Visiting chefs serve up feasts and food for thought

IT’S been raining chefs in Singapore in the past few months or so, a phenomenon that will continue given the line-up of four, six and even 10-hands dinners that have become almost commonplace in fine-dining restaurants.

If you missed the just-ended International Chefs Summit Asia which saw chefs from around the region convening in town for joint dinners and industry talk, there’s still the upcoming Kita Food Festival to look forward to. The Singapore segment welcomes Malaysian and international chefs from Oct 19 to 23 for a five-day affair that’s designed to get the conversation rolling on the future of food.

Kita (or “we” in Malay) Food Festival started in Malaysia in 2021 as an annual series of dining events and talks, and this year it’s spread over three cities – Penang, Kuching and Kuala Lumpur. Singapore was added to the list after organisers received support from the Singapore Tourism Board.

The programme includes four and six-hand dinners at several restaurants, a Sunday barbecue and Kita Conversations, a Ted Talk-style presentation by chefs, food academics and producers. 

Co-founder Darren Teoh (chef-owner of Kuala Lumpur restaurant Dewakan) is no stranger to the topic of sustainability, and the idea for Kita “began with two friends venting about the shortcomings of the food and beverage industry and its unrecognised potential”, he says. The other friend is Australian-born food and travel journalist Leisa Tyler, who has lived in Asia since 1998. 

“We felt that Malaysia was the proverbial ‘unpopular’ kid who never got invited to the cool parties. So when Leisa and I founded Kita, the goal was to change that perception, and spark conversations about the issues that we cared deeply about while fostering a sense of community.”

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 2 pm

Lifestyle

Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself.

Sign Up

One big issue is sustainability and the future of food, so Kita would be a platform for like-minded chefs, restaurateurs, farmers, fishermen and other stakeholders to come together.

“It’s more than just dining,” adds Teoh. “Our aim is to shine a light on the burgeoning South-east Asian influence in the regional restaurant scene. At the same time, we aspire to inspire and educate the younger generation of food producers, while fostering discussions on food consumption and the restaurant industry.”

The four and six-hand dining events include collaborations between Candlenut’s Malcolm Lee and Putu Dodik Sumarjana of Nusantara by Locavore, Bali; London-based chef-author Anissa Helou and Mirko Febbrile of Fico; Nouri’s Ivan Brehm, Fiz’s Hafizzul Hashim and Deepanker Khosla of Haoma, Bangkok; and Indian chef Prateek Sadhu and Marguerite’s Michael Wilson.

Brehm, who is the guest curator of the Singapore event, is also driving Kita Conversations on Oct 23, which will feature speakers discussing different aspects of food, consumption and production. Topics and speakers include nose-to-tail cooking by chef Peter Smit; Malay cooking heritage by academic and author Khir Johari; creating efficient ecosystems by Bali-based Will Goldfarb; and responsible cooking by Matt Orlando.

“It’s a non-partisan platform where we discuss gastronomy and the F&B industry without falling back on overused buzzwords that can sometimes dilute well-intentioned concepts like authenticity, farm-to-table, and sustainability,” says Teoh.

For more information and tickets, visit kitafoodfestival.com

Second Act at the Raffles

Four hands aren’t necessarily better than two, in the Raffles Hotel Singapore’s point of view. That’s why the Bar & Billiard Room is the setting for two visiting guest chefs who’ll be taking over the kitchen one at a time, in October and November.

Part of the hotel’s Chef World Tour series titled The Second Act, this week (Oct 10 to 15) sees Southern Californian chef Jose Luis Hinostroza bring a taste of Mexico to Singapore via his award-winning Tulum restaurant Arca.

Born in California, Hinostroza built his career in multi-starred restaurants such as Chicago’s Alinea, Maaemo in Norway, El Celler de Can Roca in Spain and Noma in Copenhagen. While at Noma, he was part of the research and development team for its pop-up in Tulum. Now at Arca, he’s earned his own acclaim as Best New Restaurant of Mexico, and a No 29 position in the Latin American version of World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

From Nov 2 to 12, the restaurant welcomes Ben Ing of Alberta’s Kitchen & Store in Western Australia, where the chef who once worked at Eleven Madison Park in New York now runs his tribute to hyper-seasonal produce. Ing was also the head chef at Noma for six years, where he married Kirsty, the restaurant’s former head gardener.

Influenced by his sojourns across the world from Japan to Mexico, Ing and Kirsty now run their own kitchen with a philosophy of authenticity and innovative technique.

Each chef has crafted an eight course dinner menu at S$338++ or lunch at S$238++ for six courses.

For more details and reservations, visit www.chefworldtour.com