Cookie Queen: Sabahan Janet Tan Shines In USA Food Network’s Christmas Show
Janet Tan picked up cookie decorating as a hobby before turning it into a career.
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A housewife turned home baker from Lahad Datu won the weekly challenge on US’ Food Network’s Christmas Cookie Challenge Season 8.
Janet Tan appeared in the episode Santa’s Seaside Holiday which pits four to five bakers over two rounds for a winner every week over the season.
The first round involved decorating cookies to an “under the sea” theme while the second challenge required bakers to build the best 3D Christmas sandcastles.
Bakers were offered the use of papaya, mangoes, coconuts, or guava. Tan had to work with coconuts although she was unfamiliar with it.
Tan shared that she managed to get ahold of a hammer to smash the coconut open. With onde-onde in mind, she grated the flesh to include in her dough.
Although she was unable to replicate the flavours of the traditional Nyonya kuih with pandan essence, she won the judges over with her dishes.
Tan said the best part of the experience was meeting the other contestants who also enjoyed their craft.
Tan shared that the episode was filmed in April so she had to keep the results a secret until two weeks before it aired on 5 December.
She said only her husband and her children knew about her win and they were thankfully able to keep a lid on it.
How did she get her start in the US?
Tan moved to the United States with her family to support her husband’s career. While she enjoyed being a full-time mum, she was getting antsy being a stay-at-home mum in a foreign country. She was used to working and was getting lonely without friends.
By chance, she came across YouTube videos of cookie decorating which piqued her interest and she was inspired to present something beautiful and customised for her daughter’s parties.
She shared about going through a steep learning curve such as converting Fahrenheit to Celcius in her home oven. Her friends also expressed shock because she had never shown any artistic or creative talent before.
She soon got a job as ground staff for an airline and kept making and decorating cookies as a hobby.
When the pandemic hit, it was an opportunity for her to reconsider he career choices and decided going into cookie decorating full-time.
She started her business, Fairyland Pastry, in 2020 and when the lockdown lifted, she resigned from her job to focus on her business.
After winning the Food Network competition, Tan said business is booming with many Christmas orders coming in.
When asked how life had changed, she said she didn’t think too much about it despite winning the prize money of US$10,000 (RM44,330).
As for what’s next, Tan said she plans to take a trip back home as she hasn’t returned in seven years.
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