Retrenched Mandarin Hotel Exec Pastry Chef Becomes Hawker, Sells $2.70 Croissants, Caneles, Cruffins

Retrenched after Mandarin Orchard rebranded to Hilton S’pore

Winnie’s impressive pastry journey started in the ’80s – the veteran baker graduated from Shatec in 1983, before pursuing a masters degree in confectionery and baking at culinary school Handwerkskammer zu Köln in Germany for two years. Prior to opening Petite Krumbs, she worked for seven years as an executive pastry chef at Mandarin Orchard, but was laid off by the company when it rebranded to Hilton Singapore in 2022. 

20 years experience, has masters degree in baking

She tells 8day.sg she isn’t likely to re-enter the hotel biz. “I don’t think so, I already worked so many years at hotels!”. She clarifies that she wasn’t too affected by the retrenchment. “While I was upset in the beginning, I heard that other people were told to just go [without a retrenchment package]. Then I told myself that I was blessed, ’cos I was paid to go,” Winnie reasons. 

Rejected job offers from other hotels to become hawker

Since leaving Mandarin Orchard, Winnie tells us she rejected multiple offers to work at other hotels as executive pastry chef. Why did she choose the hawker life over her more prestigious role as pastry chef? “I’ve been in this industry for so many years, it’s good for me to try something new. Whether it’s the right or wrong move I don’t know yet, I just want to try something different,” she says. 

Winnie admits her job scope here is very different: “When I was executive chef in a hotel – I just had to tell my subordinates what to do. Here, I work by myself,” she explains. That means she has to wake up at 5.30am in the morning to begin baking. She mans her shop solo till she knocks off work in the afternoon. 

Despite the less comfortable environment, Winnie insists she has no regrets. “No, I’ve never regretted what I’ve chosen. It’s a new and good experience, every day I do what I feel like doing, meet people, and show them how to enjoy [my pastries],” she explains.

Took a 50 percent pay cut

She had to take a steep salary cut of around 50 percent, but she’s taking it in her stride. “Of course the salary cut is a bit tough, but the important thing is I enjoy what I’m doing, and I enjoy seeing my customers enjoy their food,” she says. 

She opened Petite Krumbs under the NEA’s Incubation Stall Programme, which entitles participants to 50 percent off market rental prices for the first nine months of business. So Winnie only had to invest less than $10K to open her shop. 

She tells us she has no plans to expand to a larger bakery or cafe. “That’s too much, I don’t want that kind of thing. The rent for those are killer, and a lot of businesses shut down because of it. There are also manpower issues, and it’s a headache to depend on other people to work,” she reasons. 

“Quality pastries at economical prices”

“I wish to bake quality goods to serve the general public at an economical price. My prices are not expensive, though I use pretty good ingredients. I might make less profits, but I’m happy. When people come back and tell me my bakes are good, it gives me a different kind of joy,” she chirps. Currently, Winnie says most of her customers are office workers from the CBD. 

Surprisingly, she says it’s not a challenge to bake delicate French pastries like laminated dough at her hawker stall, despite the non-air-con setting. “It’s quite breezy here, plus there’s a little fan. It’s quite okay, I just need to organise myself properly,” she explains. 

Uses French butter

All of Winnie’s bakes – with the exception of her $13 jar of pineapple tarts –  are priced under $5. Nonetheless, she assures us her pastries are made with recipes “similar” to what she used at hotels. But in order to sell them cheaper, the baker says she tweaked certain ingredients, though she still uses French butter like Elle & Vire for almost all of her bakes. 

She adds: “I don’t shortchange on the production steps. I just have to adjust [the ingredients according to the price tag], that’s all. I’ll ask customers what they think – if I use pricier chocolates like Valrhona, I’ll have to charge Valrhona price. If they want a more economical price, I’ll ask them if more affordable Swiss chocolate is fine with them, and they’ll say yes”. 

Limited quantities available daily

Expect 12 to 13 types of pastries at Petite Krumbs daily. Though Winnie regularly switches up her bakes, some mainstays are the Sourdough Cinnamon Bun ($3.50), Sourdough Egg Tarts ($2.50), Mango and Lemon Cream Cruffin ($2.70), Croissant ($2.70), Pain Au Chocolat ($3.50), Canele ($3.50 each) and Madeleines ($1.50 each). Her best-sellers include the egg tarts and cinnamon bun.

