Meet Tania

Front of House Manager

Chez Christophe Burnaby

Tania is our star front of house manager at Chez Christophe Patisserie in Burnaby, BC. She's been a proud member of our team since 2020.

Where are you from? 

My background is Vietnamese, and I come from Cloverdale, Surrey.

When did you know you wanted to work in the pastry and café world? Why? 

First, I like to bake, and make cakes on my day off. Also, I am a coffee lover, so I think getting to work at Chez Christophe is a good combination of both. 

I get to learn about coffee more or get trained properly on how to make coffee art. Fun fact, my first latte art is learning from Chez. Besides, get to see all the beautiful creation from the chefs in the kitchen, and sometimes getting to munch on all the extra cake trimmings make me happy. 

First thing you ever remember cooking/baking?

First ever baking was making cookies at home.

Your proudest moment at work?

I helped a customer who did not speak English very well to choose a gift for their teacher. They were very satisfied with my recommendation

What’s your favourite pastry or dessert? Why? 

My favourite dessert is tarte au chocolat. I like the salted caramel layer with the crunchiness of the cookie combined with the smooth chocolate cream. It sounds very sweet but it’s not at all and not too heavy.

What inspires your creativity for the café?

Cake. When I see there are many options for cake, why don’t we do that in drinks as well to make it interesting for people to drink, instead of basic plain coffee?

Who is your culinary role model? 

My husband.

Do you have a favourite pastry or dessert memory from childhood? 

My favourite pastry from my childhood is butter croissants. I like the buttery flavour and the flakiness.

How do you approach creating a new drink?

I usually like to go to different coffee / bakery shops to do research and development. I like to see if there is a new drink that I like, maybe bring a little twist and make it a new drink menu at our store. Even if I go abroad, I like to check out their coffee/bakery stores as well.

What do you do in your free time?

I get to spend time with my husband and two kids either going out to eat or hang out at the playground - iykyk.

Besides family time, I like to catch up with my friends and  family to try a new coffee shop or new bakery.