Quotes from Adriano Zumbo

High tea is fun. It's elegant and social and a great way not to have to devote yourself to a big meal but still have a drink and a relaxed time.

I love Melbourne and South Yarra's perfect for high tea.

If I hosted a high tea at home it would be an Italian aperitivo-style high tea. I'd make little meatballs with lemon puree and mozzarella centres. Or maybe little schnitzel sliders with coleslaw.

If I was hosting a high tea at home the last thing I would want to do is make it too fussy for myself.

At school, before I left, I was making cake mixes and taking them to school, giving them to teachers and my classmates.

When I was kid, one of the big things was watching all the cattle trucks and wheat trucks coming through town.

I used to eat the batter raw. My sister would make it and I'd lick the bowl and then I started to get it off the shelf and whip it up and eat it with a spoon.

I was born in the Chinese year of the rooster, so maybe that explains my affinity with chickens.

In my early teenage years I wasn't doing well at school and I wasn't really interested in a way. I knew I wasn't going to go to uni or anything like that.

I want to promote pastry. Pastry has always been in the background - it's always cooking, cooking, cooking on programs, and pastry has just been this thing at the end. I want to show people what we do.

I was a bit of a wild kid.

I think the main mistake people tend to make is that they rush desserts. Take your time and plan ahead.

Temperature is the key to making a smooth custard butter cream. Some add the butter when the mixture's still hot but it tends to split and you end up with a grainy result. Wait for it to cool.

I love high tea, but I think it's very repetitive in terms of what's on the stand.

That way I look at it, I want to push myself to create things people could've never imagined. It's a good motto to have in the back of your head, I think.

For me with sugar, it's all about balance. It's about being strong enough and to have the willpower to say, you know what, Saturday is my treat day, I'm going to eat cake, I'm going to eat dessert, I might eat a packet of biscuits.

Chocolate fondant, creme brule, and sponge cake with jam, cream and fresh berries are always winners.

Texture and flavor is king.

Focus on the flavor and texture of your desserts. Don't go overboard with too many ingredients and flavors keep a good balance of flavors.

A lot of old Australian bakeries used a lot of trans-fats but I just wanted to use quality ingredients - butter, cream, custard - to produce a high-quality product.

I'm like anyone else: there's good and bad in what I do and there are always people out there who think they know better than you.

Mostly my ideas come from within, from my experiences, my childhood and the master of all sweets and lollies, Mr. Willy Wonka.

I'm a bit of a thinker so I think a lot, and process a lot, and it always evolves into something different.

I want to stay ahead and to stay ahead you always have to be thinking out of the box.