As a young girl Mary George had dreams of making an impact in the cooking world with her mesmerising recipes. Little did she know that she would be waking up in the city that never sleeps as an executive pastry chef for Le Café Louis Vuitton in New York City.

Growing up in Sydney, the love of cooking started at a young age for Mary George. Living in the early naughties, she had a key influence that would inspire many foodies around Australia at the time.

“It sounds cliché, but it actually started with MasterChef. I started watching the show and as soon as I saw the chefs looking like rock stars, I knew it was something that intrigued me,” Mary said.

“I started to look through the Master Chef magazines and all the culinary food magazines. I found a page promoting Le Cordon Bleu Sydney. I actually ripped the page out of the magazine. I stuck it on my wall and circled it, and I said I want to go here one day.”

Eager to jump start her career, Mary had to compromise with her family to finish high school before attending the cooking institute. This didn’t halt her journey though, as anytime she wasn’t doing homework, Mary was working alongside renowned Australian chefs refining her skills.

“During high school, I had the chance to work with some renowned Australian chefs at the time like Vincent Gadan. He’s someone that took me under his wing at a young age,” Mary said.

“Working with him, learning all the fundamentals of patisserie just really boosted my passion at that time.”

One of Mary’s creations

Turning passion into a career

Passion is something that Mary learned quickly was the most important element to a successful career.

“I think at the beginning of my career, it was more about learning the skill set and knowledge behind patisserie. It soon became more about finding something that I love and am extremely passionate about. Something I could see myself doing for the rest of my life,” Mary said.

Finding projects that she truly finds inspiring led her to working at Le Café, Louis Vuitton’s first dining experience in the United States. First opened towards the end of 2024, Mary George describes the cookery approach as a having a ‘focus on classical French refinement with New York flair’.

In fact, Mary and her colleagues spent some time in Paris and St. Tropez prior to the opening to gain a better understanding of a venue that combines luxury and fine dining.

“We were very fortunate to have spent last summer there and kind of learned the concept and what makes this dining experience so special,” Mary said.

“Obviously combining you know, what we love in patisserie and the luxury world is something so special. Every day we get to perform, we use the most high-quality ingredients, with the best possible techniques, as well as adding in French refinement.

“We’re trying to showcase and bring that excitement to New York culture and create sort of a cool environment. I think what we do here is very special and very neat, and so exciting to be a part of.”

Alongside traditional French practices, Mary’s cultural heritage also influences her approach to the desserts at Le Café.

“Both of my parents are Syrian and I find having a Middle Eastern background naturally comes into my flavour profiles without even realising,” Mary said.

“I get really excited working with things that are Middle Eastern orientated. I just launched a cheesecake dessert that holds very similar notes to Middle Easter vibes. It uses pure olive oil and orange blossom water. Natural floral extracts are very common in that culture—little things like that.”

As an executive pastry chef at the venue, Mary has the freedom to experiment and play with these different flavour profiles to her heart’s content. It is during the development process that she can spend her time adding her signature artistic flair and bring to life her delicious ideas.

“Some days I will be at home thinking and visualising in my head and the next day I just cannot wait to bring it to life. I think that is what is exciting for me daily,” Mary said.

“The main part of what I do as an executive staffer is guiding my team and teaching them the fundamentals and the knowledge to help their careers grow.”

A Louise Vuitton branded dessert

The challenge of growth

Mary’s team aren’t the only ones that have grown and developed their skills as even Mary challenges herself to create the next best dessert to add to the recipe collection and the Le Café menu.

Recently, Mary developed her Middle Eastern-inspired cheesecake dessert to accompany the seasonal menu, focusing on citrus notes. Wanting to challenge the traditional method of cheesecake, Mary reimagined the structure to become something more contemporary and artistic that also met the visual criteria of the café.

“It’s a cheesecake mousse. It’s got Meyer lemon and olive oil, mandarin gel, and a mandarin and orange blossom ice-cream with a citrus extraction. I found creating this was definitely outside of my comfort zone,” Mary said.

“I was really trying to challenge the concept of cheesecake but still using the same textures and flavours that remind people of the dessert. Turning traditional desserts into very conceptual and contemporary ways has always been very interesting to me, and I really like the direction I’m heading with that.”

Although Mary is allowed a certain indulgence in playfulness when it comes to her creations, working at the Le Café and the hospitality industry in general can bring pressure. When times get stressful, Mary finds it best to take a step back and breathe.

“Having a moment to reflect and say ‘You know what? Look at what I am doing. 13-year-old Mary baking her cupcakes would be buzzing to know one day she would be doing this.’ Mary said.

The young patisserie chef also emphasises the importance of patience. Every day is a step up in your career journey she commented. There was once a time where Mary had to wait until she could attend Le Cordon Bleu Sydney, and her patience eventually led her to New York; and this is only the beginning.

“For future goals, I always want to still do teaching in some way and make sure to stay true to my roots, in the sense that I’ve always loved sharing knowledge,” Mary said.

“I’d love to launch a cookbook one day. I think it would be great to start to finally put all the recipes that I’ve been evolving over the 15 years of experience in the industry I have, to share my knowledge with a wider audience.”

New York is dazzling, Paris is patisserie heaven, but there is no place like home. Mary mentions that although she loves her current position and hopes to travel more, eventually returning to Australia is a possibility.

“I can definitely see myself coming back one day and really showcasing myself and my evolution. I’ve got so many great connections in Australia and all my teachers, mentors, and employers are all there. They’re still cheering me on,” Mary said.

“Australia will always have a big place in my heart, and I will never forget my roots and where my experience came from … I’m very proud to be Australian and it really did set the foundations of my love.”