Will Goldfarb is a renowned pastry chef who was formerly known as the "Golden Boy of Pastry" in New York City. He has experienced both success and failure in his career. He now runs Mejekawi, an avant-garde dessert laboratory concept in Bali, Indonesia. In the interview, Goldfarb discusses his career path, love of technical desserts and gadgets, and focus on local Balinese ingredients at Mejekawi. He emphasizes simplicity, precision, and using what's available locally in his dessert creations.

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Up Close & Personal
B
eing in the public eye for quite some
time, Will Goldfarb has picked up
some interesting monikers along
the way. Titles like “The Prince of
Pastry” and “The Sultan of Sweets”
are undeniably playful, and the royal theme is
particularly relevant considering Will’s devotees
and followers, both old and new.
But this chef hasn’t always had it so sweet. From
the early days his bio reads a bit like a roller-
coaster. He went from success to failure, rock-
bottom to sky-high, until his big break finally
came when he bagged the ultimate job that all
chefs dream of: a position at the former elBulli.
He went on to open his own dessert bar, Room 4
Dessert, to rave reviews from newspaper giants
like The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal.
But when Room 4 Dessert eventually closed due
to partner differences, Will finally made the move
to the glistening shores of Bali. With the burning
passion to start up another project coinciding
with an empty space on the second floor of KU
DE TA, Will proposed his idea for Mejekawi –
an ultra-modern 24-seat laboratory concept,
intoxicated by a chic design, avant-garde cuisine
and desserts that have never been seen before.
Mejekawi is now one of the island’s best
restaurants, and Will’s sweet creations have
reached technologically-advanced heights. They
are just as unique as his New York favourites, just
as eye-catching and just as scrumptious, but they
come with a number of added complexities and a
whole lot of imagination.
I managed to catch up with the chef himself in
between his meringue making to really get to
know the “Golden Boy” of New York. Surrounded
by his gadgets and his team of young, enthusiastic
chefs, he talks me through his desserts at
Mejekawi and how each one comes into being.
He tells me about his love for Bali and the local
ingredients, and why he has no plans to leave the
island any time soon.
Q: Back in New York, you were one of the
city’s most cherished pastry chefs, lovingly
referred to as the “Golden Boy of Pastry”. Do
you ever look back at your “golden” years?
A: New York is awesome, but I don’t miss living
there. It was certainly the right thing for my
career at that time because the city really tests
you – it challenges you and you have to work very
Will GoldfarbBrowse earlier editions of New York’s biggest gazettes and you will find review after review
of Pastry Chef Will Goldfarb – the Empire State’s “Golden Boy” of desserts. He used
to be as iconic to the Big Apple’s dessert scene as the New York cheesecake itself, but
don’t get him wrong – he is far from a has-been, once-was chef. This cool and quirky New-
Yorker is now the brains behind the ingenious desserts of Mejekawi – the gadget-packed
laboratory-kitchen concept at Bali’s beloved beach club, KU DE TA.
By Louise Newsham
“I love doing
unexpected
things - things
that are
technically
sophisticated.”
— Will Goldfarb

