Chef Kirk Westaway Of JAAN On Fine Dining In A Post Pandemic World
There has been much speculation over what our world would look like, post-pandemic. The restaurant industry, for one, has been upended by the pandemic, where many restaurants experienced temporary dine-in closure during the circuit breaker, leaving many to wonder if take out or delivery cuisine will become the new norm.
Well, things are starting to look up, and if you are starting to miss that culinary experience one can only get while dining in at a restaurant, you’ll be happy to hear that many fine dining restaurants have officially reopened their doors this month, and that includes 1 michelin star fine-dining restaurant JAAN.
Certainly no stranger to the fine dining scene -- it is a regular on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, with a most recent 2020 21st Best Restaurants ranking, amongst its numerous prestigious awards, the restaurant sees Chef Kirk Westaway focusing on seasonality and a modern reinvention of British cuisine, with the reopening introducing the latest edition of his widely applauded Reinventing British menu.
So what does JAAN look like following its reopening? They have kept to social distancing and safety regulations measures, for one. “Given JAAN’s intimate setting and existing layout, our tables are already fairly far apart, but we removed an additional table to comply fully with safety measures,” says Westaway. This includes maintaining a comfortable distance of at least 1.5 metres surrounding the back of each guest’s chair.
Ahead, we speak to Chef Kirk Westaway on his lockdown reflections, how it has helped him refocus and develop his creativity, his guilty pleasures, and his hopes for the F&B industry moving forward in a post-pandemic world.
Before JAAN’s reopening, you have been keeping busy with A Casual British Summer pop-up at Anti:Dote, which offers a casual, more accessible platform to savour your food. How was the reception like and can we expect more of such events?
A Casual British Summer was a seasonal pop-up that we felt was a good creative activation to get a feel of the market’s response, and of course a chance for many of our regular customers who have missed JAAN’s food during the temporary closure, to return to some familiar tastes. It is a more casual concept focusing on British food done properly with the best ingredients and is fairly priced. As for the reception, it has been amazing! We’ve had VIPs from JAAN come in five to six times. We may continue the pop-up for a bit longer, and consider the possibility of a more permanent fixture.
You took some time off during the temporary closure of your restaurant this year. How has that extra time helped you refocus or develop your creativity?
Half of the menu for A Casual British Summer was created during the lockdown – our aptly named Lockdown Apple Pie was a huge hit. A lot of the items on the menu were created in my home while I was experimenting; cooking for my fiancée and friends, and doing what I could to keep the fire within alive. Away from food, I also took up distance running during this period, which has been very relaxing.
Any guilty pleasures in terms of food?
I’m not a sweet tooth kind of a guy. One guilty pleasure is actually just bread and butter. I’ve always enjoyed making bread from a young age and I have a ready variety of French, Australian, and New Zealand butters at home. It’s simple but so satisfying and tasty. At JAAN we use Devon butter, and we’ve developed quite a reputation for the quality of bread and butter we serve.
It has been a challenging time for the dining scene in Singapore with the ongoing pandemic. Have you found any silver linings?
A few of my friends tell me they could do a staycation, but would rather support local restaurants. It’s an opportunity for everyone to fill their seats and gain back their momentum and following. People are very keen to go out. Every restaurant is fully booked right now! The lockdown was also good for chefs to take a break, read some books and refresh their minds – there’s hardly ever an opportunity to do this in the career of a chef, but during this forced time of ‘rest’, we were all given this rare window to make the best use of.
What are your hopes for the food industry in Singapore moving forward?
The continuation of people dining out and supporting each other. Additionally, the world is becoming more knowledgeable about traceability, quality, sustainability, etc. This is the direction a lot of chefs are going towards, and I hope the trend of using organic food and small producers continues.
JAAN by Kirk Westaway is located at Level 70 Swissotel the Stamford, 2 Stamford Road, Singapore 178882.
For reservations, contact jaan.bookings@swissotel.com or +65 6837 3322.
