The reigning queen of Chocolate, Kirsten Tibballs, needs no introduction. She’s a renowned pastry chef and chocolatier, both locally and internationally, best known for her cooking school, Savour. And of course, there are also her cookbooks and the TV show, The Chocolate Queen.
Lately, we’ve seen her sweating it out in the MasterChef: Dessert Masters‘ kitchen against a handful of Australia’s best pastry chefs.
However, Tibballs admits she didn’t intend to go on the show. A powerhouse in her own right, she didn’t need the publicity of TV. In fact, she was worried about “judgment and potential impacts on her established credibility.” However, she believes in the importance of taking risks and embracing new experiences, which eventually convinced her to challenge herself.
“I wanted to be an example for my son and encourage others to pursue their passions despite potential judgment,” Tibballs tells The Latch over the phone.
Kirsten Tibballs on her MasterChef: Dessert Masters Journey
Over her time on Dessert Masters, Tibballs has crafted some impressive creations. Who can forget the caviar cake? It was downright deceptive.
Unfortunately, it was a chocolate birdcage that ended her Dessert Masters run.
“I was playing it back, and reliving it all over again was… gave me a bit of PTSD,” she says.
But Tibballs has no regrets about the show. “It’s probably no surprise anymore, but the off-camera moments we had, eating dinner and getting gelato after, is what made it all worth it.”
Speaking of off-camera, Tibballs admits that after a challenge, she would sneak into her Savour school to practice chocolate work and memorise recipes. “Sometimes I would be there well into the night, only to do it again in the kitchen a few hours later.”
Currently, the Chocolate Queen is out promoting her new cookbook, Chocolate All Day, which is jam-packed with indulgent recipes for morning, noon, and night.
MasterChef Australia: Dessert Masters airs Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays at 7.30pm, only on 10 and 10 Play on Demand.
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