesses.

23:59 And then Gladys Khaki those just like I did ask them what should

24:04 I call my business name? So I think they gave me like

24:08 different ideas and option and then end up by choosing like T

24:12 sweat my like T stand for crazy swift map because I kind of

24:18 living and working in different country.

24:20 So it's kind of like swift on the map.

24:24 And then that's how I start the company name.

24:27 And then after that got my visa moved to the UK.

24:31 That was 2017. Yeah.

24:37 And then now I'm in the UK. So you moved back to UK?

24:43 Did you already start? How did you start the visit?

24:47 Yeah, So when I moved back to the UK, for the first few

24:51 months, I of course, I'm still kind of looking for work,

24:55 looking for jobs, but I know from day one or the nice

24:59 restaurant and hotel, they're all based in London.

25:02 So I tried to find some places near where I live because my

25:07 husband is live in Milton Keyne. That's why everyone asks me,

25:10 Tracy, why are you here? I I know I left.

25:12 Australia, yeah, left Australia coming to the UK, but then you

25:17 learn in Milton Keyne why? And yeah, that's the reason,

25:21 because he live in Milton Keynes.

25:23 Yeah. So I tried to look for different

25:27 jobs like went for different interviews like some

25:32 restaurants, some hotel and spa are places like nearby.

25:38 Most of them you have to drive like 20 minutes or half an hour

25:43 and went for in the field and then child shift like most of

25:48 them. Luckily most of them, they give

25:51 me the offer for the position, but then I kind of step back.

25:55 Is that something I really want to do it like working for

25:59 someone and then I have to drive like half an hour in the dark

26:03 and then I don't really like the UK Still after 10 years, I still

26:09 like hated. I if my husband here heard that

26:12 he will be like, what? But yeah, it's really,

26:16 especially now it's only like October.

26:18 It's really dark. So dark.

26:20 So it's it's. Hard for me to thinking I'll

26:23 have to drive into work in the dark.

26:25 And then I did that when I work in, but I'm taking the bus and

26:30 then at that time I just, I don't care because I want to get

26:34 all the experience and get all my experience.

26:37 So I don't care about it. And then I have to just go to

26:40 work. But now I've come back to the

26:42 UK, I settled down here. I need to think about what you

26:46 all want for for my life. And then I start find a part

26:51 time job, not as a patient chef because they don't have one

26:54 nearby that I enjoy. And then I found a coffee shop

26:58 where as a barista. So that's how I start when I

27:02 first moved back to Milton Keynes.

27:05 So that because it was part time, it sort of let you be time

27:09 to pursue the baking side of things.

27:12 That's it, Yeah. So I work part time at the

27:14 coffee shop as a barista and then on my free time, I just

27:18 like tried to like playing and run ingredients, doing different

27:23 cakes and then proposed to my back to that time the coffee

27:28 shop was like basically, actually I'm a Patrick chef.

27:32 Would you like to try some different cakes or sweet stuff

27:36 to sell at the coffee shop? So they are after I keep trying

27:41 and then Oh yeah, yeah. You can try a small batch and

27:44 then just kind of doing my marketing research to see how

27:48 like people like sort of like what sort of like they said they

27:55 may like for the local custom because a lot of them is quite

28:00 local. A lot of them is very British.

28:03 So they just love something very sweet.

28:06 And then I do understand that like dessert is not something

28:09 you need it. It's something that quite fancy.

28:12 Maybe you like it, maybe it won't once a week, maybe once a

28:16 month or even though for some people once a year when coming

28:20 to the like birthdays. So I starting from there,

28:25 planning the city, trying catching my like marketing

28:29 research, like catching my customer base and then that's

28:34 how I start teaspoon that. That's nice.

28:37 So you started the brand and then you enter the competition.

28:43 Yes, so it's really funny so I start my brand like she swim up

28:49 and then luckily the coffee shop being so supportive, so I get to

28:53 do like weekly creation and then customers start enjoying so

28:59 they're looking forward for every weekend.

29:01 Oh, what was Tracy kick this week?

29:03 What is Tracy kick next week? And then I using the social

29:07 media. It's a really good we sources

29:10 well, so I post on the story of what would people like to see

29:13 for next week and then people would drop me messages something

29:16 apple, something pear, something like chocolate tea.

29:22 And then I've built up My Portfolio and after that I've

29:26 been watching the Bake Off professional every year.

29:31 And then Channel 4 kind of like drop me a message and wow.

29:35 Oh, would you like to enter the competition?

