{"id":61326,"date":"2025-11-26T10:18:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T10:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/61326\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T10:18:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T10:18:09","slug":"celebrity-pastry-chef-clarice-lam-joins-the-team-at-kaya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/61326\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrity pastry chef Clarice Lam joins the team at Kaya"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a journalist, I don\u2019t ask questions to be told things I want to hear, but as a food journalist, it often works out as happenstance.<\/p>\n

Such is the case this morning, when on a call with Kaya<\/a> co-owner, Jamilyn Salonga Bailey, I query about the new desserts we\u2019ll be seeing at her Mills 50 bo\u00eete, a 2024 James Beard Foundation Award finalist for Best New Restaurant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, there\u2019s an adobo caramel apple tart, a silvana alaska, a calamansi coconut cream pie\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

She continues to list them, but I find myself distracted, floating away on a dreamy cloud of ube marshmallow, which happens to be another of the flavors.<\/p>\n

Each invokes an element of classic, but with a Kaya signature move: Filipino ingredients.<\/p>\n

Each invokes a silent wish that this were an in-person interview.<\/p>\n

And that I had a spoon.<\/p>\n

\"ClariceClarice Lam\u2019s adobo caramel apple tart will soon be available for holiday pre-order at Kaya, where she recently joined the team as executive pastry chef. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Normally, I might not be so curious about a few new desserts, but there are other factors at play here.<\/p>\n

Thing 1 is that Kaya will be offering a bunch for the holiday season pre-order.<\/p>\n

Thing 2 is that they are about to embark on a Saturday pop-up series to highlight the impressive French technique of their new executive pastry chef (a possible precursor to a regular kape \u2014 a Filipino cafe \u2014 in the early part of the day).<\/p>\n

Thing 3 is that said pastry chef is Clarice Lam<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"ClariceClarice Lam holds an ube marshmallow pie outside of Kaya in Orlando’s Mills 50 district. Her resume includes time spent at Thomas Keller\u2019s Bouchon Bakery, Jean-Georges Vongerichten\u2019s Spice Market and as the executive chef at The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Her resume reads something like a top secret dossier for a Bond villainess \u2014 if Jacques Torres ran MI6.<\/p>\n

International model. Classically trained chef and pastry chef. Successful Brooklyn bakery owner. Food Network competitor. James Beard-nominated cookbook<\/a> author.<\/p>\n

Lam has an easy sense of humor, too, so Austin Powers would probably work as well, but I\u2019ve yet to call her Ivana Bakealot.<\/p>\n

\"ChefChef Clarice Lam plates a Basque Cheesecake with calamansi, guava and pistachio oat crumble, a new item on the dessert menu at Kaya. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Born in Canada and raised in Los Angeles by Hong Kong emigre parents, she pursued modeling straight out of high school, which took her, quite literally, around the world. Lam has lived in the U.K., Mexico, Spain, South Africa, Italy, Hong Kong, the Philippines and more, and for the most part began her time in each without any local connections.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no friends. I didn\u2019t necessarily know the language. So, the easiest way to get to know the local culture was through food.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kaya'sKaya’s new executive pastry chef, Clarice Lam (right), started out as an enamored restaurant guest. She later met owners Jamilyn Salonga Bailey (left)and Lordfer Lalicon. Rapport ensued. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Though success endured, Lam wasn\u2019t naive \u2014 \u201cmodeling only lasts so long before you\u2019re done\u201d \u2014 and her time in Paris lit a fire for laminated classics. Following culinary school, she aimed at first for stature in the savory world, but found it less than savory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hated it,\u201d she says, laughing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was too hot and too brutal, and no one was nice to me. But then I saw the pastry chefs in the corner. They were so calm \u2026 and it was air-conditioned. I was like, \u2018That\u2019s more my style.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ChefChef Clarice Lam’s Chocolate pili nut pecan pie. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Using the left and right parts of her brain, as pastry is as much math and science as art, became part of the love affair. Which is also how I\u2019d describe her relationship with Kaya, a restaurant she just happened to try as Orlando was becoming her second home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just Googled \u2018best restaurants in Orlando,’\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Bailey laughs, grateful for algorithms.<\/p>\n

\u201cKaya was at the top of the list, and it looked really cool. Driving up, it seemed like such a weird location, hidden in this residential neighborhood. But it was the best service, the best hospitality of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ChefChef Clarice Lam pours pandan anglaise over Silvana Alaska, a gorgeous new dessert at Kaya. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Everyone was so nice, she says. Everyone on point.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the food was very good, too. We were very impressed, so I did some research about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

