Kenwood ambassador and MasterChef star Anna Polyviou on mohawk reaction
IT'S not just her pastry that is quirky. This MasterChef prides herself on employing a “different personality perspective” to her whole life.
WE’RE overlooking one of the best views in Sydney; the Harbour Bridge sits perched on the left, the Opera House dazzling in the sunlight to the right.
Suddenly, a buffet of sweet treats appear before my eyes, like Willy Wonka just exploded onto the floor of the Shangri-La Hotel’s Altitude restaurant.
“This is my favourite, its crème and chocolate with raspberries, raspberry topping ... and popping pearls.”
A swirl of flavours and colours fill my senses. “Lychee raspberry berry? Cassis with yoghurt Why don’t you try the popping candy? I’ve started doing graffiti on food, you should try it.”
It’s clear Anna Polyviou, executive pastry chef at the Shangri-La Hotel Sydney, has a sweet tooth, and certainly a flair for original, modern and awe-inspiring desserts. In fact, it’s become her trademark.
The “punk powerhouse of pastry,” as she has become known after her 2015 stint on MasterChef, has established herself as one of Australia’s leading pastry chefs. Her dishes have become so popular, she’s in hot demand.
This year, she returned to the MasterChef kitchen to challenge contestants to a Pressure Test,
billed as the most difficult in the show’s history.
The dessert, Anna’s Mess, a whopping 74-step recipe, is an explosion of flavours including strawberry liquid gel, rose and French vanilla tea mousse, vanilla bavarois, fresh strawberries, baby basil and mini meringue kisses with the ultimate ingredient: Pop rocks.
But it’s not just her pastry that’s quirky; Polyviou prides herself on employing a “different personality perspective” to her whole life.
She says it’s this individual flair for food that led her to become an ambassador for Kenwood, which “represents the brand for my style, individuality, and creativity”.
“I’ve got 15 G-Shock watches, I’ve got the mohawk, I make sure my trainers match my watch, I wear two different coloured socks, it’s just a different personality perspective,” Polyviou told news.com.au.
“I just do whatever I want, I put myself out there, push the boundaries.”
She says of her trademark mohawk: “I don’t get that much criticism to be honest. It’s really weird, I expected more, but I don’t.
“I’m quite lucky, but also it’s the way that we approach it. Once you start being more humble and easy going, people won’t criticise you as much.
“I just wanted to do my own thing, my hair’s my hair, my product is my product. I never really thought about it, but everyone’s really excited about it, it’s because it’s different.
“Not everyone’s walking around with a mohawk. I just do my thing.”
She says the interest with her hairstyle was “never intentional”.
“I never really knew what the brand was but as you grow and as you evolve you figure out the direction you want to head in.”
- Anna Polyviou is Executive Pastry Chef at the Shangri-La Hotel Sydney and a Kenwood ambassador.