29:38 And then also like, what was it like?

29:40 No, Why? Because all the team went to the

29:44 show. They are either they are five

29:47 star hotel famous, like hotel restaurant.

29:49 They have a business. And then I mentioned to them,

29:53 yeah, I have my business because I'm the only staff for my

29:58 business. I'm the chef because I'm the

30:00 only chef within the company. And then they will say, oh, we

30:04 saw your social media, we showed your Instagram.

30:08 The the staff look amazing. Why not give it a go?

30:12 And then I was thinking, oh, that's OK, not costing me any

30:15 money, just apply. I'm not going to lose anything.

30:19 And then Fast forward, I apply it and I need to find a partner

30:23 to do the competition together because it's kind of like a two

30:27 people competition, a pair. So luckily I found a person that

30:32 we used to work in the same hotel and then he's really cool.

30:36 So. Oh, yeah, why not?

30:37 Let's do it. So we applied it.

30:40 And then Fast forward, we went to the audition and it was so

30:43 nervous. Chris.

30:44 And bring, bring it to London. Yeah.

30:47 I'm sure. So I'm nervous baking at home.

30:52 So like when you were saying earlier like you have to be org.

30:55 So did the when you were in France did they teach you Meson

30:58 plus? Oh yeah, yeah, all the meson.

31:01 Plus now my meson plus I, I yeah, better.

31:05 But my meson plus was terrible before now after I had an

31:09 episode on meson plus actually. And like after reading about

31:13 meson Plus, talking to this other chef about meson Plus now

31:17 like I work on my meson plus to help with the stress factor.

31:21 So I don't. Read as I'm cooking.

31:25 Yeah, the. Dishes the exactly like how you

31:29 watch it. Like, exactly like how they

31:30 appear on TV. Yeah, it's very nervous to start

31:35 with. And then basically we have no

31:38 idea what we expected until we are there.

31:41 And everything is still quite fresh to me now when I try to

31:46 think back in time, but it's nervous, excited, and

31:52 everything's so different because when you're working at

31:55 home and then working in a new environment, it's different.

31:59 Microwave at home is different. Induction at home is different

32:02 than at the venue. So everything is so nailed.

32:07 That's why I like you need to be organized.

32:09 However, no matter how organized you are, there's always have

32:13 things happen. So that's why the competition is

32:17 teaching me when things happen didn't go as planned, what are

32:21 you going to do? So you always need to have Plan

32:24 B plan C if something didn't work out the way that you want,

32:30 but it's OK, it's not the end of the world.

32:33 That's hard to, it's a hard lesson to learn.

32:37 I'm still learning everyday. But yeah, it's like that is the

32:42 best part. I learned from the competition.

32:45 Like how to like on your feet? Like how to react or?

32:48 That's it, yeah. When, when things happen, that's

32:51 it. Yeah.

32:52 How how are you going to fix it? And then it's not the end of the

32:56 world. And then everything's will be

32:58 OK. Yeah.

33:00 It's great that you got that like super intense version of

33:04 every day in the, the kitchen cause like every day in the

33:09 kitchen I'm sure is like already stressful, but when you're in a

33:11 competition, you're broadcasted, you have a time limit like

33:16 that's like like stress to the Max.

33:19 That's it. Yeah.

33:20 And especially got the camera right next to you.

33:23 And then they were asking you like, oh, Tracy, can you tell us

33:26 what to do? And I was like, I'm cooking the

33:27 comfort, OK, Can you say that in the whole sentence?

33:30 So when people watching it, they will understand.

33:32 And then you have to try to like mentally thinking, OK, now I'm

33:35 going to do this. But then your time is like

33:38 clicking. And then you have to try to

33:39 remember like what to do next and then not burning thing and

33:43 then do everything on time. So that's like multitasking

33:47 skill. Wow.

33:48 Yeah. Like I'm, I'm so glad you had

33:51 all these experience all sort of just like adding to your tool

33:55 set. You learned the meson plot being

33:57 organized in front. You learn all these techniques.

33:59 You learned like how to be stubborn.

34:02 You learned how to like just keep pushing forward because you

34:07 have passion. So one thing that might be new

34:10 in your sort of like CV is running a business now that you

34:15 have your own shop. So what's something that you

34:18 didn't know? Think.

34:21 Unless I think I will have a coffee shop that early.

34:26 So previously I was always kept thinking let's get out of the

34:31 house. Then I looking for a studio

34:34 somewhere. I've got more spaces I can do my

34:36 production and then I can make more cakes.

