November 2024
The quest for culinary excellence often begins not in the kitchen, but with the ingredients. This principle is upheld by top chefs including those from restaurants on The Culinaire’s List, which is curated for DBS Insignia Cardmembers
Spices and heat come together in Thevar’s Crispy Iberico Pork
To the late, celebrated chef, author, and global food explorer Anthony Bourdain, “good food, good eating, is all about risk. Whether we’re talking about unpasteurized Stilton, (or) raw oysters… food, for (him), has always been an adventure.” This adventurous spirit, paired with a deep respect for ingredient provenance, resonates with many chefs of The Culinaire’s List. Like Bourdain, they believe that the story behind each ingredient is just as important as the dish itself.
A vibrant array of spices used in Thevar’s creative culinary creations
For Chef Mano Thevar of Thevar, crafting exceptional dishes is much about sourcing the finest ingredients, such as spices from a 150-year-old family-run spice farm in India, traditionally reserved for royal families. “I gave the farmers my recipes so they could pound the mixtures according to my specifications. I have over 50 spices used in my recipes, and I keep changing them according to the season,” he explains.
At Thevar, dishes including the signature Iberico Crispy Pork with Thevar Spices and Mysore Spiced Lamb Rack highlight this dedication to celebrating the unique blend of spices, as well as protein of the highest standards. The Lamb Rack uses only Lumina lamb, renowned as one of the world's best free range lamb for its fine marbling and exquisite taste; it is marinated with three specially picked spices to enhance its taste.
The Lumina Spring Lamb is a prime produce, one of the world’s best, highlighted in Chef Mano Thevar’s menu
“People’s perception of Indian food is that it’s spicy. But when you control the roasting at around 40 to 50 degrees, only the aroma gets released. Our dishes are not spicy, they're full of flavours of the places they were grown in,” Chef Mano explains.
Chef Ivan Brehm of Appetite, another partner-chef on The Culinaire’s List, shares this deep respect for ingredient provenance. “The foundation of good cooking lies in sourcing quality ingredients. But in the realm of fine dining, it is plain to see that not all ingredients were created equal.” To Chef Ivan, seasonality, terroir and craft are critical factors in choosing produce that will grace a diner’s plate.
Many world-acclaimed chefs insist on ingredients with specific provenance. Chef Rosanna Marziale, a luminary in Italian cuisine, exemplifies this. Even after leaving Italy, she remained committed to many Denominazione d'Origine Protetta (DOP) ingredients, and serves as the World Ambassador for Campania Buffalo Mozzarella DOP. The DOP certification guarantees produce are grown in specific regions using traditional methods, ensuring quality consistency.
Paneer with Winter Spinach using paneer sourced from India (Credit: Revolver)
The relationship between chefs and their ingredient sources often transcends beyond commercial transactions, as chefs now engage intimately with the producers.
For Chef Jitin Joshi of Revolver, one of his star dishes that deeply connects to his culinary roots is a meticulously crafted paneer dish with winter spinach. "We source our paneer from New Delhi. It is flown in every two days, especially for us," reveals Chef Jitin.
He adds, “This particular paneer, made from buffalo milk, is notably rich in calcium and has a higher fat content, contributing to its soft and spongy texture. The buffalo milk used comes from a farm that integrates a vast network of 1,250 villages through its Village Level Collection Centre network. This network not only ensures a sustainable and community-focused production process, but also maintains strict quality control measures to monitor the fat and Solids-Not-Fat (SNF) content.”
Chef Ivan Brehm believes that ingredients come with pedigree (Credit: Appetite)
Modern-day logistics solutions like cold chain management allow chefs to secure diverse, high-quality ingredients in pristine condition. Bypassing middlemen, many top chefs select the taste profiles they desire directly from the source.
“Ingredients can come with pedigree,” Chef Ivan believes. Two of his favourite ingredients are tomatoes from a small farm in Niigata, and asparagus from Frédéric and Laura Poupard of Loire, France, which is well-loved for its robust flavour and lack of bitterness attributed to the specific soil, regional weather, and traditional growing methods. To maintain freshness, they arrive in sawdust and special styrofoam packaging. At Appetite, they are served with sauce maltaise, blood orange segments, and caviar to match their hearty presence.
Some chefs even take it a step further by growing their own produce on personal or partner farms, ensuring control over every aspect of their ingredients.
Fresh produce from Seroja’s partner farms in Malaysia arrive warm from the earth [Credit: Seroja]
Also on The Culinaire’s List, Seroja, the first restaurant in Singapore to win a Michelin Green Star, works with farmers to have its vegetables grown in Malaysia. Harvested in the morning, they reach Singapore before dinner almost every other day.
“The produce reaches Singapore in the wee hours of the morning. Some of these vegetables are still warm from the earth,” Chef Kevin Wong of Seroja shares excitedly. Each dish’s narrative is brought to life through its flavours and the stories behind its creation. “When I go to cook in Japan, all the ingredients, including our tropical produce and herbs, are so unique to them, and that makes for our USP,” shares Chef Kevin.
The country’s latest culinary star on a trajectory to international fame, Seroja debuted on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants this year as the highest new entry at number 31.
Chef Kevin Wong often shares on his ingredients with diners (Credit: Seroja)
Sometimes, the genesis of a dish begins with the inspiration drawn from a single ingredient. At Seroja, the menu reflects the dynamic fluidity of finding choice ingredients and creative inspiration. “We change the menu when we have something better, with the arrival of seasonal ingredients—it could be in seven days or two months. You need to allow creativity to flourish organically, you can’t force it into a rigid schedule,” Chef Kevin says.
The result? A dining experience innovative and rooted in the unique qualities of the ingredients.
This goes to show, the provenance of produce is more than just a criterion for Michelin stars and honour—it is the heartbeat of culinary excellence.
At select restaurants, this practice surpasses mere dish descriptions: chefs explain the provenance of the ingredients to diners, highlight the flavour profiles, and share the insights and preparations that allow these ingredients to shine. So the next time you visit a restaurant from The Culinaire’s List, look out for named ingredients and the chefs’ insights.
Especially for DBS Insignia Cardmembers, The Culinaire’s List is a celebration of Singapore’s vibrant culinary scene through our partnership with both Michelin-starred restaurants and hidden gems. Be updated on Singapore’s fine dining scene through our monthly editorial series, The Culinary Canvas, where we bring you the narratives of each chef, their dishes, their inspiration for a finer appreciation of their culinary creations.
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