Seven years sure does fly by when you’re busy making gingerbread trains and dessert degustations. Acclaimed pastry chef Anna Polyviou has announced that she will finish up at the Shangri-La this weekend, the hotel that has been her home for the last seven and a half years.

The Punk Princess of Pastry made it her mission to turn the five-star establishment into a more magical place, which she achieved with her elaborate high teas, dessert degustations and larger-than-life sugary installations.

Last Christmas, Polyviou wowed her fans with a giant gingerbread carousel complete with moving parts, and the year before that, it was a four-metre-long gingerbread train carrying a cargo of candy canes and lollies.

As for her favourite memories, “that would have to be Sweet Street,” says Polyviou. “It was one of the first dessert festivals, this was at a time when no one was really doing that kind of thing. I actually wrote my cookbook Sweet Street off the back of that event.”

Over the years, Polyviou has helped to build up the culinary cred of the Shangri-La Hotel, which is now considered a top destination for dessert lovers as well as Polyviou’s fans. “So many times people would say to me,  I really can’t afford to stay in the hotel but I can afford the high tea and to have a bit of ‘Anna’.”

While one might expect the former MasterChef guest judge to open her own patisserie, Polyviou plans to stay within the hotel world for now. “I’m excited to make another magical experience in another hotel. Hotels will always be my home,” she said.

Anna is currently reviewing her different offers, however, nothing has been locked in yet. “All I can promise you is – it’s going to be bigger and better!”

Related food news: Anna Polyviou’s choc berry jaffle cakes are proof magic does indeed exist

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