34:40 Basically have more storage, more fridge and freezer.

34:43 I can organise a bit more got more spaces, but it's really

34:49 difficult to find like small studio workshop in building here

34:54 and in Hong Kong. Other places they've got so many

34:57 like like kitchen renting places, but not in here.

35:01 And then when I the longer stay here and then I met my business

35:06 partner as well. And then luckily we managed to

35:10 find the premises, which here you can't really see it, but we

35:15 found this premises and then they would say, OK, Tracy, let's

35:18 open a coffee shop. Was it OK?

35:21 And then I didn't, I didn't really have lots of time to

35:24 think. And but they've been keep

35:27 looking and say OK, find a nice premises and then they know what

35:30 Tracy want. Tracy wanna kitchen that she can

35:33 do her production. And then I'd love to making more

35:36 cakes for the local customer to try.

35:38 They can enjoy it. And then we want to have a

35:43 better coffee and cakes experience for the people here.

35:48 So Fast forward, we find the premises and then we open the

35:52 coffee shop. It'd been over 2 years now and

35:56 then every day is a learning lesson.

35:58 It's not just like baking cakes. It's it's never that easy.

36:03 Yeah, yeah. Yeah, because like what I wanted

36:06 to ask is how do you balance the art and consistency?

36:10 Because now you have to make 20 to 50.

36:15 Yeah, the, the, the scale number is a lot digging out.

36:19 So that is really good that I have that experience when I'm

36:23 working in the hotel, when I work in a five star hotel in

36:25 London. And then of course we're doing

36:28 like lots of in the hotel. We do like restaurant, like

36:32 morning breakfast, afternoon tea, evening service.

36:35 So I get all the experience learned from from that job, how

36:40 to do my mix on 1st, how to be organised, how to do my job

36:44 list, how to do my ordering. So all these kind of things that

36:49 I gained from my job in the past.

36:52 And that's really helpful Now coming happening like happening

36:56 every day in in my job now in my life.

36:59 Now in the past when I worked for the hotel, I go in

37:03 ingredients where they're ready and only need to let my chef

37:06 know I used the last bottle of cream.

37:08 He will organise, he will order. I took the last, last pack of

37:13 the chocolate and then let him know and then that's it.

37:17 But of course, when I working, I will also like thinking about,

37:20 oh, what happened one day I'm going to have my own coffee shop

37:24 wanted to know how to ordering. So I sometimes just look and

37:28 learn And yeah, that's why how everything like kind of like,

37:33 oh, my skill. Oh, I learned that before.

37:35 Now I can use this. We're not running the coffee

37:38 shop, but everyday it's still learning.

37:40 Yeah, like it shows how useful it is to have some sort of goal

37:45 out there in the distance because like there, you know,

37:50 life just happened. So it's just marching towards

37:54 the goal, like kind of just be open.

37:56 But it helps to sort of have like a general direction so you

38:01 know of suddenly I want to open a coffee shop, so I should know

38:04 how to just do my own. Yeah, I think that I plan to sit

38:08 when I back in Australia when I'm still working as a

38:11 counsellor. And I mentioned earlier I went

38:15 to get a part time job as a barista because I know that I

38:19 planning to go to the UK as a working holiday.

38:23 And then I thinking maybe one day I want to open my coffee

38:26 shop and then I love coffee. That's why I'm planning to sit

38:30 learning the latte art. And then at that time I get to

38:35 learn how to do the pretty cash, how to closing and of course

38:39 system. And everything will be different

38:41 from business to business. But at that time, always

38:44 thinking, OK, every day we need to have like how much like

38:46 casserole and then blah blah, blah counterpart.

38:51 Too. Or the basic one only counting

38:54 like 0200. That's it.

38:56 So, yeah, so. It uses a different.

39:01 Yeah, I know it's hard, but that's how I plan to sit at that

39:06 time. And then now that's kind of

39:08 useful when running a coffee shop.

39:11 Yeah. What do you think is the biggest

39:12 misconception about running a coffee shop?

39:16 Like it's something that people didn't know and they.

39:20 Oh yeah, I think hopefully maybe 10 hours 20 people, or maybe not

39:28 20 hours 10 people thinking open a coffee shop.

39:31 Easy. And then people often think, oh,

39:35 I just want to open a small coffee shop and I just want to

39:41 make some coffee customer coming in, they enjoy it, that's it.

39:45 Then we can earn money and then that would be happy ever after.

