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CNA
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- CNA
A decade of Jaan by Kirk Westaway: Battling the odds, redefining British cuisine and hitting its stride
This year, Jaan by Kirk Westaway celebrates its 10th anniversary with Kirk Westway at its helm, making it a milestone year for the UK-born chef who also marked his 40th birthday two months ago. A 'little get-together' is planned for and at the restaurant, with 'a few glasses, a few friends and family and very regular guests over the 10 years', he divulged to us. And, rightly so – 10 years is no mean feat for a dining establishment anywhere in the world, and in Singapore in particular; never mind the many accolades it's picked up along the way, including two Michelin stars. While he's led the restaurant for a decade, Westaway's time at Jaan is actually closer to 14 years, as he was invited to move to Singapore to join the team by then-chef Julien Royer, who, of course, now owns Odette. Jaan, in fact, has a 25-year history and, over the years, has established a reputation as an incubator of top talents: After Jaan first opened in 2000, Andre Chiang took over in 2008 and the restaurant was renamed Jaan par Andre; while Royer was in the kitchen from 2011 to 2015, leading the restaurant to its first Michelin star. TURNING 'BAD FOOD' INTO GOLD To make his mark, Westaway knew he had to develop a cuisine that was truly his own. His 'Reinventing British' culinary philosophy was launched in 2018, showcasing British produce through the lens of his own memories – and that proved to be both his toughest challenge and, eventually, his proudest achievement. 'This had been a famous French restaurant for many years, and to tell people: 'We're not going to do that anymore, and we're going to (pivot to) a nation that's famous for bad food', it wasn't seen with cheerful eyes at the beginning,' Westaway recalled. At the start, it was an uphill battle. 'It took a bit of time to change people's expectations. We did have a lot of regular customers; it took a bit of time for them to come back.' To make it work, 'I was here seven days a week, all day, every day. I slept in the office. I didn't go home for the first few months. I didn't need to go out and see my friends or my family or go outside and and do other tasks. My whole focus was here, and I loved every minute of it.' What made it so difficult? The fact that 'it was totally new. Modern British food, realistically, was a gamble, because it was unheard of. I was one of the first outside of the UK to put my hand up and say, 'This is my interpretation of Modern British'. What I was trying to create was uncharted territory. Nobody I knew had done it before. I was really trying to share my philosophy on food, and I was creating it as I was going along.' It didn't help that 'many people told me, 'Oh, you've got big shoes to fill'.' But, ultimately, 'the only person in the world that that shadow affects is me. It doesn't affect the customers; doesn't affect the chefs who have left. The way to deal with that shadow is just not to worry. Just embrace it. Enjoy your moment. You've got to just brush it off. That's the key.' To tell a unique story through food, Westaway focused on the best produce: 'Amazing ingredients coming from very small farms, a lot of attention to detail with the proteins coming from beautiful places around the world, a lot of dairy from my hometown in Devon in the southwest of England, a lot of vegetables from amazing places in France and Italy and Spain and Japan.' Many of his perspectives on food were unconsciously shaped by his mum, who cooked vegetarian food at home for the family, he shared. 'I only realised, in the last 20 years, her strong focus on products and ingredients. As a young guy, I remember coming home from school and we'd have a delivery of a cardboard box of vegetables coming from local, organic farms on the front doorstep, and I'd pick it up: Potatoes, onions, carrots and leeks, all covered in dirt. Thirty years ago, we were getting these great organic ingredients delivered to the house. For me, it was just a way of life at the beginning, but, looking back, all of my life has been focused on great produce.' At the same time, he succeeded in evoking emotions through dishes that played on familiar British icons. For example, Fish and Chips has appeared in different incarnations over the years: Sometimes a mini tartlette of cod, sometimes a potato pancake with caviar. 'Day by day, menu by menu, we got to a great place, and we did win all the customers back. To receive the first Michelin star (in 2016) kind of put a stamp on it to say, okay, we're doing something right. Getting the second star in 2021 was a huge high point and life changing for me and for my team.' And, these days, the dining room is 'packed for lunch and dinner every day. In the last couple of years, I've really seen a lot of repeat guests.' It was about two years ago that he felt he really hit his stride, he said. A bit of a hiatus in 2022 thanks to the pandemic and the restaurant closing for a revamp meant he and the team had the opportunity to 'reset and reboot'. 