Justin’s passion for food started as a child, watching his Chinese-American mother in the kitchen preparing dinner. Justin grew up in Westlake Village, California, where there were no Chinese grocery stores. Out of necessity, Justin’€™s mother created dishes from ingredients that were available to her. His mother’€™s inventive style of cooking combined traditional Chinese food with American comfort food and gave Justin the creative instincts that make him a successful patissier. Justin studied architecture at the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design which provided him with the design skills and the attention to detail needed to be a successful pastry chef. Always feeling more at home in front of the oven than the drafting table, Justin found himself drawn to a career in the culinary arts. Justin took pastry classes for fun, and studied abroad in Paris. Inspired by the culinary work of Parisian greats such as Pierre Herm© and Gerard Mulot, Justin decided to take the leap as a pastry chef.