Millet desserts bring sweet taste of success

Baker's unique creations lead to fame and business opportunities in capital suburb

Jinpoluo village in northeastern Beijing has boasted bountiful harvests of millets for centuries and now a dessert chef, Liu Tiantian, is adding her brand of sweetness to the place by using the ancient grain to make Western-style desserts.

In February 2022, she opened the SiiKoo Patisserie near the west end of the village. It sells her inventive menu of millet cookies, millet pudding, hawthorn berry cakes and chestnut Napoleon pastries, along with classic pound cake and croissants.

Nearly two years later, Liu, 35, said she took pride in that her little store had pulled through despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its remote location.