'I took the opportunity to simplify, refine, and clean, and to retrain all the staff to work very closely as a restaurant team. That was a moment of clarity for myself and the team.' The cuisine has reached a new point of structure and clarity: 'Very clean flavours, very organised palettes, recognised ingredients on the plate,' Westaway said. 'I'm not a fan of going to a restaurant and not knowing what kind of jelly we're eating or weird ingredients on the plate. I love to use seasonal ingredients – in Spring, you might see a bit of white asparagus, green asparagus, morels and spring peas, and it's all recognisable, but the taste is elevated. We use some very, very elegant ingredients, but it's all just simply cooked and simply placed.' While in the past, 'if you had a fish and artichoke dish, perhaps we'd have an artichoke puree and roasted artichokes and artichoke sauce. Now, it's fish and artichoke – just the perfect elements on each dish to sing for themselves.' UPWARDS AND ONWARDS These days, apart from running the ship at Jaan supported by head chef Ng Guo Lun, Westaway has ventured into Vietnam and Indonesia together with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. Last year, he and his team opened The Albion at Hotel des Arts Saigon – MGallery Collection in Ho Chi Minh City, and this year, they opened The Crown at Fairmont Jakarta in the Indonesian capital. 'I put in a head chef to liaise with directly, and they're functioning very well on their own. I would love to stay within our core and look at opening a couple more properties like these. That would be the dream,' Westaway said. 'In a fast-paced environment, I think the more you take on, the more you can find yourself achieving. It's very exciting.' Meanwhile, he spends his days running 20km at 5am, and indulging in late night suppers with his team. 'We work crazy hours, shoulder-to-shoulder all day. It's fun to break away and have a bit of team bonding time just to relax. We might go for a beer at Chijmes, or a late night chicken rice – Swee Kee, for me, is the best chicken rice around. Or, we might go to Tian Tian Seafood at Outram Road and have cereal prawns and xiao bai cai with garlic.' For a quick fix in between lunch and dinner services, 'we get murtabak with mutton curry, biryani and sugary tea at Zam Zam.' 'People come and go, but every person that has been in this restaurant over the years has a huge part on the growth of this restaurant.' Summing up the journey, he said: 'We've stamped our claim on modern British cuisine – my interpretation of what I believe it should be seen as today, and how it should be seen as in the future – trying to change people's expectations over the last 50 to 100 years. I've obviously evolved and grown myself, and I've really come to understand the style of food that I have always enjoyed, and now, I've got the confidence to share it. 'If I come to your house for dinner, you're not going to cook what I want. You want to cook what you want. And it's the same thing in a restaurant – the customers are coming to enjoy the food that I want to share. They come here for a special experience and something unique, and ideally items not re-create-able.' He added, 'It's been an amazing journey so far, and I look forward to the next 10 years.' JAAN BY KIRK WESTAWAY IN DISHES Here's a look at the restaurant's journey through its most memorable and evocative dishes, many of which have appeared on the menu in different forms and iterations over time. 'FISH AND CHIPS' 'A lot of people from England have told me that when they ate our Fish and Chips, it took them back to a memory on a pier in Brighton, under the rain, eating their fish and chips, listening to the seagulls in the background. To link a memory to any part of what we're doing is incredible. If, somehow, I can make a dish that connects with all of us and takes us back to a memory as a child or a family moment or travelling somewhere in the world, I think that's the biggest achievement you can ever aim for. It's very difficult, but when you when you get it, it's very special.' 'TOMATO' 'Sometimes, people tell me they closed their eyes, they tasted the tomato dish and it took them back to their garden in Aix-en-Provence, eating their tomatoes in the summer.' 'This dish connected to a lot of people over the years. That was probably one of the real connections to the emotional heart strings. You know, my mum used to make me eggs, and it's incredible — some people call them 'dippy eggs'; some people call them 'eggs and soldiers' — everyone in the world has their own form of eggs. It was really a talking point. I'd come over and say hello to all the diners, and they'd say, 'Ah, our mum used to make us these amazing eggs.' That egg was not intended to connect to people's childhood because it was my childhood, but it really did create a very nice trip down memory lane for many people who came and enjoyed it.' LEEK AND POTATO SOUP 'In England, leek and potato soup is loved whether it's made in spring or summer or winter or when you're sick. People love it. Regular guests have had it a few times and they say, 'Never change it. We love this. It's so warm and comforting, and we love it every time.' It took six months to a year to tweak and adjust it to the right levels of seasoning and a little bit of spice. It really does captivate a lot of people.'
