IVAN BREHM
NOURI AND APPETITE
This hugely talented chef and visionary behind one-michelinstarred Nouri, Brehm opened Appetite one year ago on a mission to create a unique culinary experience in Asia. This multi-concept space located directly above Nouri focuses on transcending its restaurant roots by bringing together scientists, artists, musicians, and designers, and Brehm’s out-of-the-box vision with Appetite is to show how food, arts, music, and education are all interconnected. Appetite is home to a development kitchen for both restaurants, taking a creativity-as-science approach to food in tandem with Nouri’s research and development arm, resulting in new dishes that contextualise their collective research.
POWER OF CHANGE
“I guess embodying change literally means incarnating the dynamic spirit of seeking the new, despite the risks driving change. What things do chefs have in their control, and what elements do they have to adapt to? This interesting moment we live in has shown me nothing is in our control apart from the ownership of our own actions.”
KEY TO SUCCESS
“The star was a nice pat on the back, but also conditional to a certain set of things that could easily get in the way of progress. There is surety in a concept of sound techniques, pristine product, and heavy investments in décor. Smoke and mirror presentation, pomp and circumstance, but at some point in time, an individual needs to ask ‘what is it all for?’ Because if it is just money and fame, I’m sure there are easier ways to get there that don’t involve 16-hour days and crazy levels of stress. What we cook ends up inside people’s bellies and minds. To treat this as an afterthought, and not a main driver of one’s intent is borderline irresponsible.”
NAVIGATING THE FUTURE
“People forget, but the root word for innovation means to breathe new life into something that already exists, hence it is a reinvent. In the context of cooking, that is translated to cooking that is grounded by tradition, but that looks upwards to the new. Sitting on the shoulder of giants, we can choose to do the same, and be the same, but we can also choose to stand up and see new horizons.”