Coming Soon: Jess Liemantara Is a Croissant Master Now

Seven years after she debuted on Masterchef as a 19-year-old plated dessert whiz, Jess Liemantara is ready to open her own shop.

Liemantara is better known as Jess Lemon, the Instagram handle she chose when the powers that be at Masterchef insisted contestants create accounts. Later this year, she’ll open a business of the same name at 10 Market Street, Nunawading.

While Liemantara was previously behind Esme, a patisserie on La Trobe Street opposite Melbourne Central that closed in 2022, she ran it with an investor. This time she’s completely on her own, self-financing the business primarily using money she made selling tarts during Covid.

Liemantara has experience in the pastry sections at Nobu and The Press Club. But in the years between closing Esme and opening this new business, Liemantara worked at Ned’s Bake & Bistro and Rustica to learn how to make croissants and other viennoiseries – jobs that often involved 2.30am start times. “I decided if I were to wake up for a job, I would rather wake up for my own dream,” she tells Broadsheet. “So that’s why I’ve decided to embark on my own journey and open up my own shop.”

Liemantara is running the business solo and, to keep things manageable, will open it in phases. She’ll start with online orders that can be collected from the shop as well as beginner-friendly workshops where she’ll guide six to eight students at a time through making items such as macarons and croissants. “They’ll be very educational, fun classes,” Liemantara says. “Nothing too scary – it’s very open to beginners.”

Once classes are up and running, Liemantara plans to introduce dessert degustations, something she wanted to do at Esme, “but couldn’t figure out logistics”. The sittings, with a “chef’s table vibe”, will be a completely new offering for Liemantara. Each menu will have a theme. “It could be really focusing on different fruits, or focusing on tea, or on classic combinations like the classic Cherry Ripe or tiramisu,” she says. And the intricate desserts will be paired with Japanese teas and other beverages once the shop’s liquor licence is approved.

The final stage of opening Jess Lemon will see it transform into a full-blown cafe. “The class of desserts I create is not something you would have every day,” she says of her signature tarts and other multi-component goods. When it opens as a cafe, there’ll be house-baked croissants and other less special-occasion items that “let you give into your cravings on a daily basis”.

Jess Lemon is expected to open at 10 Market Street, Nunawading later this year.