'I'm okay with the low pay': This poly grad flew all the way to Tasmania to chase her baking dream

Why I Do What I Do is an original AsiaOne series where we showcase people with uncommon professions and what it takes to get there. In Why I Do What I Do: After Dark, a five-part spin-off, we take a closer look at the night owls who work while the rest of us are sleeping.

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When a bakery on the other side of the world tells you they can't hire you, most people would probably give up. But Joey Eng didn't take no for an answer.

In fact, the 26-year-old Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduate hopped on a plane to Tasmania to chase her baking dreams with no visa and no promise of a job. All she had was a love for bread and carbs, she told AsiaOne.

Now, she's a full-fledged baker who lives and breathes bread some 12 hours a day, baking from 3am to 3pm at local cafe Baker's Bench.

Knocking on doors to get her start in the kitchen

She discovered her passion for baking only six years ago, the soft-spoken young woman revealed.

She was pursuing a diploma in hotel and leisure facilities management and had zero experience in the kitchen.

"I think it all started because I love eating," she said, admitting that she had no interest in her course of study. "I tried to figure out my way into the kitchen. Right after I graduated, I just stepped into a bakery and asked for a position."

She quickly found that it was "really difficult" to land a position in a kitchen without any experience.

But knowing that her passion was in feeding people, she persevered, knocking on doors and eventually securing a job at artisan bakery Baker & Cook, where she learnt the ropes in the kitchen.

Taking a chance to chase her dreams overseas

Her baking journey took another unexpected turn when she came across Tasmanian bakery Apiece on Instagram and fell in love with their bakes.

"It's really my style. I want to do things where no two items are identical," she explained.

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She promptly slid into the bakery's DMs to ask if they were hiring — no matter that Tasmania is some 6,370km from Singapore.

Although she faced yet another rejection when the bakery told her they would only be able to hire "people they know", she didn't relent.

Instead, she dropped everything to fly to Tasmania for two weeks, just so the bakery could get to know her.

"Many friends told me that I'm the only person that they know of who chased after their dream without thinking much," Joey laughed.

And it was a gamble that paid off — in 2018, a year after she first flew to Tasmania, the bakery offered her a position. Joey accepted without any hesitation as she knew that she had to seize the opportunity, she said.

There, she honed her craft for over a year. But it wasn't easy.

Her week consisted of four days of intense baking, often up to 12 hours a day, followed by three rest days which she called her "recovery period".

After her stint at Apiece, she returned to Singapore, where she co-founded Baker's Bench with a like-minded friend, Vera Tan, aiming to serve up simple, rustic, and classic food.

Her bakes are the only carbs her model sister eats

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As a night baker, Joey makes sure that the cafe's bakes, ranging from traditional sourdough loaves to their signature Sticky Bun, are fresh out of the oven by the time they open at 8.30am.

Despite the late nights and long hours — regular customers have asked her why she's "always around" — she told us she wouldn't have it any other way.

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"In Singapore, a lot of young people go through with their degree and then get a stable job earning enough to survive.

"But I just do what I do. And I'm okay with the low pay."

She also credits her supportive family for keeping her going. When she first brought up the subject of working in Tasmania, her parents were all too happy for her to "go out and see the world", she recalled.

As for her elder sister, who works as a model and sticks to a strict diet, Joey's bakes are the one thing she makes an exception for.

"She always eats the things that I make. Even if it's a super buttery croissant or a very indulgent cake, she will still eat it no matter what."

kimberlylim@asiaone.com