Jeanette Aw responds to comments that she’s taking business away from home bakers

Jeanette Aw has been criticised for taking business away from other home bakers, but she’s not taking the comments to heart.

In an interview with Shin Min Daily News on Monday (Sep 14), Aw responded to the negative comments, saying it was the first time she’d heard of the complaints.

“Singapore has tens of thousands of F&B outlets. There were many home businesses set up during the COVID-19 period too. Why are (they) picking on me? Because I’m a celebrity? Why don’t these people focus on their own business?”

Aw’s famous What The Fudge brownies have been so popular that she had “900 to 1,000” people on the waitlist after her last sale, according to 8 DAYS. The brownies go for S$58 for a box of 16, with a S$10 delivery fee.

But that’s no surprise – the 41-year-old actress is a trained baker, having completed patisserie courses from Le Cordon Bleu in Bangkok and Tokyo.

She called the high number of orders she received “the best form of feedback I can get”.

Aw told Shin Min Daily News: “Making desserts has always been an enjoyable process, and when others love it, it's hard to describe that joy and satisfaction you get."

However, it’s not been all smiles as she has had to face unhappy customers, including one who accused Aw of being “selective” with whom she chooses to sell her brownies. The person sent an unfriendly message to Aw when her order was not accepted. The incident led Aw to post a statement on Instagram saying “We are not selective!” and to clarify that all orders were only taken through an online form and not through DMs.

The good news for those who missed out on getting their hands on the brownies is that Aw told the newspaper that she’s planning to open a dessert shop in the future.

“I set all my work aside to get my culinary diploma so I can open my shop. What will people say about me then? I’m quite curious. The reason I’m baking this time is because I’m free. In a month, I only spend a few days baking,” she said.

That free time will be running out soon as Aw will be heading to Malaysia at the end of September to start filming The Ferryman – Legends of Nanyang. She also has several projects in the pipeline, which will be taking up her time at the end of the year.