About Sonya

My name is Sonya Sammut. I have been a pastry chef for over twenty years and a former owner of Sachère Desserts, a shop that has made its mark on the sweet landscape of Montreal with its buttercream-free tiered cakes and bold ice cream flavors.

Today, I dedicate my expertise to creating custom desserts as well as occasional projects and culinary pop-ups throughout Montreal. I collaborate with other nomadic and creative entrepreneurs who share a free, artisanal, and human vision of gastronomy.

Through these projects, I develop cakes and desserts designed to be unique, prioritizing encounters, exchanges, and experimentation. Each creation is approached as a dialogue between taste, material, and intention.

I am often asked why my desserts are influenced by Japanese culture. I grew up in a karate dojo founded by my parents, where I practiced the Shito-ryu style (糸東流) until I was fourteen. This environment profoundly shaped my vision of rigor, aesthetics, and balance, values that today permeate my work in pastry.

A Montrealer for over twenty-five years, I have always had the desire to create desserts that have character, color, and speak to everyone. I love working with textures, playing with flavors, and offering, when it makes sense, gluten-free or vegan versions.

My approach is simple. Share what I love, pass on what I have learned, and continue to explore, with curiosity and humility, what pastry can be.