39:50 So that is wrong. So basically that is like that

39:56 is like a Princess dream, you know, but when it come to

39:59 reality, when you're running a coffee shop, then first you need

40:04 all the costing and then you know how much budget and then

40:09 you need to employ staff people to work for you.

40:14 And then that's the first thing. Staffing always have problems.

40:18 Secondly, you need to have good customer service.

40:22 That is like very important as well, no matter how good your

40:25 food is. But if you don't have nice

40:28 customer service, people will never come back.

40:31 That's how I feel. And then third will be just

40:38 organise again. Keep it going, organise, plan

40:41 ahead and then that is difficult as well.

40:44 So never think like people thinking like open the coffee

40:47 shop, very chill, I'm the boss, I just sit here.

40:50 Money will come. It's never happened.

40:52 It's just like lots of money going out.

40:55 Especially nowadays the economy is like a bit hard and

40:59 everything's gone up and it's difficult, but that's most

41:04 difficult. I always share with people you

41:07 need to love what you do and then you need to thinking about

41:12 it, you love doing it. Then you open a coffee shop

41:15 rather than, oh, open a coffee shop that's going to make lots

41:20 of money, become a billionaire. If you start your mindset like

41:24 that, it would never happen. Yeah, because you don't have,

41:27 you don't have the space for creativity because that's not

41:30 where your. Focus is.

41:32 And. Yeah, just your focus will be a

41:34 difference, yeah. Yeah, when you're the owner, you

41:37 worry about wastage too. So when you're the staff, like I

41:43 I made the cake, it's fine. Like a wasted a bunch of stuff

41:47 when you're the trying to make sure like you don't wait as much

41:50 waste as much stuff or like how do you how do you use the parts

41:56 that you cut out into something else?

41:57 So Harry, like I have so much respect for you Tracy, and I

42:04 admire you so much for doing what you did, just chasing your

42:07 dreams, not giving up and just picking up all these skills as

42:11 you go along. And I am really looking forward

42:14 to visiting Mountain Keys so I can try out.

42:17 Hey so for the last part I want to ask you some quick fun

42:21 question. Yeah.

42:23 So just step reaction, OK, what is your go to song or playlist

42:30 when you're in the zone? Oh, Oh, that's hard.

42:35 Let me try to think that is a funny question.

42:40 Because when I'm focused, I don't really care.

42:45 Yeah, I mean, I apply, but because when I'm working, I

42:49 especially when I'm working in the coffee shop now and then

42:52 when when we were in the hotel restaurant, the chef will pick

42:55 music, whatever they like. And then for me, I just let my

43:00 stuff to pick whatever music they like.

43:02 And then I will say them happy stuff, happy boss.

43:05 So pick whatever they like as long as they are not too loud,

43:09 not too crazy. And then for me, sometimes they

43:13 play the music and then say, oh, Tracy, do you like this?

43:15 And this is I can hear the background noise, but I don't

43:19 really listening to it because I'm focused into working.

43:24 But I think yeah, depends. Like sometime if I going to do

43:30 some job or miss on pulse, I have to be steady piping then I

43:34 don't want pop music, something soft.

43:37 But yeah, it's a hard question, so.

43:41 Something too distracting. OK, yeah, yeah.

43:45 What was the biggest kitchen mistake you made?

43:49 But it was totally worth it. Oh, mistake, but worth it.

43:53 Not the mistake is disaster. I still remember so the mistakes

44:00 that I've made it, but it's worth it.

44:02 Yeah, learn about from it or. Oh yeah, I do.

44:06 Oh gosh. So I remember when I working in

44:10 the in the five star hotel in London and then I have to make a

44:14 big batch of vanilla ice cream for people.

44:17 They never make ice cream before.

44:20 Give you some info. So basically for the basic

44:25 vanilla ice cream, you have to make your kind of like pastry

44:28 cream base custard. So you have your cream, your

44:32 meal, your sugar and your egg yolk.

44:35 You have to cook it to a certain degrees and then cool it down.

44:41 And then once you put it down, then you can put it in the ice

44:44 cream machine turning it. And then I make a big mistake.

44:48 I was cooking like almost cooking like 6-7 litre of like

44:54 vanilla ice cream. And then basically before you

44:57 start your job, like you basically need to get like loads

45:00 of ice because one you're cooking big batch, you need to

45:03 drop the temperature in a soft period of time because when you

45:07 keep rising it and then to cook your egg yolk, if you're over

45:11 85°, your egg yolk will turn into a scrambled egg.

45:16 Then you can use your ice cream at that time.