CNA
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Odette to close from September to refresh its space, unveiling a new look in December
Odette will be closing its doors from September to give its dining room an updated new look. The interior refresh comes as the restaurant marks its 10th anniversary, having first opened at the National Gallery in 2015. The three-Michelin-starred restaurant's transformation is slated to take about three months. During that time, the Odette team won't be on vacation. Instead, they have a series of collaborations across Europe lined up, dubbed 'the Odette Odyssey'. From Aug 27 to Sep 21, they will be in Copenhagen, cooking at the iconic Tivoli Gardens' Japanese Pagoda. Following that, they have sold-out events with Jordnaer in the same city; Munich's Tohru in der Schreiberei; Barcelona's Lasarte; and Ocean in Algarve, Portugal. In December, they'll have returned, ready to unveil the new dining room to guests in Singapore. What hints can chef Julien Royer share about what it might look like? 'The refreshed space will reflect how Odette has evolved over the years. That's all I can say for now! I'm looking forward to sharing more details with you soon,' he told CNA Lifestyle. The occasion of Odette's 10th anniversary 'feels like the right moment to refine and express more of what we truly believe in, and to usher in a new age of fine dining once again', he said. He added, 'It's a deeply sentimental experience – refreshing a space that's been home to me for the past 10 years. What matters the most is that the space and experience still feels like the Odette we know and love.' In addition to decor, furniture and layout, 'We're also looking to evolve the dining experience,' he shared. 'I'd love for it to feel even more attuned to our guests – more personal, more intuitive. I'll leave it at that for now.'
Time Out
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025: Odette at the National Gallery Singapore ranks 25th globally
We got a little taste of the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list earlier this month, when the extended 51–100 rankings were released, and yes, local favourites made the cut. Burnt Ends, known for its modern Australian barbecue, and contemporary Singaporean restaurant Labyrinth secured spots 93 and 97 respectively. Now, the full list is out – and Odette has once again earned its place among the world's culinary elite. The elegant French restaurant, tucked within the National Gallery Singapore, comes in at number 25 this year. No stranger to the top 50, Odette has consistently appeared on the list since 2018, though it slips slightly from last year's 24th place. Helmed by chef Julien Royer, Odette is named after his grandmother, whose influence can be seen in his personal approach to French cuisine. While rooted in classic techniques, the menu carries subtle Asian flair, a nod to Chef Julien's time in the region. The restaurant's muted, light-toned interiors exude a sense of calm and quiet luxury, while the extensive wine list and impeccable service complete the dining experience. Here are the top 10 restaurants in the world in 2025: Maido (Lima) Asador Etxebaarri (Atxondo) Quintonil (Mexico City) Diverxo (Madrid) Alchemist (Copenhagen) Gaggan (Bangkok) Sézanne (Tokyo) Table by Bruno Verjus (Paris) Kjolle (Lima) Don Junio (Buenos Aires) View the full list here. Find out more about Odette here.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Odette holds the line as Singapore's sole entry on World's 50 Best Restaurants list
SINGAPORE, June 20 — Odette, the acclaimed French fine-dining restaurant at Singapore's National Gallery, has retained its position as the country's standard-bearer on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, ranking No. 25 in the 2025 edition. Though it slipped one notch from its 2024 position, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant remains the only Singapore establishment in the coveted top 50. This marks Odette's seventh consecutive year on the list since its debut in 2018. 'This year marks 10 years of Odette, and it is an honour to once again be recognised among some of the finest restaurants around the world,' said chef-owner Julien Royer, 42, in a statement to The Straits Times from Turin, Italy, where the awards ceremony was held yesterday. 