Big on the small stuff

WHEN it comes to packing for guest chef stints abroad, Japanese chef Hideaki Matsuo is used to forgoing precious suitcase space for extra socks or that spare apron for carefully squirrelled away packets of bonito and kelp instead.

Bottling pre-made dashi stock ahead of time or dialling up Singapore-based suppliers to pre-order a commercially produced substitute is out of the question: the 51-year-old chef's fierce insistence on making everything from scratch - just as he does in his three Michelin star restaurant Kashiwaya in Osaka - is a philosophy that travels with him too.

The seeming hassle all pays off when the food is placed in front of you at the table.