Test Of Fire

BASED ON 2018 STATISTICS, SINGAPORE FARMS PRODUCE 13 PER CENT OF VEGETABLES CONSUMED, 24 PER CENT OF ALL THE EGGS AND 9 PER CENT OF THE FISH. HOW DOES THAT CORRESPOND TO USAGE IN RESTAURANTS? WE FIND OUT FROM THREE RESTAURANTS

NAKED FINN

Seafood-focus concept by restaurateur Tan Ken Loon, who has a special passion in promoting the development of contemporary Singaporean cuisine

“While supporting local produce is a priority for us, we will not do it just for the sake of it. We use vegetables from Edmund ( Wong of Farm Delight) as they are farmed the right way and offer top quality and consistency. But most locally farmed ingredients are still missing the mark – be it in terms of the species ( grown), the growing method or even nutrients within the produce. We need to push our local farms to do things right.”

ARTICHOKE

Homegrown Middle Eastern restaurant by local chef-owner Bjorn Shen

“I’m doing less and less local stuff now. It is too hard to keep up the whole farm-to-table thing – and no one really cared back when Artichoke was one of the first restaurants to put the spotlight on local growers when they did a Tattoos and Tomatoes event in 2013. We’re not a fine dining restaurant that has the right atmospherics to explain these things in depth to guests.”

LABYRINTH

Modern Singaporean fine dining restaurant by chef-restaurateur Han Liguang

“Going local is not a gimmick for me. The mussels from Singapore are actually very good, and our flower crabs, if you appreciate them, are also excellent and the perfect ingredient to support a chilli crab recipe. It’s about perception – and how much effort the chefs put into drawing the best out of the ingredient.”