Most chefs and restaurateurs know that labelling your restaurant “sustainable” is often the quickest path to unsustainability. Think about it: When did you last feel compelled to patronise a restaurant because of its sustainability practices? After all, when it comes to dining out, all we really want to know is if the restaurant we choose will serve us good food.
Another thing chefs know is that often, the most flavourful parts of the ingredients go unused. Carrot skins, turnip tops, and fish bones all hold immense potential if we know how to eke flavour out of them. “When you explore the ingredient as a whole,” said chef Matthew Orlando, “you will notice a whole new world of flavour that wasn’t present before.”
Will Goldfarb (left) and Matthew Orlando from AIR. (Photo: AIR)
Crispy Oyster Mushrooms. (Photo: AIR)
Orlando knows a thing or two about coaxing flavour from what are commonly deemed consumer food chain by-products. At his restaurant AIR, sprawled across an impressively verdant patch on Dempsey Hill, Orlando — along with chef-partner Will Goldfarb — serves an undeniably tasty menu of dishes underpinned by the ethos that nothing goes to waste. Think lavash made from fish bones, granita from fermented papaya skins, and “chocolate” from a combination of coffee fruit skins, cocoa husk, and coconut flesh.
The Whole Grouper. (Photo: AIR)
“Every part of an ingredient has a unique flavour and potential. Utilising the whole ingredient is not just about being sustainable; it’s about showcasing the richness and diversity that can be found in each component,” Orlando explained.
Pete Smit, the city’s latest darling of this whole-ingredient ethos, is wont to agree. At his three-month-old Dirty Supper, he makes it a point to buy whole ingredients and serve what many might consider the gnarliest parts of the animal. Don’t pass on the duck heads, which are halved and confited overnight in roasted duck fat spiked with coriander seeds, ginger and rosemary. The next day, they are roasted in the oven so the gentle heat caramelises their exteriors while keeping the visceral lush and creamy.
Dirty Supper's Pete Smit. (Photo: Dirty Supper)
At Dirty Supper, chef Pete Smit makes it a point to buy whole ingredients and serve what many might consider the gnarliest parts of the animal. (Photo: Dirty Supper)
Both restaurants also make it a point to source produce from farms as nearby as Tanjong Pagar, where Vertical Oceans, a hydroponics farm that rears king prawns, is located. “When we get the prawns, they’ve only been out of the water for an hour,” said Smit, who serves them raw with black lime and pickled chillies.
Similarly, AIR uses Kaluga caviar produced by T’lur, a farm in Tanjung Malim, Malaysia, which its chefs dollop on a vanilla bean and coconut ice cream with a drizzle of pandan oil.
Squid. (Photo: Dirty Supper)
Some restaurants change their menus according to the seasons; AIR and Dirty Supper often purvey something new daily. “We have a wonderful lawn in front of the restaurant where we grow vegetables and herbs. Whenever there’s a new harvest of, say, Thai basil or roselle, they get added to the menu that day or week,” said Goldfarb.
Smit added, “When you work based on using the whole animal or ingredient, it’s difficult to have one basic menu, but I think it makes it more interesting because people can come back and eat something different each time.”
NOTHING SQUANDERED
Taking what you need from the land and using everything you’ve taken is part of the Hawaiian culture that chef Jordan Keao grew up with. This philosophy shapes his kitchen at Butcher’s Block, where he, too, buys whole animals, which he assigns to dishes like deep-fried duck tongues and crispy beef fat potatoes with brown butter emulsion.
Dry Aged Duck. (Photo: Butcher's Block)
Snack Trio. (Photo: Butcher's Block)
“I think the whole animal section of our menu makes it interesting and elevates the experience for diners because when you order the duck, pork or lamb, [you get] 100g of meat, but you have three different parts of the animal cooked different ways,” said Keao. A lamb dish, for example, might feature a smoked saddle, grilled rack, and buttermilk-brined leg.
During the restaurant’s off-hours, Keao’s team weeds out ingredients that are beginning to wilt or colour and transfers them to a dehydrator before turning them into powders, rubs and seasonings. “It all starts with looking at what you’re putting in the trash,” he said. “We don’t peel our carrots or radishes. All the nutrients are in the skin and flavour. We clean them and serve them pureed or grilled.”
Chef de Cuisine Jordan Keao. (Photo: Butcher's Block)
Another name synonymous with whole animal cooking is Australian chef Josh Niland. His restaurant, Saint Peter’s in Sydney, Australia, is a mecca for anyone interested in learning about the full potential of a single fish. In November 2023, he opened FYSH, which he described as a seafood-focused steakhouse at The Singapore Edition. A whole tuna, for instance, is broken down into cuts like the T-bone or skirt steak; the fish’s bones are turned into noodles (incidentally, a technique he picked up from Orlando), the eyes parlayed to ice cream, and the guts tossed into an umami-rich XO sauce.
Niland said his mission at FYSH is “to inform people that there is more to fish than just two fillets. That is the ambition of this exercise.”
Aquna Murray Cod on Potato Scales. (Photo: The Singapore Edition)
Chef Josh Niland. (Photo: The Singapore Edition)
Call it what you will — low-waste, zero-waste, whole-ingredient cooking or even sustainable cooking — the fact is that restaurants like AIR, Dirty Supper, Butcher’s Block and FYSH are demonstrating that you can cook responsibly while producing food that’s both delicious and fascinating. For diners, they present an opportunity to eat something entirely new and expand our culinary horizons, even if some discoveries are more exciting than others.
Besides, it bears reminding that the world’s resources are finite. As Orlando said, “Food is a resource that we tend to forget is under pressure at numerous points in the supply chain. We can’t really feel it here right now, but you don’t need to travel far to see what’s happening in the world with regard to this issue. It’s important to be proactive and not reactive.”