45:19 I forgot to prepare some ice next to me.

45:25 And then in the hotel, it's like the storeroom and whatever you

45:29 need to get is like really, really far away.

45:33 So I forgot. And then even though the

45:35 induction is off the hit and I put it on the side, but it still

45:40 contains the heat. So it's still cooking

45:42 temperature going up and I run going to get some ice, come back

45:46 and then of course, and I'll become like Scrabble egg.

45:49 And then my head chef was like, and of course he having a really

45:53 difficulty day as well. And then he just like you said

45:59 how much money we waste on that. And then we used so many like

46:03 vanilla ports because like vanilla ports to base.

46:06 Yeah. But and I was like, so scared, I

46:11 didn't cry at that time. But after that we tried to fix

46:14 it. And then luckily it's fixed.

46:18 Oh, we didn't. UA buddy.

46:19 Yeah, yeah, we yeah, we were able to use it so very close

46:24 that we have to be in it. But that was big lesson to learn

46:29 and I will never never forget and then see now no matter what

46:34 I do not just like baking, not just teaching my stuff in making

46:40 cakes for all my stuff within the coffee shop.

46:44 Whatever you do, you have to prepare.

46:47 Make sure you clean, make sure when I teaching you recipe, you

46:51 have to scale everything. Double check, check it 3 * 4

46:55 times. Make sure you didn't have any

46:56 mistake. Prepare all the equipment

46:59 ingredients before you start your job because I don't want

47:03 you running like me. You're cooking something you

47:06 forgot. You go to grab it and then when

47:09 you're thinking it's a 2 second job, end up you were wasting

47:13 everything and then end up you're wasting your ingredients.

47:17 You're wasting your time by wasting the ingredients and then

47:22 I will raising like wages to employ you to do this job

47:25 because we need to do it again. And then if we don't have enough

47:29 ingredients, then we can't get everything done on time for

47:32 customer. So I've been teaching this to my

47:36 my staff now as well. Yeah.

47:39 Yeah, yeah. It's a hard lesson to learn, but

47:46 well, it's not like end of the world.

47:48 You always learn from your mistake and then as long as you

47:52 remember you will not get the same mistake again, then it's

47:56 OK. Yeah, great.

47:58 Last one, if your personality were a pastry or a dessert, what

48:04 would it be? Yeah.

48:06 Oh, I think I possibly will be like macaroons, yeah, macaroons,

48:13 yeah. Because for me, I think macaroon

48:16 is like it's really difficult to make it for me.

48:20 I felt 1000 times. I think Gladys had tried so

48:24 many, like fail one. But basically like it's just

48:29 like look simple, look easy, not as hard by the look.

48:36 Like I would say maybe I look nice by the look and then, well,

48:42 it's difficult. I mean, it's difficult to work,

48:46 not difficult to work with, but it's difficult to achieve to

48:50 making macaroons. It's simple ingredients, but if

48:54 you want to make perfect macaroon, you have to practice,

48:57 practice until you have a good result.

49:00 So yeah, that may be me, I don't know, maybe a macaroon you.

49:06 Kept like you wouldn't give up and.

49:09 That's it. Yeah, Yeah.

49:10 You wouldn't give up and you make people keep trying to

49:13 perfect it. Yeah, that's it.

49:16 Yeah. Nice.

49:17 I ate the macaron soup before I stopped baking the fun after

49:21 moving to London because the electricity is.

49:24 Oh yeah. But yeah, I do love baking.

49:27 So I'm really glad you were on the show today.

49:32 Thank you very much. And we have learned so much from

49:35 your story, like it's not just a typical of push through, but

49:39 really finding your passion ahead of time.

49:41 Like finding something that you're passionate about and then

49:44 March towards that. It's so fulfilling and

49:47 rewarding. Thank you so much.

49:50 Thank you. So I so Tracy's Cafe for anyone

49:54 in the UK. It's North Street Coffee in

49:58 Milton Keynes anyone? If you happen to be in Milton

50:00 Keyes, definitely give it a try and I'll put the store info and

50:05 then Tracy's info in the show note.

50:08 Thank you so much. Thank you very much.

50:14 Thanks for listening to this episode of Mind One.

50:17 If you enjoyed the conversation, don't forget to follow and share

50:20 it with anyone who needs to hear it.

50:22 And let's keep the conversation going.

50:24 Connect with me on LinkedIn or leave me a comment.

50:27 Until next time, stay curious, keep exploring, and let's

50:31 continue to blend our minds and discover what's possible.