5 private dining chefs to check out in Singapore

Proud Potato Peeler by Alberto Simillides

Credit: PROUD POTATO PEELER

1/15

His culinary background: “I’ve been working as a professional chef for more than 15 years. My first studies in culinary arts was in Cyprus, thereafter I moved to Greece (Athens & the islands) for my second degree. Then, I resided in Naples, where I trained as a pizzaiolo and specialised in making Italian -style pizzas for over a year.

I went on to Athens to work in The Clumsies ( World’s 50 Best Bar’s Top#3) as head chef. I moved to Singapore to work as head chef at Alati Divine Greek Cuisine about 4 years ago. A couple of years later I decided to embark on my (private dining) journey officially as a ‘proud potato peeler’.”

The private dining experience: “Dining at Proud Potato Peeler is like stepping into our homes. We have a comfortable and cosy space. We also serve a lot of food! This comes from my Mediterranean background; we want our guests to experience the abundance and warm hospitality of my team and myself. It’s like our grandmas trying to feed us on weekends!

We are located on the second floor of a beautiful old heritage building in a very edgy location. There’s an open kitchen which is inspired by Mediterranean culture in terms of colour and materials. Our menu is inspired by all the different countries and cities that I have lived in, adding some different twists and flavours (including some inspiration from local food here.”

His cooking influences: “Behind every Mediterranean chef there’s a female figure. For me, they are my two grandmothers. All the secrets in terms of spices and flavours were taught by them. They both have very different backgrounds in terms of taste and flavours (a very Greek one and a very Turkish one) but somehow these two worlds were paired together in a beautiful, delicious mess. My food creations are usually a combination of both Middle Eastern and Mediterranean. I love using different ingredients to create different layers.”

Credit: Proud Potato Peeler

2/15

Why heritage-focused private dining is so in demand: “In Singapore, I believe people have gotten used to dining in other people’s homes. When we went through the pandemic, nobody could travel overseas. The only option was to go to a heritage-focused kitchen, where you can experience the different cultures. Many of them have amazing food and interesting stories to tell!”

What makes a private dining experience with him unique: “The important factors for a unique dining experience for anyone, is usually a combination of the food, the location, the interior as well as the group they come with. What I add on to this, is the additional interaction between myself and my guests. Our concept is mi casa e su casa.

I’m a great supporter of the family style of eating. I was told that Singaporean families eat this way too. I have the same vision too. Big platters of food for sharing by the party size. Freshly baked bread coming out of the oven to tear with your hands. Simple wholesome good stuff cooked with loving care.”

His signature dishes 

Credit: Proud Potato Peeler

3/15

Bread: “This bread (pictured) is made from dough that has been fermented for 72 hours and uses a five-year-old starter, pumpkin pesto that’s been fermented for 75 days, crispy wagyu beef, Gorgonzola cheese sauce and chilli oil.”

Grandma’s potato pies: “This hand-rolled phyllo pastry comes with mashed potato, smoked cheese, prosciutto, yoghurt or Sriracha sauce and thyme.”

Shieftalia: “This homemade Cypriot sausage is made with pork and lamb wrapped in caul fat, spiced with cinnamon and black pepper, accompanied with homemade prata-ish flatbread and pickled cucumber tzatziki sauce.”

Good Graces by Grace Kee

Credit: Female

4/15

Her culinary background: “I’m a zoologist by training so most of the dishes are self-taught or learnt from my grandmother, friends’ parents et cetera. I previously co-owned and ran a restaurant together with Damian d’Silva (of Rempapa) called Soul Kitchen which was in Purvis Street.”

The private dining experience: “Every Wednesday and Friday, I host heritage-inspired dinners that explore personal memories from my grandma’s beloved recipes. Throughout my childhood, weekends were spent at my maternal grandmother’s home in Katong where Sunday lunch was a lavish Peranakan feast, Christmas was synonymous with popiah and Chinese New Year was a riot of dishes with ayam buah keluak, her peow soup and itek sio cited as hot favourites by relatives.

For this solo venture, I draw from my array of experiences to create a menu that celebrates her ancestry with contemporary riffs on traditional staples. I’ve also infused my personality into the decor; from fascinating Peranakan memorabilia to a vintage bag collection spanning the ’40s to ’60s and even a well-stocked brass bar trolley for nights of revelry.”

Her cooking influences: “My main cooking influence is my grandmother. I have always wanted to learn and keep all the dishes made by my grandmother. She was such a terrific cook and I really enjoyed Sunday lunches at her place in Katong when she was alive. I even brought over my foreign colleagues to her house to try her cooking as they had never tried Nonya food before.

When she passed away, I felt such a loss because there was no one in the family that could replicate all her dishes. So I started collecting various recipes from my aunties that they remembered from her. I wanted to be that central point to bring the family together with food made with love.”

