Leigh Heggie-McDonald 

Pastry Chef - Tri-Star

At twenty-nine years of age, Pastry Chef Leigh Heggie-McDonald has already realized remarkably culinary goals. Her story is one filled with sweet success. Hailing from New Castle, Australia, Leigh dreamed of being a chef since she was little. "My grandmother and aunt were both incredible cooks and they were tremendous inspirations to me." Leigh hosted her first dinner party when she was 6. She happily prepared all the food herself but when it came time to serve the dessert, not knowing crepes were supposed to be thin and not fat like pancakes, she refused to serve her crepe suzettes because she didn't think they had come out right. That's certainly not the problem today as she is an accomplished chef who is certain to bring creativity and innovation to Hawaii's culinary community.

Leigh entered the culinary world with a degree from Tafe College in New Castle and started as a prep cook for a prominent continental restaurant in New Castle called Restaurant Phoenix. With three years she quickly elevated to sous chef and then expanded her horizons to the popular Hamilton Island Resort in the Great Barrier Reef as Banquet Chef. In 1990, Leigh relocated to England and continuing honing her craft at the famous 190 Queens Gate restaurant in London. For the next four years she alternated between London and Australia and in '94 opened her own restaurant in Sydney with her sister. It was called "Bliss" and the food was just that.

In 1997, encouraged by her success, Leigh sold the restaurant to open an even larger two-story establishment. She called this one the "Chew Chew Bar" and served breakfast, lunch and dinner with her focus on quality and creativity with a Mediterranean flavor. It was during this time, Leigh discovered another passion that would change her life. She discovered Hawaii.

One of her numerous vacations to the islands, Leigh met her future husband and four months sold her second restaurant, got married and relocated to Oahu. As if by fate, she met noted restaurateur Aaron Placourakis and so impressed was he by her skills, her accomplishments and her philosophy that she was quickly offered the newly created position of Pastry Chef for his popular restaurants.

"My first love has always been pastry. Desserts are the last thing people eat and it should be most memorable, explains this congenial chef. "My philosophy focuses on the whole dining experience. When people come into a restaurant to dine, they should be amazed by the food, the quality, and the service - the entire experience. And my desserts are part of that. I like to incorporate traditional items with contemporary fruits and tastes. I'm looking forward to creating new dishes with the local produce. It will be a welcome challenge, as Hawaii is known for its great variety of fresh fruits. I'm excited at the opportunity to work with such an admired organization as Tri-Star and look forward to bringing a new dimension to their menus."
 

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