Sowing The Seeds Of Growth

IF PATIENCE IS a virtue, Gan Ming Kiat has loads of it. While most eager young Singaporean chefs would plunge straight into opening their own restaurant at the first sign of popularity, he bided his time with his sought-after popular private dining outfit Mustard Seed, till he was very sure he could make a restaurant work both creatively and financially.

That time has come, because by June this year, Mustard Seed will evolve into a proper restaurant, when fans can look forward to having his homemade yong tau foo and other locally inspired dishes all year round.

Chef Gan may not be a household name, but he's well known in local food circles as a strong talent, if not a strong-headed one who eschewed the usual career path of most chefs.

After three and a half years at the nowdefunct Japanese restaurant Goto, two years at modern Peranakan restaurant Candlenut under Malcolm Lee and shorter stints elsewhere, he had developed his own cooking style and was ready to open his own place, but sagely advice from his 'mentor' Chef Lee that being a good chef didn't automatically make him a good businessman stopped him - which was why he started Mustard Seed in 2017.

It ran successfully for a year and a half, with eight diners showing up at his home every weekend. He even had a waitlist, so it was the perfect set-up to experiment and refine his own cooking style before starting his own restaurant.

''I got to see many different aspects of the dining experience. Not just the food, but also the service and interaction with the guests,'' says the graduate of At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy.

His new restaurant will also be named Mustard Seed and is located in Serangoon. With just 13 seats around a U-shaped table, its concept will be simple, as he hopes to run the show with just two other staff. That will help him maintain control over everything, which is also why the project is entirely funded with his own savings and some help from his parents.

The menu will be omakase-style, priced at about S$130 per person for 10 courses. Some familiar dishes may make an appearance but Chef Gan intends to do new dishes along the way as well.

One is based on the French leek and potato soup Vichyssoise because ''it was one of the first dishes I've ever cooked,'' says the chef who describes his cooking style as a personal take on Singapore food, with Japanese and Peranakan influences. ''I want to do an Asian take on it with lily bulbs... And it's cold so maybe I'll pair it with scallops or crab,'' he says.

Even as he plans to strike out on his own, Chef Gan remains grateful to his two mentors. Goto-san, for one, taught him ''to season to a point where you feel it could use just a touch more salt, and stop. Because you're tasting just one mouthful, but the customer is drinking is an entire bowl.''

Chef Lee, on the other hand, drilled the importance of the bottom line into him. ''He's right, because if your numbers don't add up, then there's no need to talk about the rest of it anymore.''

He's well aware that a chef's life is a tough one, but Chef Gan thinks he has the best job in the world. ''I can't sit in an office. I get a rush during service, and being able to realise my creative vision. Guests eat what you made with your hands and immediately tell you whether it's delicious or not. That tangible product and response is very enjoyable to me.''