Her chocolate art walls spread ‘moments of joy’ from Singapore to Fiji. Meet Janice Wong

Janice Wong’s edible art recently starred in programmes at two Marriott resorts in Fiji. She talks about why chocolate is her ‘pure passion’

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Singaporean pastry chef Janice Wong with one of her edible chocolate art walls, which have stimulated eyes and taste buds at Louis Vuitton shows and, more recently, two Marriott-owned resorts in Fiji. Photo: courtesy of Janice Wong

Mabel Lui

Published: 7:15am, 4 Sep 2024

Chef Janice Wong’s installations may at first seem as though they belong in an art museum.

Her dynamic floor-to-ceiling canvases are covered with splatters of colour, and are reminiscent of the works of Jackson Pollock, the American abstract expressionist best known for his drip paintings.

But Wong, who was named Asia’s best pastry chef in 2013 and 2014 by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and won the Pastry Innovation Award from French restaurant guide La Liste in June 2024, does not create her works with paint, which is why they are rarely displayed in traditional galleries.

Instead, they are made with coloured white chocolate and often have chocolate bonbon lollipops protruding from them that can be removed and eaten by viewers.

Wong has shown her edible art walls in countries all over the world, including Singapore, Mexico and Fiji. Photo: courtesy of Janice Wong

Wong has shown her chocolate art walls around the world, from Singapore to Sydney and from Bintan Island, in Indonesia’s Riau archipelago, to Cancún, Mexico, where she created the world’s largest chocolate exhibition, with over 10,000 bonbons.

“I feel like in my journey for the last 20 years, it’s always about making memories with the guests,” Wong says. Her goal is to create a sense of wonder and delight in those who encounter her edible artworks through their combination of colours, textures, scents and flavours, she says.