We’ll eat to that.
Continue reading...
Another thing chefs know is that often, the most flavourful parts of the ingredients go unused. Carrot skins, turnip tops, and fish bones all hold immense potential if we know how to eke flavour out of them. “When you explore the ingredient as a whole,” said chef Matthew Orlando, “you will notice a whole new world of flavour that wasn’t present before.”
Will Goldfarb (left) and Matthew Orlando from AIR. (Photo: AIR)
Crispy Oyster Mushrooms. (Photo: AIR)
Orlando knows a thing or two about coaxing flavour from what are commonly deemed consumer food chain by-products. At his restaurant AIR, sprawled across an impressively verdant patch on Dempsey Hill, Orlando — along with chef-partner Will Goldfarb — serves an undeniably tasty menu of dishes underpinned by the ethos that nothing goes to waste. Think lavash made from fish bones, granita from fermented papaya skins, and “chocolate” from a combination of coffee fruit skins, cocoa husk, and coconut flesh.
The Whole Grouper. (Photo: AIR)
“Every part of an ingredient has a unique flavour and potential. Utilising the whole ingredient is not just about being sustainable; it’s about showcasing the richness and diversity that can be found in each component,” Orlando explained.
Pete Smit, the city’s latest darling of this whole-ingredient ethos, is wont to agree. At his three-month-old Dirty Supper, he makes it a point to buy whole ingredients and serve what many might consider the gnarliest parts of the animal. Don’t pass on the duck heads, which are halved and confited overnight in roasted duck fat spiked with coriander seeds, ginger and rosemary. The next day, they are roasted in the oven so the gentle heat caramelises their exteriors while keeping the visceral lush and creamy.
Dirty Supper's Pete Smit. (Photo: Dirty Supper)
At Dirty Supper, chef Pete Smit makes it a point to buy whole ingredients and serve what many might consider the gnarliest parts of the animal. (Photo: Dirty Supper)
Both restaurants also make it a point to source produce from farms as nearby as Tanjong Pagar, where Vertical Oceans, a hydroponics farm that rears king prawns, is located. “When we get the prawns, they’ve only been out of the water for an hour,” said Smit, who serves them raw with black lime and pickled chillies.
Similarly, AIR uses Kaluga caviar produced by T’lur, a farm in Tanjung Malim, Malaysia, which its chefs dollop on a vanilla bean and coconut ice cream with a drizzle of pandan oil.
Squid. (Photo: Dirty Supper)
Some restaurants change their menus according to the seasons; AIR and Dirty Supper often purvey something new daily. “We have a wonderful lawn in front of the restaurant where we grow vegetables and herbs. Whenever there’s a new harvest of, say, Thai basil or roselle, they get added to the menu that day or week,” said Goldfarb.
Smit added, “When you work based on using the whole animal or ingredient, it’s difficult to have one basic menu, but I think it makes it more interesting because people can come back and eat something different each time.”
NOTHING SQUANDERED
Taking what you need from the land and using everything you’ve taken is part of the Hawaiian culture that chef Jordan Keao grew up with. This philosophy shapes his kitchen at Butcher’s Block, where he, too, buys whole animals, which he assigns to dishes like deep-fried duck tongues and crispy beef fat potatoes with brown butter emulsion.
Dry Aged Duck. (Photo: Butcher's Block)
Snack Trio. (Photo: Butcher's Block)
“I think the whole animal section of our menu makes it interesting and elevates the experience for diners because when you order the duck, pork or lamb, [you get] 100g of meat, but you have three different parts of the animal cooked different ways,” said Keao. A lamb dish, for example, might feature a smoked saddle, grilled rack, and buttermilk-brined leg.
During the restaurant’s off-hours, Keao’s team weeds out ingredients that are beginning to wilt or colour and transfers them to a dehydrator before turning them into powders, rubs and seasonings. “It all starts with looking at what you’re putting in the trash,” he said. “We don’t peel our carrots or radishes. All the nutrients are in the skin and flavour. We clean them and serve them pureed or grilled.”
Chef de Cuisine Jordan Keao. (Photo: Butcher's Block)
Another name synonymous with whole animal cooking is Australian chef Josh Niland. His restaurant, Saint Peter’s in Sydney, Australia, is a mecca for anyone interested in learning about the full potential of a single fish. In November 2023, he opened FYSH, which he described as a seafood-focused steakhouse at The Singapore Edition. A whole tuna, for instance, is broken down into cuts like the T-bone or skirt steak; the fish’s bones are turned into noodles (incidentally, a technique he picked up from Orlando), the eyes parlayed to ice cream, and the guts tossed into an umami-rich XO sauce.
Niland said his mission at FYSH is “to inform people that there is more to fish than just two fillets. That is the ambition of this exercise.”
Aquna Murray Cod on Potato Scales. (Photo: The Singapore Edition)
Chef Josh Niland. (Photo: The Singapore Edition)
Call it what you will — low-waste, zero-waste, whole-ingredient cooking or even sustainable cooking — the fact is that restaurants like AIR, Dirty Supper, Butcher’s Block and FYSH are demonstrating that you can cook responsibly while producing food that’s both delicious and fascinating. For diners, they present an opportunity to eat something entirely new and expand our culinary horizons, even if some discoveries are more exciting than others.
Besides, it bears reminding that the world’s resources are finite. As Orlando said, “Food is a resource that we tend to forget is under pressure at numerous points in the supply chain. We can’t really feel it here right now, but you don’t need to travel far to see what’s happening in the world with regard to this issue. It’s important to be proactive and not reactive.”
We’ll eat to that.
Continue reading...