Credit: Female

5/15

Why heritage-focused private dining is so in demand: “Heritage food requires an insane amount of prep work and man hours. It is difficult (not impossible!) in a restaurant where the overheads are high with rental, facilities and manpower to consider. In a home kitchen, all the effort and cost are poured into each dish. In addition, every home chef has speciality dishes that they have learnt through the generation, so it is very interesting to go to someone’s home, hear their story and enjoy their family traditions. It’s such a personal experience.”

What makes a private dining experience with her unique: “I create homecooked goodness with both traditional and modern interpretations. The food is the most important, but it is also about the overall ambience of creating a happy space that people feel comfortable in. I want guests to be themselves, relax and have a good time.”

Her signature dishes

Credit: Female

6/15

Dry laksa goreng: “The rempah is painstakingly made with over 15 ingredients over six hours. When making the dish, each item such as the prawns, fishcake, tau pok, noodles is fried separately in the rempah so that it is coated thoroughly with the flavour.”

Her peow soup: “It’s perfect for a rainy day or as a hangover cure. The stock is made with dried scallops, leeks and chicken bones and boiled for more than four hours. The meatballs are made with minced pork, fish paste, abalone, crabmeat and prawns, which creates so much sweetness in the soup. While my grandmother used to add a dash of brandy to her soups, I use Martell Cordon Bleu to elevate the flavour instead.”

Ayam buah keluak: “I have a serious obsession with buah keluak (pictured). I love the nutty, slightly bitter, almost dark chocolate flavour. I love how it adds a different dimension to other ingredients, like pairing it with foie gras, or in a dessert with dark chocolate. I love it in fried rice and I love it as a buah keluak oxtail rendang.”

Part Thai by Rishi Arora

Credit: Part Thai

7/15

His culinary background: “I studied pastry and cuisine in Le Cordon Bleu Thailand and he also owned and ran a restaurant in Bangkok. It was an all-day brunch place called Tribeca which was pretty successful and ran for three years before we decided to sell it. I moved to Singapore and was working in different F&B concepts, doing a mix of operations and also managing cloud kitchen concepts. I started Part Thai during the circuit breaker and it then evolved from a Thai food delivery concept to a private dining concept.”

The private dining experience: “It’s a culinary journey through my growing up years in Thailand and also an homage to the dishes and experiences I have had while living in Thailand. A lot of dishes are nostalgic but with a slight spin to them.

Ethnicity-wise, both my parents are Punjabi. My father was a first-gen born Singaporean while my mother was a first-gen Thai-born citizen. The Thai-Indian palate is a bit different from the usual Thai food you would get in restaurants. The food is a bit punchier and the flavours are bolder. I hope to provide a ‘different’ Thai culinary experience to my guests, as I take them through my journey growing up partly in Singapore and in Thailand.”

His cooking influences: “Having grown up in Thailand and with our Indian ethnicity, our lives pretty much revolved around food. There were many restaurants which we frequented throughout the years and all of them had particular dishes which kept pulling us back. I have tried to recreate these with my own spin and also to elevate these classics in my own way.

We also had many good chefs at home such as my mother and my aunts, plus our long-time helper who was Burmese and loved dishing out new things every week. Together we would tweak dishes until they became household staples, which I continue to cook till today.”

Credit: Part Thai

8/15

Why heritage-focused private dining is so in demand: “Along with the food, it also tells a story and gives diners a glimpse into a chef’s background and how they combine flavours and present them differently in a cuisine you already know about. It’s like entering a theatre and watching a play. You know what to expect and the basic premise or story, but are new to the performance and presentation.”

What makes a private dining experience with him unique: “I like to provide diners with a unique experience, through a Thai-Indian-Singaporean palate. Some of the dishes are new to people who have travelled to Thailand multiple times, so educating them on new Thai dishes is also part of what makes it a different experience.”

His signature dishes

Credit: Part Thai

9/15

Yum khao tord: “Spicy, crispy rice with raw mango salad. Something I put together myself, this is a combination of rice marinated with spices, deep fried and tossed with chilli paste and herbs, then topped with a raw mango salad. It’s zaab (extra spicy, sour, sweet and salty) and also has multiple crunchy layers.”

Panang pla: “Red curry with crispy seabass (pictured). This is something we ate a lot of growing up. It’s a red curry made with bamboo shoots, baby eggplants and topped with crispy fish. It’s hearty and rich and you can keep going if there’s a bowl of rice to accompany the curry.”

Khaoneow phad krapow: “Basil sticky rice with grilled beef. Instead of using regular fluffy rice, I toss the basil stir-fry mix with glutinous rice and top it with a grilled steak. The sticky rice absorbs more of the flavour and has a chewy texture which adds to the taste.”

Fork In The Jungle by Federico Folcia

Credit: Fork In The Jungle

10/15

His culinary background: “I am no trained chef – cuisine is just a deeply developed passion of mine. I learned the basics of traditional Italian cuisine by observing my Italian mother as she cooked for the family and guests. As per the creative or inspiration part, I am an avid collector of cookbooks and nowadays I get a lot of ideas from the many videos available online.”

