Why Cookieboy’s Ryan Zimmer will never compromise on quality
If you’re looking for chewy, generously sized American-style cookies, check out Cookieboy’s delicious offerings. At HK$20 apiece, some Hongkongers might find it expensive, but Zimmer says that’s all down to quality ingredients
Ryan Zimmer’s first job was at a bakery café in Seattle, in the United States, scooping cookie dough onto baking sheets. He decided to make a career out of patisserie and went to hospitality school in Switzerland, where he met his wife, a Hongkonger who eventually decided to return home. After a decade or so in Hong Kong, Zimmer – who for a while was a pastry chef at the JW Marriott, in Admiralty – came full circle, and started a cookie business, Cookieboy, in late 2015.
His company specialises in American-style cookies, but “Cookieboy is not Mrs Fields”, says Zimmer. “New customers associate the look of the cookie with Mrs Fields. That’s probably the biggest misconception.” However, he says, “I’d like to be as successful as Mrs Fields, don’t get me wrong.”
Originally a partner in Cookieboy, after a year in business, Zimmer went it alone and now works out of a 1,000-sq-ft space in Aberdeen.
“It’s an industrial building, but it’s not an industrial setting. You go downstairs, and it’s residential. It’s fantastic.”