Behind the Scenes at WOW Bakery
A 2-Day Internal Pastry Workshop with Seungjun Lee (South Korea)
Most customers only see the finished dessert —clean layers, sharp edges, glossy finishes, and carefully placed garnishes.
What they don’t see is what happens before that moment.
Recently, the WOW Bakery pastry team spent two full days in an internal pastry workshop with Seungjun Lee, a visiting pâtissier from South Korea. The focus wasn’t presentation or promotion — it was hands-on work in the kitchen, refining techniques and testing how desserts perform under real production conditions.
Over the two days, the team worked through the full recipes and assembly process for four desserts, practicing not just how to make them once, but how to make them consistently.
The Desserts We Worked On
During the workshop, Seungjun guided the team through the complete build process for:
Forêt Noire (Black Forest–inspired)
Strawberry Verrine
Lemongrass Basil Chodang Corn Lime
Lemon Tiramisu
Each dessert was built repeatedly, compared side by side, and adjusted — focusing on structure, balance, and finish rather than speed or volume.
Day 1: Fundamentals and Clean Execution
Day one focused on fundamentals — the small details that quietly shape final quality.
The team trained core techniques that directly affect how a dessert looks and feels:
Piping control and uniformity
Clean, defined layering
Texture timing (soft, set, chilled, or room temperature)
Garnish placement and balance
Consistency across multiple units
Rather than aiming for one perfect sample, the focus was on aligning standards so the same result could be produced across the team.
Day 2: Testing Under Real Production Conditions
Day two shifted from practice to pressure-testing, asking not just “Is it delicious?”
It was:
Can different team members produce the same result?
Does the finish hold at production speed?
Do structure and textures survive storage and handling?
By running multiple iterations with more hands involved, the team focused on turning recipes into production-ready desserts, not just prototypes.
The Details You Don’t See
(But That Make the Difference)
Some of the most important pastry decisions don’t show up in photos:
Exact temperatures at key steps
When components rest, set, or stabilize
The order of assembly
How finishes hold over time
Pressure control at the end of a piping motion
These details are difficult to capture in written recipes alone.
They’re learned by watching, trying, correcting, and repeating — which is why hands-on workshops matter.
What This Means for WOW Bakery
Workshops like this help ensure that the desserts leaving our kitchens aren’t just well-designed, but reliable, no matter who is building them or how busy the day is.
We’re grateful to Seungjun Lee for sharing his experience and guiding our team through the process.
More behind-the-scenes stories from our kitchen — including training, R&D, and new product development — will be shared soon.
About WOW Bakery
WOW Bakery is a Korean-inspired premium bakery in Calgary, known for giftable cakes, pastries, and modern desserts made with care and precision.
From everyday treats to celebration-ready creations, our team is committed to craftsmanship, consistency, and warm hospitality — so you can Celebrate Life’s Moments with WOW.
