Highlights
- She learned baking and chocolate-making from her aunt, Annie Carmona-Lim, a popular chef and entrepreneur in the Philippines.
- Ricci suffered from racism and misogyny in the kitchen.
- She has her own line of Filipino-inspired chocolates and baked goods.
"I've always believed I am where I am supposed to be - no matter how s***y the situation."
Chocolatier and pastry chef Ricci Carmona has been through ups and downs, living where her passion lies while battling with forces who don't think she's good enough just because she's female and Filipino.
My aunt gave me my art
"My aunt is Annie Carmona-Lim - she's a big inspiration to me. She owns Chocolate Lovers [a go-to baking supplies store in Manila that resembles a castle]. It was my grandparents house. When they passed away, she couldn't let go of it and decided to turn it into a shop."
Ricci credits her aunt for passing on to her the love of art and baking
"I was around 7 years old when my aunt took up fine arts. She taught me how to do oil painting."
Ricci at work Source: Ricci Carmona
"When I was 10 years old, she began baking and enrolled me in cooking school. During school breaks I would help her make hundreds and hundreds of fruitcake," Ricci laughs, adding, "When she studied chocolate-making, she brought me along as well. I was always tagging along."
From tagging along with her aunt, Ricci discovered her own path with baking and chocolate-making.
"I became the head chocolatier for Marriott in Manila and I taught pastry at Lyceum University and Modern Culinaire Academy.
Ricci taught pastry at Lyceum University and Modern Culinaire Academy. Source: Ricci Carmona
"I wanted to stand out when I applied to the Marriott - to offer something that other applicants didn't have. I said that I loved working with chocolate. I came at the right time. I was immediately hired.
"My station was beside the ice cream station. When the one making ice cream took a day off, I took over and the executive chef liked what I did more than the previous; so he built a chocolate and ice cream room for me."
Ricci working on a chocolate sculpture Source: Ricci Carmona
Female and Filipino
Although her career was taking off in Manila, Ricci wanted more for herself and her two children.
"I decided to do a traineeship in Sydney in 2016. I wanted to provide more opportunities for my kids.
"When my visa arrived, my kids' visas didn't. I was without my kids for five months in Australia. It was really hard, but later on I realised that even if it was horrible being away from my kids, it was meant to happen that way. I was able to prepare and save for when they arrived."
During the five months of being by herself in Australia, not only did Ricci endure her kids' absence, she faced instances of racism and misogyny at work.
"I realised that even if it was horrible being away from my kids, it was meant to happen that way." Source: Ricci Carmona
"I was placed in roles that I wasn't trained for as well as being underpaid and overworked before I found a job in pastry. I worked for almost 70 hours a week for the first five months.
"There was a time I heard two head chefs talking about how annoying it was to have many Filipinos in the company. I looked up and said 'Why, what's wrong with Filipinos?!' One said, 'They're everywhere!' I said, 'Because Filipinos are hard workers!'
"We were also told off when we spoke to each other in Filipino and told that we should go back to our country."
Ricci had her share of good and bad experiences in the kitchen when she moved to Melbourne as well.
Chocolatier and pastry chef Ricci Carmona Source: Ricci Carmona
She was fortunate to get the head chef position at the high-end Gontran Cherrier at the Melbourne Racing Club; but the first lockdown saw the restaurant close its doors.
"I had a few jobs during the pandemic after that.
Baked goods created by Ricci for Gontran Cherrier Source: Ricci Carmona
"I was hired as a head pastry chef in a patisserie, but the team was already together for five years when I came in. Everyday they would make me feel stupid. They were a different race and would only speak in their own language so I wouldn't understand them. I left when the owner yelled at me in front of the staff. I said to myself 'Why would he treat me like that when I was already having a hard time earning the respect of the team?'
"I worked in another restaurant where another female chef and I weren't allowed to touch the oven because we were female. I only lasted two weeks in that job."
After going through racism and misogyny in previous gigs, Ricci was grateful to have had a stint as a pastry consultant for Adam Woodfield, the Executive Chef at Quincy and former Head Chef at the George on Collins.
"Adam gave me the opportunity to create and showcase Filipino flavours. I made mango sansrival, pandan ube mousse cake, calamansi meringue tarts and more. I'm really grateful for that."
Filo chocs
Along with the Filipino desserts she was able to revisit and make, Ricci began making products using Filipino chocolates under her own venture Ricci Chocolates.
"It's funny - when I was a chocolatier in Manila, I used Belgian chocolates. Now that I'm in Australia, I'm using Filipino chocolates!
Polvoron pralines Source: Ricci Carmona
"I use Malagos and Auro chocolates. For me, Malagos (65% dark choco) has a distinct cacao flavour with fruity notes, while Auro (42% milk) is a bit woody. The cocoa butter content is high, which is great to work with."
Among her offerings are dark, milk and white chocolate polvoron (crumbly shortbread) pralines; tablea (ground cacao beans) cake; and her favourite dark chocolate truffle bar which has a polvoron base.
Polvoron truffle bar Source: Ricci Carmona
"I've also included cakes and donuts in my offerings which are Filipino-inspired.
"I wanted to highlight Filipino products because I'm proud of how world-class they are.
Filipino-inspired donuts Source: Ricci Carmona
"I'm proud of our products. I'm proud of our skilled and hardworking chefs. I'm proud to be Filipino. We should never be underestimated."
ALSO READ / LISTEN TO
