Belinda Leong

The Path

The foundation work came in kitchens and classrooms before the name was attached to a bakery counter. Belinda Leong started as an intern at Michael Mina's Aqua Restaurant, then studied in the Hospitality and Restaurant Program at City College of San Francisco (until 1999), building the habits that pastry service demands: repetition, timing, and control. The most formative role before her own shop era was pastry chef at Gary Danko in San Francisco from 1999 to 2005, and also pastry chef at Gary Danko in San Francisco (2001–2005), a stretch that sits at the center of her professional record. In 2005, that practice was widened by staging at Pierre Hermé in Paris, Bubó, Lasarte, Noma, and In De Wulf in Belgium, a sequence that marked contact with several different pastry traditions and working methods. She later served as pastry chef at Manresa in Bay Area, continuing the same discipline through another kitchen context. The business side of the work also expanded: Belinda Leong became co-owner at b. Patisserie Seoul in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea (from 2018). Today, she is co-founder and owner of b. Patisserie (since 2013), co-owner of b. On the Go (since 2015), co-founder of Kona Coffee Purveyors + b. Patisserie (since 2016), and partner of Routier Restaurant (since 2021).

The Work Today

At b. Patisserie, Belinda Leong’s name is tied to a pastry that depends on structure as much as flavor. Her signature is kouign-amann, which asks for layered contrast: crisp and tender, rich yet controlled, plain at a glance and exacting in execution. That is the kind of item that only stays relevant if it is made the same way, over and over, with attention to fold, bake, and finish. On the pastry, she said, “I have been making it for almost 12 years now!” The line tracks the labor behind a signature that has outlasted novelty and become routine in the best sense: a dough handled often enough to reward consistency. At b. Patisserie, the pastry is not just the label attached to her work; it is the clearest record of her method.

Signature

Belinda's signature dishes include kouign-amann. It is the pastry most closely tied to her name, the one that appears again and again as shorthand for her approach: exacting, elegant, and grounded in technique.

In Their Words “I have been making it for almost 12 years now!”