“Being resilient and stubborn is very important in business. It’s quite normal when you’re faced with a high stress situation to feel like you can’t do this, but I don’t think it should be a deterrent because we all adapt and learn how to deal with these situations and improve ourselves”
Christopher Siu is the newest winner of Masterchef Canada (2021) and the owner of Daan Go Cake Lab, a popular Asian Fusion dessert chain in Canada, which will soon open in the U.S. as well.
Chris’s childhood dream was to open up a bakery store, but he initially thought it was going to be much later, after he retires from working as a pharmacist.
In 2015, when Masterchef Canada put out a call for amateur chefs to compete in Season 2 of the reality cooking show, Chris applied and got in. Although he didn’t win the competition then, that experience inducted him into the culinary world and turned him from someone who baked for fun to thinking seriously about the culinary arts – the preparation, innovation and presentation of food.
Chris’s smiling demeanor and one-of-a-kind dessert creations on the show won him both the adoration of the judges and the show’s fans, such that when the show ended, he was already fielding request from viewers who wanted him to bake cakes for them. Two years later, Chris was at a point where he was struggling to fulfill all the cake orders and decided to quit his job as a pharmacist to open up Daan Go Cake Lab.
Today, Daan Go has grown to 7 stores across Canada with two new stores slated to open soon. Speaking to Chris, I learned that he’s not only a talented baker but also a gifted entrepreneur. His ability to navigate through chaos in a calm manner and his strong problem-solving skills combined with his passion for desserts are why Daan Go is so successful.
If you’re looking to start a business someday or to make a name for yourself, then you’ll definitely benefit from listening to this episode. In it, Chris talks about:
How he went from someone with zero business knowledge to building a thriving dessert chain
The initial days of Daan Go: what it’s like to build a business from scratch
Daan Go’s marketing secrets to gaining a large fanbase
How Daan Go went from one store to seven
The right mindset to succeed in business
How he handles pressure and manages his time
How to determine if you’re cut out to be an entrepreneur and the rewards of entrepreneurship
Christopher Siu: @bakersiu
Daan Go Cake Lab: @daangocakelab
Wiser Living with Sissi Wang: @wiserlivingpodcast
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