The private dining experience: “I provide an array of different culinary experiences at an affordable price where the aim of the food is to tell a story. At the moment we have five available experiences (and growing). These include Italian Tavern, an authentic Italian tavern food served at a communal-style table. Mare, which features a seafood menu using (mainly) local products and ingredients to promote the concept of sustainable fishing and local sea-to-table. Next is Mindful Supper, a four-course vegetarian menu paired with a mindful session conducted by a former Buddhist monk (to help individuals experience inner transformation). There’s also the Omacasa series, which are thematic dinners (with relevant omakase-style menus) with field experts talking about topics and stimulating interesting conversation with the participants.”

His cooking influences: “I cook all foods, from meat to fish to vegetables, but I confess I have a soft spot for vegetarian cuisine. I don’t follow any particular chef or recipes. In a world where chefs act like artists and chemists, I consider myself just a passionate cook that has somewhat of a ‘jazz’ approach to cuisine – one that is based on the available seasonal ingredients I get a hold of. I like to play with colours, textures and flavours and create something new.”

Credit: Fork In The Jungle

11/15

Why heritage-focused private dining is so in demand: “Most food options nowadays are standardised and the concept of authenticity has become increasingly rare. People crave for stories that bring them back in time.”

What makes a private dining experience with him unique: “Simple yet good food in cosy and one-of-a-kind venues (yes, a few options are available). Also, stories and conversations to pair your dining experiences, and value for money. Accessibility is an important element we don’t compromise on.”

His signature dishes 

Credit: Fork In The Jungle

12/15

Torched tuna with grapes marinated in balsamic vinegar: “The combination of flamed tuna (pictured) and the acidity of sweet grapes is mindblowing.”

Pumpkin soup & roasted almonds: “From now on you will have more respect for the pumpkin.”

12 hours sous vide lamb shoulder: “It’s a simple dish but you won’t believe how tasty and tender the meat is.”

Kee Hive by Bernard Kee

Credit: Kee Hive

13/15

His culinary background: “Completely self-taught. The basics of food preparations were taught by mom and aunties: techniques of cutting, chopping, stir-frying, et cetera. The rest of my culinary background came from keen observation of fishmongers and butchers and speaking to restaurant chefs.

During my 18 years in the travel trade, I had the privilege of dining globally in restaurants, cafes, unique eateries, as well as very local street-side stalls. I’m gifted with a very keen nose and tongue to be able to taste, discern and reconstruct the dish back in my own kitchen. I experiment with different cooking methods, blending cultures, food and techniques to create my own recipes over the years.”

The private dining experience: “Dining at KeeHive is an experience like no other in Singapore. The dining area is in the front yard of a private landed residence. While it is alfresco, there is a beautiful double-layered canopy lined with fairy lights to shield diners from the elements. KeeHive serves each diner a five-course French-Italian-inspired cuisine, omakase-style. With advance notice, cuisine can be tailored to guests’ dietary requirements.”

His cooking influences: “As early as nine years old, I had been quietly scrutinising how my grandmother cooked in her old HDB kitchen in Alexandra Road. But Grandma never revealed any of her secrets except for sharing with me her universal unit of measurement – ‘agar-agak’ (using a discretionary estimate).

I started a collection of recipes ripped off from the back pages of magazines since the ’70s. One day, Grandma left me alone at home to go to the market. I brought out my recipe binder and started to match the ingredients available in the fridge against my collection of recipes. That day, at nine years old, I cooked my first dish – sweet and sour pork.”

Kee Hive

14/15

Why heritage-focused private dining is so in demand: “I think heritage-focused dining is a choice out of the familiarity of the private home chef’s roots rather than sprouting out of demand.”

What makes a private dining experience with him unique: “While the food may be what most people come to me for, honestly, it is more than just the food that they will get to enjoy. It is about trying out a new dining concept – in someone’s home garden, a private enclave in the front yard garden separated from the family area.

As for the food, I lean towards off-the-mainstream French or Italian-inspired cuisine with personal touches for the guests (but I don’t serve pizza or pasta as these are widely available commercially). I pair the food with champagne and if the guests ask for it, they can witness the French tradition of champagne sabrage with a large sabre right before them – something not possible in restaurants or closed environments. Dining is omakase-style, to add to the element of a pleasant surprise with each course being served. All ingredients are sourced with sustainability in mind, supporting local producers and boutique suppliers.”

His signature dishes

Credit: Kee Hive

15/15

Pressed belly of pork (free range): “Three-hour oven-cooked free-range pork belly, crackling on the outside, juicy as you bite. Served with a garlic reduction sauce.”

Dark rum tiramisu: “A special concoction (pictured) of premium dark rum and Arabica espresso with just the right amount of mascarpone and savoiardi to bring you back for more.

Seared Hokkaido scallop: “Served on a fondant of edge-burnt russet potato, lemon bleu blanc sauce and topped with caviar.”

This article was originally published in Female.