Satisfying the Soul’s Cravings

Read office’s full interview with the whimsical, surrealism-inspired baker below.

You came from the fashion world and now make cakes that are unlike any I’ve ever seen before! What lessons did you take with you from the fashion industry into this new realm?

I spent the last six years arranging print motifs in the corporate fashion world. I learned how the compositions of each print changed the overall feeling of a garment — which is not that different from the way I think about composing cakes. Additionally, my experience working within color palettes, matching colors to Pantones, and analyzing lab dips from mills has made me a bit obsessive with color. A huge difference is that I can’t just command Z and undo something while I’m decorating a cake. Italian meringue buttercream is pretty unforgiving.

Growing up around your parents’ bakery in New Zealand, did you ever think you would end up in a career in the same space, many years later?

No, I really didn’t want to pursue any sort of hospitality career because I saw how hard my parents worked, waking up before dawn, and working seven days a week with hardly a day off. In the 70s, they escaped the Pol Pot regime, lived in a refugee camp in Thailand for two years, and arrived in New Zealand with nothing but the shirts on their backs and a baby, my eldest sister. Their hard work as bakers gave me the opportunity to follow my own path in art and fashion. Somehow I still ended up making cakes. But I know I would never be able to make cakes the way I do without having experience as a designer.

Do you feel more fulfilled and connected to your family’s roots and traditions through this career path?

I do. I haven’t seen my family in over four years. Baking during the early part of the pandemic was a way to feel connected without being together. Seeing how passionate my dad was about baking bread all those years and how food brought people together made me want to do the same with the cakes. My mum was also an incredible cook, so food has always been a major part of my upbringing. When I started baking, I thought it was just a hobby. It wasn’t until I began to create my own style and work more unconventionally that I realized cakes could be the medium for expressing my creative side and also my passion for food.

Your cakes are like edible art arrangements, some even look way too beautiful to eat. How do you continue to think up unique artistic elements to incorporate into your creations?

I’m always looking at non-cake sources of inspiration, like art, design, film, and fashion. Rocks also come in endless shapes and colors, so I feel like the possibilities are endless! I feel like my lack of formal training in patisserie allows me to explore unconventional ways of making things.

As you said, many elements of your cakes are nature-inspired, from mossy textures to edible flowers. What draws you to these natural accents?

I think nature is perfect and I’m always amazed by how things can simply occur without human interference. I try to mimic parts of nature — through various rock textures — some based on rocks that I’ve collected from my travels and some imagined. Different flowers and fruits have such different moods suggested by their colors, shapes, and scale. I enjoy how each element in the cake is intentional and how it can distort the overall shape, focal point, create movement, and evoke a feeling.

The whimsical nature of your cakes and the out-of-this-world shapes remind me of an old folk tale or a storybook. Do any childhood stories, movies, or toys inform your creative decisions?

I’m not sure that it’s fairy tales that inspired me as much as elements of surrealism and the dreaminess of some of those landscapes. I had a client that made the reference to the Lorax and Dr. Seuss — maybe the whimsy from those stories is buried in my psyche too. I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid, so maybe all of these mossy rocks are really just places I want to live.

If you could insert yourself into any fairy tale or folklore story, which would you choose?

I actually grew up in one. From the ages of eight to twelve, I lived in a small town called Matamata. I realized that the rolling hills in the town resembled a mossy rock cake. It was also where they filmed ‘Hobbiton’ for Lord of the Rings. They even changed the town sign to say ‘Welcome to Hobbiton’!

What is your favorite custom cake you have created, to date?

I loved making the cake for the opening of Hannah Traore Gallery back in January this year. The colors were inspired by an Arcmanoro Niles painting that I saw on Hannah’s Instagram. I was drawn to the warm shades of oranges, pinks, and reds of the figures in the artwork. It was also the middle of winter, so it was nice to create something spring forward.

Your cakes also come in a range of quirky flavors — from brown butter Japanese sweet potato to oolong rose. How did you come up with these sensory flavors and do you plan on expanding and experimenting with new combinations?

I love Asian-inspired flavors. Growing up in New Zealand, access to Asian flavors was pretty limited, except for maybe in the city. It was always a treat when my mum had the right ingredients to make Vietnamese, Chinese, and Thai desserts. I wanted my menu to reflect some of the flavors from my youth. Hopefully, I can introduce some new flavors this fall.

Where will Yip.Studio go from here?

I’m excited to keep doing what I love, but there have been some speed bumps along the way. Not being a citizen of this country has certain limitations. This past year of Yip.Studio has opened a lot of doors and given me a platform to share my work. I would love to continue making cakes and collaborating with other designers and creative people in New York. I also hope to expand into other creative avenues in the future and look forward to opening an official Yip.Studio space someday!