Wedding cake and nachos
While her staff is hawking nachos and chili dogs, Wonyee Tom spends
most of her time in the back of her small beachside concession stand
preparing cakes for Orange County brides and grooms.
Tom manages the Hilton Waterfront Beach Cabana, a small beach
concession stand that sells fast food at the front window as Tom
bakes masterpieces in the back.
The unassuming beach shack has long catered to weekend warriors,
serious surfers, cruiser riders and plenty of out-of-town tourists.
It still rents bikes and boards and sells bags of ice for coolers and
packs of firewood for the fire pits that dot Huntington Beach’s south
coast. But now, instead of just selling chicken fingers, the stand
hawks specialty fudge, homemade soft chocolate chip cookies and spicy
banana bread.
Tom, who grew up in New York, has served as head pastry chef at
ultra-gourmet eateries including New York’s Gotham Bar and Grill and
downtown Los Angeles’ Water Grill.
She landed the concession stand after working out a deal with
hotel owner Steve Bone.
“We’re pleased with how everything worked,” Bone said. “This has
been an interesting opportunity for both the hotel and Wonyee, and
we’re glad to see that she’s succeeding.”
Tom manages the crew of college kids who sell beach food in the
summer while also crafting specialty wedding cakes for ceremonies at
the hotel, as well as for her own clients.
“It was difficult at first because concessions are not my
background,” she said. “But I hired a really good crew to help me run
the place, giving me a chance to do my baking work.”
The new beachside location is a departure from her old six-day
work week at stressful five-star resorts and restaurant kitchens.
Besides creating wedding cakes and other pastries, Tom also makes
deserts for the Hilton’s Palm Court restaurant.
“The beach is an interesting place to work because it is so
temperamental,” said Tom, who lives just a few minutes away from her
concession stand. “I think we take a lot of it for granted. Before I
would only go to the beach six times a year, but now I’m there every
day.”
For brides, Tom makes tasting house calls and delivers her cakes
to the wedding location.
“The wedding cakes are whatever the client wants,” Tom said. “Most
of my recipes are inspired by food I liked to eat growing up. You
just have to tweak it so that it’s sophisticated but familiar. Foods
that our parents used to make -- that’s what people really respond
to.”
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