'I'm incredibly proud of my team — many of whom have been on this journey with us since the very beginning. Their dedication and consistency have been key in shaping Odette into what it is today.' The statement also noted that Odette's team remains 'immensely proud' to represent Singapore on the global culinary stage, regardless of ranking. While Odette stayed in the upper echelon, two other local names — both previously in the top 100 — slid down the rankings. Modern barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends, helmed by chef Dave Pynt and known for its open-fire cooking, came in at No. 93, down from No. 68 last year. Restaurant Labyrinth, chef LG Han's imaginative tribute to modern Singaporean cuisine, dropped five places to No. 97. Meanwhile, Meta — a contemporary Korean restaurant that placed No. 95 in 2024 — fell out of the top 100. The latest list also reflected a strong showing by restaurants in Bangkok and Tokyo. Notably, Bangkok's Potong soared to No. 13 from No. 57 last year and earned the title of The World's Best Female Chef for its head chef Pichaya 'Pam' Soontornyanakij. Gaggan retained its Best Restaurant in Asia crown at No. 6, while Nusara jumped from No. 74 to No. 35. In Tokyo, Sezanne climbed to No. 7, while long-time favourite Den dropped to No. 53. Topping the global list this year is Lima's Maido, a restaurant blending Japanese precision with Peruvian soul, led by chef Mitsuharu 'Micha' Tsumura. The list is compiled annually by British media company William Reed, based on votes from over 1,100 culinary professionals around the world.
Malay Mail
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Odette holds the line as Singapore's sole entry on World's 50 Best Restaurants list
SINGAPORE, June 20 — Odette, the acclaimed French fine-dining restaurant at Singapore's National Gallery, has retained its position as the country's standard-bearer on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, ranking No. 25 in the 2025 edition. Though it slipped one notch from its 2024 position, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant remains the only Singapore establishment in the coveted top 50. This marks Odette's seventh consecutive year on the list since its debut in 2018. 'This year marks 10 years of Odette, and it is an honour to once again be recognised among some of the finest restaurants around the world,' said chef-owner Julien Royer, 42, in a statement to The Straits Times from Turin, Italy, where the awards ceremony was held yesterday. 'I'm incredibly proud of my team — many of whom have been on this journey with us since the very beginning. Their dedication and consistency have been key in shaping Odette into what it is today.' The statement also noted that Odette's team remains 'immensely proud' to represent Singapore on the global culinary stage, regardless of ranking. While Odette stayed in the upper echelon, two other local names — both previously in the top 100 — slid down the rankings. Modern barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends, helmed by chef Dave Pynt and known for its open-fire cooking, came in at No. 93, down from No. 68 last year. Restaurant Labyrinth, chef LG Han's imaginative tribute to modern Singaporean cuisine, dropped five places to No. 97. Meanwhile, Meta — a contemporary Korean restaurant that placed No. 95 in 2024 — fell out of the top 100. The latest list also reflected a strong showing by restaurants in Bangkok and Tokyo. Notably, Bangkok's Potong soared to No. 13 from No. 57 last year and earned the title of The World's Best Female Chef for its head chef Pichaya 'Pam' Soontornyanakij. Gaggan retained its Best Restaurant in Asia crown at No. 6, while Nusara jumped from No. 74 to No. 35. In Tokyo, Sezanne climbed to No. 7, while long-time favourite Den dropped to No. 53. Topping the global list this year is Lima's Maido, a restaurant blending Japanese precision with Peruvian soul, led by chef Mitsuharu 'Micha' Tsumura. The list is compiled annually by British media company William Reed, based on votes from over 1,100 culinary professionals around the world.