As she works alone, Winnie bakes roughly 10 to 20 pieces of each pastry daily, so portions are limited. 

“I’m happy with my small operation – it’s like omakase, I’ll decide what to make for the day based on what I feel like doing. If I see the sales of something not moving, I’ll change my menu the next day,” she says cheerfully.

Canele, $3.50 each (8 Days Pick!)

Winnie’s canele has a slightly crispy crust with caramelly, lightly bitter notes that are hallmarks of this confection originating from Bordeaux. Its interior is dense and custardy with a faint chewiness. While rum is traditionally used in caneles, Winnie switches up the booze here from time to time. The one we sampled was baked with Kahlua, and there was a fragrant hint of coffee in it. At slightly less than So France's $3.90 canele, these are worth trying.  

Butter Caramel Nuts Tart, $2.70 (8 Days Pick!)

The salted caramel and pineapple paste base in this petite number has a delightful citrusy flavour, a yummy contrast to the toasty assorted nuts on top. This is underscored by a delicately sweet and buttery cookie crust. 

Also worth eating: the Crunch Chocolate Tart ($2.30) that tastes a little like a crispy version of a Black Forest Cake.

Butter Croissant, $2.70 

While fellow hawker stall Dough in Bukit Timah sells their humbler croissants at $2 each and fancier bakery-cafes like Tiong Bahru Bakery charges $4.20, this croissant is priced somewhere in the middle. It offers pretty good value considering it’s made with Elle & Vire butter from France. It boasts a golden-brown exterior and flaky, crispy texture that has shards of pastry flying with each bite. Its interior has the desired honeycomb structure, but could be a little softer. Decent for the price.

Pain Au Chocolat, $3.50

With the same flaky pastry used in the croissant, this pain au chocolat boasts a softer interior than the former. The generous dose of semi-sweet chocolate filling complements the buttery pastry well — best to heat this up in the oven before eating so the choc gets a little gooey.

Mango & Lemon Cream Cruffin, $2.70

The pastry is light and flaky, similar to the croissant dough, but with a sugar glaze. We found the mango and lemon cream filling somewhat artificial tasting though — we preferred the savoury cruffin (see below).

Chicken Ham, Cheddar, Parmesan Cruffin, $2.70 (8 Days Pick!)

Tasty, savoury mix of ham and two types of cheeses juxtaposed with buttery pastry and a drizzle of mayo. Yum.

Sourdough Cinnamon Bun, $3.50

A slightly fluffy bun with a nutty crumble topping and light cinnamon flavour. Quite pleasant.

Sourdough, $4.90 for half a loaf

Decent sourdough that’s value for money. The loaf has a firm crust, a dense, chewy interior and tanginess that sourdough lovers seek.

Pandan Chiffon Cake, $2.70

Winnie included this local fave because she says it’s her granny’s favourite. She uses freshly squeezed pandan juice from leaves in her garden. It’s soft and slightly heavier than your typical chiffon cake, with a prominent pandan flavour. Tastes homemade and quite comforting. 

Pineapple Tarts, $14 for 33 mini pieces

These adorable pineapple tarts come in both regular and mini sizes. We sampled the smaller ones and found them pretty well executed. Its crust is more crumbly than crisp, with a gentle snap when you bite into it, followed by a rich buttery aftertaste as it melts in your mouth. Winnie’s jam is a little tangy, dotted with small bits of pineapple and tastes homemade. 

She’s also selling other Chinese New Year goodies like Sea Salt Nutella Cookies ($11.90), Peanut Cookies ($10), Kueh Bangkit ($11.90) and Kueh Lapis ($60/1.2kg) till New Year’s Eve.

Petite Krumbs is at #02-133 Amoy Street Food Centre, 7 Maxwell Rd, S069111. Open Mon - Fri 8.30am - 2.30pm. Contact Winnie for reservations at 8692 2149. More info via Instagram.

Photos: Kelvin Chia, Dillon Tan

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