As fate would have it, the day she stepped out of her Uber to attend the 2024 James Beard Awards in Chicago, there was co-owner and executive chef, Lordfer Lalicon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recognized him and introduced myself, and we all hung out a little over the weekend,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Rooted in kapwa \u2013 connection, Kaya is Orlando Sentinel Restaurant of the Year<\/a><\/p>\n

Fast-forward to her book tour, and they joined forces for a collaborative pop-up at Kaya. Then some holiday dessert offerings \u2014 Christmas, Lunar New Year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all worked really well together,\u201d she says. \u201cLo and I are very much on the same page in terms of work ethos and creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so, Kaya is proud to have announced Lam as a permanent fixture on the team, which means you can head over to try exquisite new treats like her Alaska Silvana, a torched take on the classic Filipino cookie sandwich.<\/p>\n

\"Six-packSix-pack of Silvana: original, calamansi ritz, strawberry shortcake, ube coquito, milo champorado, and original. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Here, coconut cookies hug a filling of pandan French buttercream, dulce de leche and strips of buko (young coconut). Encased in Swiss buttercream and beautifully browned, it comes with pandan anglaise on the side for drizzling.<\/p>\n

Sound good? Take home a Silvana six-pack via pre-order at kayaorlando.com\/store<\/a> ($50, with flavors like ube coquito and strawberry shortcake).<\/p>\n

\"ChefChef Clarice Lam prepares Calamansi coconut cream pie. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

And for those of you looking to farm out some of your edible holiday cheer, Lam\u2019s large-format pies will be available for pre-order beginning Nov. 26, ready to serve as sweet star-level supermodels for your holiday table.<\/p>\n

Adobo caramel apple tart: Sucr\u00e9e crust\/almond cream\/adobo caramel, $50<\/p>\n

Chocolate pili nut pecan: Phyllo crust\/60% chocolate\/ brown sugar chantilly<\/p>\n

Ube marshmallow: Homemade graham cracker crust\/toasted Swiss meringue\/ube marshmallow\/cornflake crunch, $55<\/p>\n

Calamansi coconut cream: All butter crust\/calamansi curd\/buko\/coconut diplomat, $45<\/p>\n

\"ChefChef Clarice Lam prepares a new dessert menu item: Pili nut Plaisir (pili nut dacquoise, pecan praline ganache, salted caramel, filo and chocolate Bodhi tree leaf). (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

For Lam, it\u2019s been a foray into flavors familiar \u2014 her maternal grandfather was raised in Manila \u2014 but far from typical.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m more used to cooking Hong Kong- or Chinese-style,\u201d she says. \u201cSo it\u2019s been really fun for me to explore southeast Asian and Filipino options. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But France, in a professional sense, feels very much like home.<\/p>\n

Filipino families find fulfillment at Kissimmee\u2019s Kamayan Grill | Review<\/a><\/p>\n

Lam\u2019s lamination will be on full display during December\u2019s \u201cKape\u201d pop-ups, where pastries, both globally and Filipino-inspired, will star.<\/p>\n

\u201cKape Kaya was weeks and weeks of testing for the things we want to implement,\u201d noted Bailey, who says she literally giggles with delight each time Lam has something for her to taste.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost in disbelief,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrlando is really in for a treat. I don\u2019t think Orlando is even ready for what we\u2019re about to see at Kape Kaya and the desserts we\u2019ll have for dinner,\u201d says Bailey.<\/p>\n

\"LeftLeft to Right, Chef Clarice Lam showcases her desserts at Kaya with Jamilyn Salonga-Bailey. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Lam, too, is eager to get to know the guests, for them to know her. And in Orlando, she sees a space where minds are more open than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cI go to Asian markets, and it sometimes feels like 85% of the people there aren\u2019t Asian. So, I think people are ready to see and try and taste a lot of new things. It\u2019s exciting. And I\u2019m excited to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo<\/a>\u00a0or on the OSFoodie Instagram account\u00a0@orlando.foodie<\/a>. Email:\u00a0amthompson@orlandosentinel.com<\/a>. For more foodie fun, join the\u00a0Let\u2019s Eat, Orlando Facebook group<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you go<\/p>\n

Kaya: 618 N. Thornton Ave. in Orlando, 407-627-9117; kayaorlando.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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