Madeleine De Proust’s Hyoju Park Awarded by the World’s “Most Selective” Dining Guide

Hyoju Park is having a very good year. The Korean-born pastry chef, who co-owns Melbourne patisserie Madeleine de Proust, recently released her debut cookbook, Madeleines, with her partner Rong Yao Soh. Now, Park has been named among the best pastry chefs in the world by the French culinary guide La Liste.

Park won Pastry Talent of the Year at the guide’s 2026 Pastry Special Awards, alongside four other bakers from around the world. The accolade recognises the “most promising pastry chefs of the year across pastry shops, bakeries, tea rooms, and dessert restaurants”.

“When I was studying pastry, I used to visit Pierre Hermé to try his latest macarons and wonder how he created such genius flavour combinations. Yesterday, I was at the same event and even took a photo beside him. I honestly felt like I was in pastry heaven,” said Park in a statement on Instagram.

“This recognition reflects years of hard work, experimentation, failures, and the determination to keep trying new things. Most importantly, it represents everyone behind Madeleine de Proust, especially Rong Yao Soh, who has supported me enormously in every aspect, both in front and behind the scenes.”

Notably, Park was the only Australian-based chef recognised in the broader awards, which feature categories such as World’s Best Pastry Shop and World’s Best Afternoon Tea.

Founded in 2015, La Liste is an independent ranking system that aggregates data from restaurant reviews, consumer guides, blogs and other publications to compile the ultimate list of the world’s best restaurants, hotels and pastry shops. It claims to be the world's “most selective” dining guide.

Madeleine de Proust is celebrated for its madeleines – France’s iconic, shell-shaped sponge cakes. The venue serves dozens of varieties featuring different batters, fillings and toppings. Before establishing their Melbourne bakery, Park and Soh built impressive resumes overseas – working at Seoul’s two-Michelin-starred Mingles and London’s Galvin at Windows, respectively – before Park’s tenure as head pastry chef at Attica.

Speaking of exceptional years, Australia has been raking in accolades from several international culinary guides lately. Italy’s Gambero Rosso recognised 26 Australian venues in its latest ranking, while local spots also dominated The 101 World’s Best Steak Restaurants list and its companion burger guide. No doubt we’re about to see stars when the Michelin Guide finally rolls into town.