2. hard to make something of yourself. The people want to
see you suffer a bit before you can become a “Golden Boy”!
They want to see you bleed, they want to see you prove
yourself. It’s pretty ruthless!
In fact, my first reviews in New York were terrible – things
like “Beware” and “Only for the Brave”! I wasn’t sure if
I could recover from that, so I packed up and left New
York for a few gigs across America. After a few years, I
finally decided to brave the big city once more. I opened
my dessert bar, Room 4 Dessert, and the first review was
“All Grown Up”. When I finally got a great review in The
New Yorker, I knew I’d finally cracked it. It’s normal to go
through the fire a few times in New York, so it was nice
to come out the other side. Bali doesn’t have that kind of
hysteria yet, so I’m interested to see what I can do here.
Q: So what is it about desserts that encouraged you
to keep going?
A: I’ve had a lot of joy in pastry, which made the
lows worth it! And after working at El Bulli in Spain,
everything jumped up to the next level. I just love the
technical nature of desserts. I’m fascinated by them.
Q: Dessert doesn’t get much more technical than
in Mejekawi’s laboratory. What’s your favourite
gadget and how is it used?
A: To be honest, I’m spoiled for choice in Mejekawi so
I have to name a few! Our signature pieces are the Wolf
Induction Hobs and our Sub-Zero Freezers, but there
are also a few other tools that are absolutely invaluable
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and my ideas will always be deep and meaningful, but the
X is inspired by what else is going on around me. The best
way I describe it is by comparing it to a fashion collection.
A fashion designer has their own way of working, but then
there is the world outside generating what is interesting
that season – it could be a colour, a feeling or something in
the movies. That’s kind of the same way my desserts come
together. It always begins with a reason or an encounter,
then it grows from there.
Q: And how quickly can you move through this
process?
A: It completely depends. But the key is recognising when
that moment comes – that moment when you have exactly
what you set out to achieve. Sometimes it takes twice the
amount of time you expected, and other times it comes
half way through the process. For example, we started
developing our meringue in 2012 and it’s only just on the
menu – it’s now 2014! It was an ongoing experimental
process. It took so long because we were aiming for a very
low sugar, very flavourful meringue that has stability.
That’s something quite difficult to make. I don’t know how
many thousands of meringues we made, but we got a really
good result, so it was worth it.
Q: Your desserts have been described as “quirky”,
“eccentric” and “utterly genius”. How would you
describe them?
A: I have my own criteria for what my desserts need to be.
First they have to be delicious, then they must be beautiful,
and finally, they have to be interesting. But I think we
have our own style here at Mejekawi. The only way I can
describe it is “experiential”. I’ve often been lumped into
these “molecular” and “techno-emulsional” categories,
but I’m not interested in all of that. For me, what we do
is unique.
Q: So how do your desserts differ in Mejekawi to
those you used to make in New York?
A: A big part of cooking is being aware of what’s around
you. Obviously in terms of climates, we don’t eat the
same thing when it’s snowing compared to when it’s
sunny. But beyond that, you don’t get lemongrass and
fresh spices on every corner in New York. They do have
great wines and great cream though, so back then I
would lean my desserts towards those ingredients. In
Bali, it’s the opposite. Bali is a perfect storm. Do we have
great dairy? No. Do we have great wine? No. But we’re at
the source of pastry’s base ingredients: sugar, chocolate,
spices and flour, and that’s the best bit about this place.
Q: Do you have any go-to ingredients that you just
love to use?
A: I’m big into citrus so I love working with mango, lime
juice and nutmeg fruit. Mejekawi’s menu is full of what
we love, and we’re very lucky that most of these things
grow nearby. Right now we’re working with lots of big
tree farms that produce coconut and palm sugar, as well
as lots of raw products like raw cacao, raw butter and raw
cocoa powder. We also work with raw Primo chocolate
which is pressed right down the street from here, it’s
fantastic.
Q: Location aside, what’s your favourite dessert to
make and what’s your favourite dessert to eat?
A: Vanilla ice cream for both! I like things that are
simple and slightly sweet. And vanilla is great to work
with. Here at Mejekawi we make it very rich but low in
fat by puréeing the vanilla beans to make a nice infusion.
It’s simple but precise.
Q: So what top three tips would you give to budding
pastry chefs?
A: Keep it simple, keep it local and taste as you go.
Q: And finally, what should we expect from Will
Goldfarb in the future?
A: In Mejekawi I will be introducing a lot more local
ingredients to the menus - even more than we already
use. The dishes will be more healthful, much lighter and
they will use less sugar and dairy. But for me personally,
I feel like I have unfinished business with Room 4
Dessert. My goal has never changed - I still want my
own restaurant. But right now, Mejekawi is something I
definitely won’t walk away from.
to what we do. Our Excalibur Dehydrator is vital for our
meringue, our Irinox Blast Chiller freezes things to -38 in
just a few minutes and our Henkelman Vacuum Sealer is
the best tabletop vacuum machine on the market.
Then there’s our most unusual gadget - the Sonicprep
PolyScience Homogeniser. It’s used to aerate, age, make
vinegars, infuse flavours, tenderise and purée, simply by
using sound. There’s no blades in it – instead of a cutter, it
just emits sound. It’s very cool! Can you tell I’m a bit of a
gadget-head?
Q: So is it all about gadgets for you or are there
other, non-technical tools you couldn’t live without?
A: Oh of course, I couldn’t live without a spoon, a small
offset spatula or my apron. I even travel with them!
Q: After so many years of creating desserts at
the top, what process do you go through to create
something new and innovative every time?
A: I’ve got a pretty straightforward process that hits four
key areas: ingredients, technique, the idea, then the ‘X’.
The X is the magical unknown thing where my inspiration
comes from. My ingredients will always be grounded by
local flavours, my techniques will always be cutting edge
Praline Cashew Sponge
Sugar Refinery

3. for the milk jam:
• 750g Milk
• 150g Cream
• 150g Palm sugar
for the milk cake:
• 88g Butter
• 115g Sugar
• 40g Eggs, whole
• 3g Baking powder
first make the milk jam:
1. Bring the milk, cream and palm
sugar to a boil and reduce until
syrupy.
then make the milk cake:
1. Cream the butter and sugar, then
add the eggs one by one.
2. Fold in the sifted dry ingredients,
then add the milk jam and
Amaretto.
3. Cook in a steamer (or combination
steam/bake) at 150 celsius for 30
minutes.
finally, prepare the iced
jackfruit:
1. Puree the fruit with wine (if using)
and adjust the seasoning to your
taste.
2. Freeze and grate with the tines of a
fork when needed.
to serve:
1. Cut a piece of the milk cake and
sauce it with the milk jam and
Amaretto to taste.
2. Spoon some chocolate chantilly and
scrape over some jackfruit ice.
3. Finally top with the nutmeg ice
cream and meringue.
4. Enjoy!
• 80g Flour
• 75g Almond flour
• 13g Amaretto
• 75g Milk Jam
for the chocolate chantilly:
• 200g Milk
• 200g Cream
• 200g Dark Chocolate
• 1 leaf Gelatin
for the nutmeg meringue:
• 150g Sugar
• 75g Egg Whites
• 1 piece Nutmeg, freshly dried and
grated
for the iced jackfruit:
• 250g Jackfruit
• 50g Gewurtztraminer wine (optional)
• Salt, sugar, water and lemon juice to
taste
whip up the chocolate
chantilly:
1. Bring the milk and cream to a boil,
then whisk in the bloomed gelatin.
2. Strain over the chocolate, shear well,
strain again, then allow to set.
3. Gently whip and keep cold.
then make the nutmeg
meringue:
1. Whip egg whites until frothy, then
add sugar slowly as the egg whites
firm up.
2. Whip until shiny, then spread onto
nonstick baking paper.
3. Bake at 100 celsius until dry. Keep
dry until ready to use.
INGREDIENTS
METHODS
here’s how to make will goldfarb’s “house of glace”
dessert at home – without the fancy gadgets.
will goldfarb’s
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