The Baking Jin East Meets West Suffolk Supper Club – Framlingham, Suffolk (UK)

On 11 May, 2024 The Baking Jin held a soft launch of his East Meets West: Suffolk Supper Club – afternoon tea-style at his new home near Framlingham in Suffolk. This was a practice run to gauge interest, assess the set up and get feedback.

The Baking Jin Suffolk Supper Club East Meets West

Photo credit: Riadh Falvo

The Baking Jin Suffolk Supper Club Jin Yee Chung

Photo credit: Mrs Brown

It’s been almost 6 years since he held his very first supper club in Cambridgeshire (I wrote about it here). He’s a real pro at it now, having done several pop ups in Cambridgeshire over the past years, like The Tasting Table and East Meets West @ Signorelli’s. I think this type of event will do well in Suffolk and I know I will continue to make the trip from Cambridge to enjoy Jin’s cooking and baking at his supper clubs.

The Baking Jin Suffolk Supper Club Afternoon Tea

The Baking Jin Suffolk Supper Club chiffon cakes

The Baking Jin put together another wonderful parade of his (ESEA) East and South East Asian-inspired sweet and savoury delights. For the West to meet the East, Jin included ingredients from Suffolk producers as well as Afternoon Tea staples like earl grey tea and scones. Emmerdale Farm Shop beef, Bungay butter from Fen Farm Dairy, Adnams gin and homegrown walnuts from the garden (can’t get any more local than that) were incorporated into the menu.

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The Tasting Table with Dulcedo, The Baking Jin and Bumble & Oak – Cambridge (UK)

I love it when a plan comes together. It’s no secret that I’m a great fan of the sweet treats produced by Andrew Hunter (Dulcedo), Jin Yee Chung (The Baking Jin) and Riadh Falvo (Bumble & Oak), but what if I brought together these three inventive makers for a special event? Some of us knew each other well, others only a little… but somehow they got on board with my idea for a collaboration, even though it was a lot of extra work for them. Jin and Riadh have full time jobs. Andrew and Joanna lost several hours of trade that day by closing early, not to mention the effort involved in all the preparation and using Dulcedo as the venue. I am so grateful for their trust in me to sell out the event.

The Tasting Table at Dulcedo Cambridge

The Tasting Table Dulcedo Cambridge

The three of them concentrated on designing and developing the 8-course menu – a sweet (mostly) and savoury parade of innovative dishes, fusion bakes, high end patisserie and artisan chocolate. I took care of all the marketing and admin stuff, such as the event description, photos and ticket sales. Riadh came up with the name The Tasting Table.

The Tasting Table Cambridge Dulcedo, One Two Culinary Stew, Bumble & Oak, The Baking Jin

Photo by Jin Yee Chung

The event formed part of my personal commitment to support independent producers and businesses so I didn’t charge for my services and paid for my own ticket and drinks. I did have a few advantages though, such as guaranteeing a ticket for myself and Paulo and getting a sneak peek at the menu so I could type it up and print individual copies. And of course, a glimpse behind the scenes is always a privilege.

The Tasting Table Dulcedo Cambridge Pina One Two Culinary Stew

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East Meets West Afternoon Tea by The Baking Jin – Cambridgeshire (UK)

On August 11, 2018 talented baker Jin Yee Chung of The Baking Jin hosted his very first pop up, titled East Meets West. I was delighted to experience Jin’s take on Afternoon Tea, along with a group of guests who were eager to try his bakes or have been long time fans. The pop up took place at Romano’s. We all gathered around an inviting communal table on a Saturday afternoon.

Jin, who hails from Borneo, is a software engineer by day (that’s Dr Jin – he has a PhD) and a baker by night. After winning the Cambridge Bake Off in 2015 with his stunning DNA cake, Jin continued baking, experimenting and perfecting his cakes. He is known for his light and airy chiffon cakes and has a growing list of customers for private orders. He also supplies a few cafés and has been featured in The Cambridgeshire Cook Book (2015) and The Cambridgeshire Cook Book: Second Helpings (2018).

East Meets West was loosely based on the concept of Afternoon Tea with a sweet and savoury parade of fusion dishes from Jin’s native Malaysia and beyond, paired with two intriguing teas: Jiaogulan and Chrysanthemum.

We were welcomed with a gorgeous mocktail which Jin named Blue Purple, because it changed colour. A carafe of lime-honey liquid was poured into each glass of blue pea flower liquid, which changed the colour of the mocktail from blue to purple. The batch of blue pea flowers, grown in the garden of Jin’s late grandparents in Malaysia, was picked and dried by his aunties. How special is that? On a more local note the honey was from East Hatley, only 15 miles from Cambridge. A pandan leaf was placed into the mocktail for a hit of its sweet, vanilla-like aroma. We nibbled on lobster crackers and keropok (prawn crackers) before we took our seats.

Photo by Ozzy Beck

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