Meet Jessica Fu

We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Fu recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I don’t know if I can say I’m always 100% over my imposter syndrome. I’ve recently been working on plated desserts for a restaurant after being out of the restaurant industry for a couple years and I started to feel the self doubt creeping back in. I think it will always be there, especially on bad bake days, but it has been comforting to see how far I’ve come. I want to say I just one day said who cares what anyone thinks, I’m a professional and I’m amazing! To answer the question, the biggest factor in helping me overcome imposter syndrome was the reception I received after striking it out on my own. It was the feedback from family, close friends, industry peers and repeat customers that really helped me realize that what I make is so uniquely my own and stands out enough that people keep coming back. Another thing that has helped me is realizing how well I troubleshoot bad bakes or issues that come up. I could either crumble and look to someone else to fix it or I can calmly fix it myself and that’s usually what I do.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a pastry chef, consultant and baking instructor currently residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. I run a pop up called “Jessica Little Fu” where I focus on pastries and flavors that I grew up on while also utilizing the amazing bounty of California produce around me. I’m the child of Chinese immigrants and a lot of my bakes are heavily influenced by Chinese pastry. My most well known bake are my whipped cream cakes. I start with a light chiffon and layer curds or pastry creams, whipped cream and a lot of fruit.

When I’m not baking for my pop up I teach baking workshops (currently on hiatus but hoping to have some by summer) and work on pastry consulting projects.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Three important qualities and skills would definitely be being an effective communicator, being able to adapt and being organized. One of my first management positions in the restaurant industry I remember when training I wasn’t as direct as I should have been. If I noticed my pastry cook making something incorrectly I’d often work alongside them correctly making it. I hoped they’d notice they were doing it wrong and fix it when really I should have just told them.

Things are going to go wrong at some point and how well you handle the situation will set you apart. My first restaurant job out of pastry school we were given a lot of independence and responsibility. Each pastry cook was assigned a restaurant and expected to execute all the desserts for said restaurant. I learned early on that if an issue came up I should try and fix it instead of always running to my Chef to fix it. You can always ask for help but there is something very rewarding in learning how to problem solve on your own.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am always open to collaborations. Some past collaborations I’ve done are with tea makers (afternoon tea events, pop ups), other chefs, florists. Or if you have a space to teach baking workshops. One of my goals is to have more pop ups, baking workshops or events around the country.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jessicalfu.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicalittlefu/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicafu/