When Peter Fong turned 16, his mom bought him a KitchenAid mixer. “Not your typical birthday gift for a 16-year-old male,” he says.
Fong is the owner and pastry chef at Ganache Patisserie, which celebrated its 10th birthday last year. He’s come a long way from his adventures with that KitchenAid mixer. As a teenager, he pored through Christmas baking inserts from Reader’s Digest, making cookies and coffee cakes. It wasn’t long before he was experimenting with frozen parfaits and inviting friends over to try his desserts. “All the girls wanted to be my best friend,” he chuckles.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Fong attended Killarney secondary school before studying genetics at the University of B.C. Bachelor’s degree in hand, he backpacked through most of western Europe, but it was France that caught his attention. “Seeing the patisseries in France really solidified it for me, what I wanted to do.” He returned to Vancouver and enrolled in the pastry program at Dubrulle, now the Art Institute.
“My mom has been a cook all her life, worked in the industry. My dad had worked in hotels,” he says. “I got my bachelor’s degree and made them happy, but I changed my mind and put myself through cooking school. They’re supportive of that, and it’s the best decision I ever made.”
Fong worked his way through various kitchens before landing at the Pinnacle Hotel (now a Marriott property) under the tutelage of Jean-Pierre Sanchez, who’s now the executive pastry chef at Blue Water Café. “[At the Pinnacle,] it was just me and JP working together. He influenced a lot of what I did and what I learned… he got me going.”
In 2003, Fong opened his own shop in Yaletown. At the time, it was one of the few places in town where you could get individual desserts, as well as full-sized cakes. At first glance it looks like a traditional French patisserie, all glazed domes and perfectly square towers of cake, mousse and buttercream. But on closer inspection, you’ll notice many of the desserts include an Asian element: lychee with pink grapefruit, Szechuan peppercorn parfait, green tea mousse.
For the less adventurous, there are also more traditional offerings, as well as a few gluten-free options.
Today, he is perhaps best known as one of Vancouver’s top wedding cake designers. Between June and August, he and his team make, on average, six to 10 wedding cakes each weekend. But it all begins at least four months prior, with consultations and tastings to create a cake to suit the couple’s preferences. There are no shortcuts here: everything’s made from scratch, including the fondant. “We make our own to order… it’s not out of a bucket, so it tastes good.” That’s good news for anyone who’s tried to surgically remove plasticky fondant with a teaspoon and toothpick, especially after a few glasses of wine.
Last summer, Ganache got a little bit bigger. When Fong found out the jewelry store next door was leaving, he jumped on the opportunity. Open since January, the expanded shop has seating for 20, a full coffee and tea bar, and an impressive lineup of desserts, chocolates, macarons and baked goods. If croissants are your thing, you’ll want to taste your way through Ganache’s multiple offerings: plain, chocolate-filled and almond-filled, and the decadent almond-raspberry option. Get there early (the shop opens at 9 a.m. each day), because they almost always sell out.
Ganache Patisserie is located at 1262 Homer St.
