Three-Michelin-starred Zen’s head chef resigns, plans to open own restaurant

THE food and beverage (F&B) industry’s worst-kept secret is finally out.

After tendering his resignation as early as 15 months ago, Zen’s head chef Tristin Farmer has officially left the restaurant that he guided to its third Michelin star in 2021, just two years and nine months after it opened in Singapore.

Farmer’s last day was on Jan 19, and he plans to relocate to Dubai, where he will open his own restaurant in the fourth quarter of 2024, in partnership with Singapore-based F&B operator Culinary Arts Group.

Co-founded by Sameer Sain – also co-founder and CEO of investment firm Everstone Capital – Culinary Arts Group operates eateries such as Revolver, Hamamoto and Araya.

Farmer will also take on the role of partner and culinary director of Culinary Arts Group, in which he will oversee its operations in Singapore as well as its expansion plans overseas. He will focus particularly on Revolver, which will also open an outlet in Dubai, as well as a bakery and members club in addition to his own restaurant.

Zen is the Singapore outpost of acclaimed Stockholm restaurant Frantzen, which is owned by Bjorn Frantzen, who collaborated with Unlisted Collection to open Zen in a Bukit Pasoh conservation shophouse in November 2018. The restaurant was awarded two Michelin stars outright in 2019, followed by its third star in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic when the awards ceremony was held online.

For now, it is unclear who will take over the reins at Zen. Farmer’s No 2 chef Chua Tor Aik – better known as TC – is a potential candidate, having been in the restaurant from the onset. It would also make him the first Asian head chef of a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in South-east Asia.

Another possibility is that a chef from Frantzen would be posted to Singapore to head the operations.

Loh Lik Peng, CEO of Unlisted Collection, says that any announcement about Farmer’s replacement will be made by Bjorn Frantzen personally when he visits Singapore soon. “But I can confirm that TC remains with us and will definitely be assuming a very senior role within the restaurant.” 

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Being his own boss

Farmer’s departure from Zen is part of a long-term career plan that he set for himself since he decided he wanted to be a chef as a 13-year-old growing up in the small town of Kinross in Scotland.

After more than 20 years as a chef in Michelin-starred restaurants working for the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Jason Atherton and Bjorn Frantzen, he feels it is time for him to be his own boss.

“When I spoke to my business partner (Sain), we discussed the best way to create a company together and build for the future,” Farmer tells The Business Times. “The plan is to create a foundation in Dubai and bring something unique and fun to the region.”

With plans already under way to open Revolver in Dubai – where Farmer worked for several years with Jason Atherton before coming to Singapore – it made sense for them to join forces and build a business there.

At the same time, he would still return to Singapore to supervise operations at the local outlets.

Another reason for his move is personal. Dubai is just a seven-hour flight from Scotland, which makes it easier for Farmer to visit his son, who still lives there.

The Dubai restaurant will be an intimate, brasserie-style space, and it will not be fine dining, he explains. “We want it to be three-Michelin-starred food in a casual approachable environment, with everything cooked over wood fire. It’s yoshoku-inspired, so there’ll be lots of Western dishes heavily influenced by Japanese cuisine.” It will be a platform to “develop my own food style, my own identity”, he adds. “I want the food to be very different.”

But as a partner, Farmer will also be more involved in the financial and business aspects, and widen his horizon from employee-chef to full-fledged entrepreneur. “We want to build something special in Dubai and expand internationally once the time is right.”

It will also bring him closer to achieving his lifelong dream – to open a restaurant in Scotland where he can shoot for three Michelin stars of his own.

He envisions it as “a rural restaurant, with land and a small farm in a beautiful location. People can stay overnight and I will cook for 15 to 20 people eight months of the year, and fly to Dubai during the bad weather months to manage the other businesses”.

By purchasing the land, the company would have an asset that would continue to appreciate in value even beyond the lifespan of the restaurant, he adds.

Coming full circle

Relocating to Dubai feels like coming full circle for Farmer, as it was the first city he lived in outside of the UK. After seven years with Ramsay with whom his last job was head chef of Maze before leaving in 2015 to join his other mentor Atherton, every move has marked a different chapter for him.

“Starting afresh has never been a problem for me,” he adds. “I’ve done it several times from leaving home and moving to London with nothing. I turn 40 this summer in Dubai and I feel the next five to 10 years should be my best years as a chef. The goal is to get to Scotland to win three stars, but I’m not in a rush. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”