Dancers who Dare: Denise Ong, co-founder of Jaded Macarons
Denise Ong, one of our past The Legacy Experience (TLE) programme students, is a creative and communications director at Jaded Macarons. While heading into her final year of studies at SMU at the age of 22, she spearheaded the pastry passion with two other partners during last year’s circuit breaker.
Denise, Founder of Jaded Macarons
Jaded Macarons: Signatures
From expressing her desire in wanting to attend external workshops on baking macarons, to learning it at home instead - birthed the beginning of a new business idea. Whilst the enthusiasm was contagious, the secret weapon lied in having tons of prior working experiences in the F&B scene, knowing how it works in the kitchen and the customer service industry. The secret ingredient was however, the bond between their closely-knitted team members, each with unique strengths that complement. To top it off - their love for food and sweet desserts.
Jaded Macarons: Signature Series & The Lovers
Freshly registered in November 2020, Jaded Macarons was born from a place of wanting to be different and innovative. ‘With Jaded’, there is a tinge of weariness in what has been commonly offered to consumers wanting to indulge in the fluffy, sandwich-looking treats, while longing to make their money’s and tummy’s worth. As most of the usual macarons possessed exaggerated sweetness and aesthetics so as to compensate for its lack of quality taste, Jaded Macarons takes extra care in making it less sweet but still flavourful. Such quality was achieved with not just the fillings of the macarons, but also the carefully sculpted meringue sandwich, making each macaron satisfying to bite into.
More about Denise. Jaded Macarons and her TLE experience
Name: Denise Ong
Age: 23 this year
Studying: Full-time year 4 SMU undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor in Social Science, majoring in PLE (politics, law and econs), with second major in communications
Member of The Legacy Experience: 2017 - 2019
One word people use to describe her: ‘Driven’ (given by Erica, who is the pastry chef of Jaded Macarons).
One word she would use to describe herself: ‘Weak’. “ I would say weak, because a lot of external things you see about me is not really of my nature. A lot of my character is forged by necessity, and growth.”
1. How would you say a typical day in the kitchen looks like for you?
Kitchen: Space @ Kovan
“Since the orders are made online, I will firstly check them, followed by internal accountings such as checking of the receipts, counting of the daily cash flows etc. All these were actually skill sets that I had picked up from my past working experience with Legacy Dance Co. while working as their counter personnel. I do have a certified accountant as well who is a friend helping to keep track of our financial accounts monthly. Since I leave anything kitchen-related to the pastry chef, I focus mostly on operational activities such as folding, designing of boxes and collaterals. There is not so much of a typical day, or a routine to follow as there are many areas to explore in doing your own business. For example, just 2 weeks ago, I spent the entire week shooting and editing our Valentines’ day macarons!”
2. Who were the instructors that guided you from the start of the The Legacy Experience programme?
2017: TLE Co-Exist
“I joined the dance programme from 2017 - 2019. Back then when I was in TLE, I was first under the guidance of Lester Fisherman and Serene. Fish taught me isolations and grooves, while Serene taught mostly street jazz. As I progressed in the programme, Chelsea, Sebastian and (Lester) Leong then became my TLE instructors.
Denise’s First TLE class!
Fish was the one that I first felt inspired to learn from, as I saw his videos online and thought that he was cool, and enjoyed his style of dancing. Having seen that he is teaching at Legacy, I had decided to want to learn from the studio.
Serene was the toughest, she challenged me a lot as she will attempt to hit the multiple layers of the music, including the snares, the melody, the bass etc. It was not the easiest as I had to not only train my body but musicality.
Chelsea is a whole new category on its own, as she trains not about how fast or sharp, but the extension and flow of movements. It was a big contrast from her training with Serene, and Fish. But we even did an open class collaboration together before, and it was amazing.
Although I am no longer an active member of the TLE programme, I still make an effort to be back for open classes. I might have paraphrased it but as Seb and Leong mentioned before, “You can never be too pro to drill basics”.”
2. How often are you dancing now that you have left the TLE programme?
“Although I am making an effort to come back, I had stopped dancing sometime back, even before I started business. This was due to a wrist injury that I had due to a torn ligament.
My purpose of coming back to dance is to keep fit. To distract myself from the physical exhaustion of life, and have a safe space to enter into.
Although I haven't been dancing for the past 2 years, but mentally there is a shift. What I pay attention to, and the amount of attention I pay to now is definitely different from what I used to do in the past. Open classes have gone beyond just catching the choreo, but about ‘fleshing’ the choreo out, adding my own flavor to it”.
3. You mentioned keeping fit, how would you say dance is different from a typical way of working out by yourself at home?
“I hate exercising for the sake of exercising, in the past I used to be in sports, like gymnastics. So there is a purpose more than just getting fit, similarly to dance there is more purpose than just looking fit or being fit - for example having a strong core allows you to hit certain textures of the music better, and that is why I would want to be fit”.
“Dance is tiring, but at the end, it is also fun”.
General Questions about Interests & Life
1. Other than dance, do you have any other interests or hobbies?
Denise, Singing at School Event
“In secondary school & JC, I had always been into music. I like to sing, so I used to perform in events in school. My plan is also to take a year off after graduation to produce music, if this startup does not work out. But hopefully it does, and ultimately we want to make this a stable business too.
Following music, my dream is to create a bar space for women only. I was very inspired by Legacy’s concept of having a safe environment for people to come and dance. Back then, I was such a lousy dancer but when people ask me how I managed to improve and become so much better, my answer would be because of the safe space that was provided for me to grow in. And thus, the bar idea is also to provide a safe space for women to have fun in, without worries of being harassed”.
2. Lastly, do you have any advice for someone looking to try something new, but might hold back due to life’s daily pressures?
“I had this mentality since university, being someone that had always been taking on too many things. My mentality is “You will find a way if you want to”. You know just to give an example for dance, we are all extremely self-conscious, and I was like that too, being self-conscious, especially in my cheerleading days where the girls will be judgemental about one another.
But what I realized is that dancers are often preoccupied with themselves, that they won't really look at you. Which is also a good thing. There is also no real value in hiding at the back of the class because
Everybody is busy thinking of themselves, no one has time to think about you.
5 months, 5 years, 20 years down the road, would you regret not trying? This is what I tell myself every time I feel scared”.
Jaded Macarons is ideal for people who are looking for treats that inspire them, with a fascinating combination of ingredients used to craft intriguing flavours - Ang Ku Kueh, Kaya Butter Toast, Kopi Gao, Liu Sha Bao, and White Rabbit Candy.
For Valentines Day, there is also a special collection of 5 luscious macarons, which is the perfect treat for you and your loved ones - Earl Grey Baileys, Honey Camembert Speculoos, Blood Orange Sangria, Rose Ruby Chocolate and Basil Strawberry Dark Chocolate. Do take note that this is a seasonal series, just for Valentines and you can keep a look out for other seasonal series by following them on their instagram for any updates: https://www.instagram.com/jaded.macarons/
We hope that you have enjoyed our first series of ‘Dancers who Dare’, where we interview past TLE students who have started on their own creative projects or business ideas. In collaboration with Jaded Macarons, there is an exclusive 10% discount on their macarons for all TLE members.
To purchase the macarons online: https://www.jadedmacarons.com/
For any enquiries on The Legacy Experience, do visit us at: https://www.legacydanceco.com.sg/about-tle