Born into the circle of life

ZOR TAN MAY HAVE THE demeanour of a pussy cat, but it took the mettle of a tiger to drive the young boy from Johor to the heights of Michelin stardom, and now as the chef-owner of one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in Singapore.

It may be coincidence or just fortuitous that the 35-year-old picked his zodiac year to step out on his own with Born - a name picked to represent his creative rebirth; his professional journey; and the circle of life. It also sums up his mission statement in a pithy acronym: Best Of Right Now.

''It's about good timing, being able to step out and do something for myself, being in a good place with my family, and the opportunity to show my guests the best of what I have,'' says Tan.

Timing, luck and a lot of hard work sum up the 12-year journey that started in the lowest ranks of the kitchen at Jaan in 2009 - headed by chef Andre Chiang at the time - to the position of chef de cuisine at Chiang's Sichuan Moon in Macau, which garnered two Michelin stars within 5 months of its opening.

Tan calls Chiang his mentor, and the only chef he's wanted to work with since he was a student at hospitality school Shatec and saw a newspaper article about him. ''I thought, 'this is the food I want to make - it's so pretty and elegant','' says Tan.

Hell-bent on getting a job at Jaan after graduating, he dressed up in his finest office wear and took the bus from JB to Singapore twice for an interview - he was stood up the first time - and waited weeks by his phone for a call that never came. Until he finally managed to contact Chiang himself, who had absentmindedly misplaced his resume. ''I said, 'Chef, do you want to hire me or not?''' Tan recalls.

His fellow chefs would later tease him about his choice of interview attire but he says it was an act of respect. Nonetheless he finally got the job, not knowing what he was in for at the time.

He was 23, with barely any experience, no knowledge of French, and assigned the high-stress job of running the pass - where dishes are plated and sent out to the guests. The senior chef in charge had quit and left him to take over, with Chiang by his side. The baptism of fire had him sweating bricks, studying at night and jolting awake shouting, ''Oui, chef!''

But he knew he was in it for the long haul at the end of his first week, when the notorious ''tough guy'' chef Chiang patted him on the shoulder and said ''good job.''

He would be Chiang's right hand man from then on as he worked his way up, even being appointed head chef of Raw Taipei in 2014 while concurrently working at Restaurant Andre in Singapore. When Restaurant Andre closed abruptly in 2018, Tan decided against moving to Taipei with Chiang because he had just got married and settled down in his own place in Singapore.

He'd planned to open his own restaurant, but while scouting for a location, he got a call from his old boss - to go to Macau to set up Sichuan Moon at Wynn Palace. Trained purely in French cuisine at Restaurant Andre, he had no experience in Chinese or Sichuan cooking but decided to give it a shot for one month. And found himself trying to convince a kitchen of sceptical Chinese chefs to trade their big woks for tweezers - he was vindicated when Sichuan Moon jumped straight to 2 Michelin stars after barely 5 months.

His stint lasted almost 2 years, and involved much commuting between Singapore and Macau to visit his wife and subsequently their daughter, now a toddler.

And then Covid-19 happened.

''I had a feeling it would be bad. I was travelling back and forth every month, and I was worried that if there was a lockdown, I wouldn't be able to fly back.''

He had his mentor's blessing to quit, and flew home. The day after he arrived, Singapore went into lockdown. That was in May, 2020. Now, he is putting the finishing touches to Born - an almost 5,000 sq ft sprawling space on the first floor of the conserved Jinrikisha Station in Tanjong Pagar, set for opening in early April.

''People ask me if it's French or Chinese cuisine but it's more of a merging of the two cultures. I wanted to do something with the elegance and subtlety of French cooking, combined with a Chinese heritage because that's where I come from.''

Memories also play a part in Born. ''My family was poor but I always had plenty to eat because my mother ran an economy rice stall. I never ate 'outside' food until I was in secondary school.''

The chye png stall concept of having multiple dishes is akin to having a lot of food on the table, and appears on Born's menu as an elaborate presentation of snacks presented over the first two courses, starting with three pickles and then five snacks.

Among the starters is a tomato capsule, ''a ball that bursts in your mouth and is inspired by my Dad who used to pickle everything in sour plum with a bit of chili''. Abalone with burnt chilli pesto is based on his memory of eating cockles in Perak (where his family is originally from). His enterprising mother would shell the cockles and sell them to suppliers for income, and his use of abalone signifies ''how life is getting better for my family, and how we've come from being poor to enjoying a decent standard of living''. Even an Alaskan crab dumpling has its roots in his childhood, with the glutinous rice ball reminding him of tang yuan and family reunions.

Born, then, is about the circle of life, the ups and downs, the passage of time as seen in the fermentation and pickling process, where good food requires patience. And the circle doesn't end but continues as he assumes the role of mentor himself.

He's well aware of the pressure that awaits him when the restaurant opens, and the weight of the heavy investment of over S$3million to turn his vision into reality. ''It's a good kind of pressure, but it's time to develop my own style and philosophy, and I want to guide young chefs, to give them the opportunity to build their own dreams like I did.

''For the past 12 years, I went from nothing to something, and it's time to give back.''