Drew Nocente goes back to his roots with new restaurant

COOKING is Drew Nocente’s first love. It may seem strange to say that of a chef who cooks for a living, and who has spent the last 6 years at the helm of sustainability-focused eatery Salted & Hung. But just cooking for the love of it, in a homey space where it’s hard to tell customers from friends, serving anything he feels like cooking, is the philosophy of his soon-to-open restaurant simply called Cenzo.

It’s an about-face from the more fine dining, structured, tasting menu-centric set-up of Salted & Hung, which he was passionate about. But after finding himself at a creative crossroads when the lease of the Purvis Street premises was up for renewal, he decided it was time for a fresh start.

“Closing Salted & Hung was a hard decision,” says Nocente. “I accomplished a lot there and managed to drive some trends as well as push minimal waste – I hope to have changed some mindsets in Singapore. But after 6 years, I felt it was time to explore a new phase in my career.”

While his name doesn’t initially give you the impression, Nocente is Italian, albeit via Australia, which accounts for an easy-going persona and a love for the relaxed cafe culture.

 “The inspiration behind Cenzo is just about creating dishes that I love to cook, in an unpretentious place for my guests to hang out, eat, drink, make some noise and have a great time. A place where guests can come and dine 3 or more times a week, just to enjoy a relaxed Aussie vibe and traditional Italian flavours served in my style.”

The name Cenzo is taken from his father’s name Vincenzo, which in Latin also means “to conquer”. Says Nocente: “When I was thinking of the name, I thought if I was going to do a restaurant which ties back to my Italian roots, then it needs a connection to my upbringing.” He grew up on his parent’s farm in Queensland, “and my dad gave me my first butchery lesson”, he adds. “As soon as I picked the name, it felt right.”

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The new restaurant will be in Club Street, where Nocente has taken over a former wine bar. Construction has just begun and is scheduled to open in mid- to late October. 

The opportunity to open Cenzo was also a fortuitous one for Nocente, who is teaming up with a relatively new restaurant group AC Concepts, which already has restaurants such as Kulto, Kilo and Lumbre in its stable. The group is led by Spanish chef-restaurateur Jose Alonso and entrepreneur Alex Chua, chief executive of Goldbell Financial Services.  

Alonso first made his mark in Singapore at fine-dining restaurant Binomio, and ventured into his own business with Kulto, a popular Spanish eatery on Amoy Street. He has also gone into consulting partnerships with the owners of Lumbre (formerly Casa by Remy Lefebvre) and Kilo – both restaurants that had already been in operation, but needed a change of concept and business plan.

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He had already been on the lookout for potential opportunities when he met up with Nocente, and felt that the latter had a “cool” concept as a fine-dining chef cooking Italian food with an Australian accent. “Singapore is full of Italian restaurants, but what Drew brings to it is his family background, his memories and his personal touch.”

Cenzo will be quite a casual affair, with set lunches at S$35 and dinner at around S$70 a head, with a good selection of Spanish wines, given the Rioja-born chef’s extensive supply network.

“The food at Cenzo will be designed for sharing,” says Nocente. “There’ll be plenty of antipasti, charcuterie and small plates, housemade pasta, great Australian beef and some fun desserts. I’ll have a mix of Italian flavours cooked in my Australian style, and some traditional dishes made with not-so-traditional flavours.”

Just don’t expect any similarity to Salted & Hung. While he pushed the minimal-waste agenda there, “which is embedded in my DNA, it won’t be the main philosophy of Cenzo”. However, fans will recognise his popular pastrami and porchetta, and he expects other new creations such as raw blue prawns, fermented prawn butter, veal tongue and tuna to become signatures too. “I’ll also be making not-so-traditional tiramisu and a couple of fun desserts like pane e gelato and blood orange granita.”

For those who can’t wait to taste his cooking again, Nocente is taking part in a pop-up event at Re-Route Festival, in conjunction with Singapore Design Week. Conceptualised by Plus Collaboratives, it’s part of a food-walk programme to showcase the history of Little India. Nocente will lead the way by taking dishes found in the area and reinterpreting them from an Italian perspective in a 6-course meal. 

If Cenzo sounds a lot simpler than what he has done before, it’s because he wants it that way. “I feel I’ve accomplished a lot in my career – cooking and travelling through Australia, the UK and Asia, and pushing the philosophy of minimal waste. But now, I just want to cook with no agenda, except for guests to enjoy themselves. Personally, I have made a lot of changes lately to make my life happier and more balanced. So now, I want that to translate into my life as a chef.”

For more details about Gastro Intersections by Plus Collaboratives and Chef Drew Nocente, visit reroutefest.com