Dessert Masters season two is airing on Channel 10 with a slate of new sweet savants but let’s take a moment to see what last season’s winner Gareth Whitton is up to now.
There is more to Gareth than being a Dessert Masters grand final winner. He has more than 18 years of experience as a fine-dining pastry chef, owns his own tart business and has a cookbook.
Learn more about Gareth below!
Gareth has an extensive resume
With nearly 20 years of experience under his apron, Gareth has worked in some amazing places.
For three years, he was a pastry sous chef at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. In 2018, Gareth was promoted to head pastry chef at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.
Following that job, Gareth moved across to the viral pastry store Lune Croissanterie as its kitchen manager and development chef.
That job ended in 2020 due to Covid where he began his own tasty endeavour.
What did Gareth do with the Dessert Masters winnings?
When he won the first season of Dessert Masters, he recieved a $100,000 cash prize, but what did he do with the winnings?
Speaking with Refinery29 last year, Gareth said he used the $100,000 cash prize to invest back into the business and his mortgage. But, he also treated himself to a new bicycle!
“We’re going to offset the mortgage and reduce some of those loan repayments, just really treat ourselves,” he told the publication.
“How sobering when [you win] six figures and then you see it really chewed up through a cost of living crisis.”
Gareth has a very successful tart business
Before appearing on Dessert Masters, Gareth opened his tart business, Tarts Anon during the Covid lockdown in 2020.
It began as something to do during the lockdown but word quickly got out about how great the tarts were and his business, Tarts Anon was born.
He runs Tarts Anon with his partner Catherine Way, who is the ‘head of tart logistics’.
Gareth and his partner, Cat opened their flagship store in Cremorne in September 2021 and he now has opened a second location in Collingwood in 2022.
Gareth has recently published a cookbook
Following the major success of Tarts Anon and winning Dessert Masters, Gareth has recently published a pastry cookbook on tarts, with the business’s namesake.
Gareth worked with his partner, Cat to produce this sweet recipe book.
In an Instagram post, he said the process of writing the book took nearly two years with many “highs and lows” in between.
“We’re over the moon-shaped-tart about the final product,” he continued.
“I have already been advised there is one typo from someone who is very good at reading, but just goes to show no AI was used in the process and although I tried to get AI to write the introduction when it all felt too hard, I’m glad I resisted in the end!”
Dessert Masters 2024 airs on October 14 on Channel 10 and 10Play.
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