Other
Helen Goh
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Born in Malaysia, raised in Australia, and now based in West London, Helen Goh sits in the overlap between pastry, development, and food writing. Her own shorthand keeps the record plain: "So now I say I was born in Malaysia and grew up in Australia and now live in West London!"
The Climb
Head pastry chef at a landmark Melbourne restaurant meant working where pastry is judged in real time: by timing, finesse, and the ability to stay steady when the pass is moving. Helen Goh moved from that kitchen setting into London and into the Ottolenghi group as chief pastry recipe developer, where the labor shifted from service to development, testing, and refinement. Those two posts map the range of the craft she’s built around: one side grounded in the demands of a live kitchen, the other in the discipline of writing and revising recipes until they hold. Today, Helen Goh works across recipe development and food writing, with sweets remaining the through-line. The practice here is not ornamental; it is measured work built from weighing, folding, waiting, tasting, and adjusting, then translating those decisions into language that can travel beyond the kitchen. That is the register she operates in now, with pastry technique on one side and column writing on the other.
Today
Recipe development at Ottolenghi and food column writing for Good Weekend put Helen Goh in two related forms of precision: one asks for repeatable kitchen instructions, the other for clear, practical prose. Based in West London, she moves between those modes without changing the underlying standard, keeping the technical demands of the work intact whether she is writing for a page or working through a dessert in the kitchen.
Signature
Helen Goh's signature dishes include Sweet, Comfort, and Baking and the Meaning of Life. Read as titles, they point to her ground: dessert as a technical form, home baking as a practical discipline, and sweetness as something that can still carry structure. The work is exact, but it is also built to be inviting, which is often the harder balance to hold.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Helen
What is Helen Goh's current role?
As of 2026, Helen Goh is Food columnist.
Where did Helen Goh work before?
Helen Goh's earlier career included a landmark Melbourne restaurant and Ottolenghi group.
What recognition has Helen Goh received?
James Beard Award shortlist.
