At only twenty-six years of age, the newly promoted Chef de Cuisine at Keystone is firmly securing his position as one of Singapore’s hottest young talents.
Obsessed by the quality of his products and embracing an abiding respect for mother nature, Chef Immanuel Tee is the face behind the decadent 10-course Tasting Menu, infusing culinary secrets from Europe’s food capitals.
Tee’s story begins as a cook in the army where he gained his first taste of the culinary world. Moved by how food evoked such emotional experiences, Tee pursued his newfound passion, taking him to the Swissotel, The Stamford Singapore, where he trained at the acclaimed JAAN Par Andre and later at the sister venture, Andre Restaurant. “The things I learnt during this stage of my career were discipline, creativity and the pursuit of sourcing the best produce” says Immanuel. The Chef went on to work at the Guy Savoy, Singapore, exploring the fundamentals of French cooking, but later decided that to get to the core of the cuisine, he must delve into the “spiritual home” of the culinary world: Europe.
Catapulting his way to success in the dawn of his European expedition, Tee earned the opportunity to work within the kitchens of the two Michelin-star Pastorale Restaurant in Belgium. It was here that Tee discovered the true essence of his preferred cooking style, revelling at the relationships that can exist between Chef and local farmer, and the flavourful rewards it adds to the cuisine.
Returning to his homeland, Tee joined Keystone as Sous Chef at the start up of the restaurant, and since being promoted to helm of the kitchen, his invaluable adventure has been soulfully injected into the menu. Working with local Singaporean farmers, and reminiscing on his culinary journey, Tee has created a degustation menu with a story residing in each dish.
“Working on our foie gras dish, I remembered my time in Belgium, walking through the forest heading towards one of the farms to collect ingredients, the end result of this dish was that it resembled a black forest landscape”.
From caviar in Oscietra and mushroom duxelle in southern France to its spicier Spanish neighbour for the famously succulent Iberian Black Pig, Chef Immanuel Tee’s contemporary ten-course Tasting Menu takes you on a gastronomic tour of the food capitals of Europe.
What does this new position as Chef de Cuisine mean to you?
For me, food is about expression. This new position provides me with the platform to bring my ideas and inspirations to life and share them with other people. I’m grateful for this opportunity and in collaboration with Eddie (owner-restauranteur); I hope to elevate the experience at Keystone to another level.
When did you first fall in love with food?What got you cooking and influenced you to choose this career?
I’ve always been connected to raw produce and nature since a young age because my father had an agriculture/ farming business in Malaysia. My first exposure was in the National Service (Army) where I was a cook. During this time, I saw how food can evoke such an emotional experience and bring people together.
Who or what shaped your style of cooking?
I ended up getting the opportunity to work at Pastorale Restaurant in Belgium with Chef Patron Bart de Pooter. This was truly an eye-opening experience for me. It was the first time I saw a chef work so closely with local farmers, it was more than just a business transaction, it was about building relationships. Every day we would be receiving fresh produce from farms, hand delivered by the farmer himself. This really made me realise the importance of showing respect to mother nature, and I hope this is reflected in my cuisine.
Keystone places a lot of emphasis on respecting the produce. Can you tell me more about this? How do you go about sourcing ingredients?
The challenge of a small country like Singapore is that there isn’t the vast agricultural land size and suitable climate conditions to harvest produce, as compared to countries in Europe, North America and Australia. What we have begun doing is working with a select farm located in Singapore to develop their vegetable & herb selection. Of the produce we have tested so far, it is certainly not lacking in quality compared to the imported produce. Ultimately, the ingredients will be more fresh and we can help support the local farmers. Some countries, such as Australia, produce some of the best Wagyu beef in the world, so we work closely with 31 farms such as Mayura Station and Blackmore to get their best cuts into Keystone. Respecting the produce is my philosophy for letting nature speak for itself. We try to keep our creations as clean as possible; the modern cooking techniques we use are purely to assist in the expression of the produce itself.
What can diners expect from your menu? What can they get excited about?
We will always suggest to our patrons to keep an open mind when coming to dine at Keystone. What we can assure the diners is that they will experience delicious and innovative produce-driven creations.
(www.keystonerestaurant.com.sg)
From the ten-course Tasting Menu:
BLACK PIG
INGREDIENTS:
– 60 grams Pork belly from Snake River Farms
– 1 Organic egg
– 300 grams Agria potato
– 10 grams Jamón ibérico pork/bacon
– Gourmet Whip
– 15 grams Porcini, 25 grams Shiitake and 25 grams Button mushrooms
– 150 grams Sake
– 60 grams Mirin
– 15 grams Shoyu
– 40 grams Brown rice
– 1.5 grams Texturas (gelling agent)
– Salt and pepper
– Butter
DIRECTIONS
1. Cook the pork belly sous vide at 65ºC for 18 hours. Follow with a slow braise with sake, mirin, shoyu and brown rice for another 3 hours.
2. At 63°C, cook the organic egg in a thermal circulator for 30 minutes.
3. For the espuma, season the cooked agria potato with salt, pepper and butter. Follow by puréeing. Add the Texturas and pour in the Gourmet Whip. Add two nitrogen cylinders and shake hard.
4. Sweat the jamón ibérico slowly for 20 minutes to ready the fat, then add the porcini, shiitake and button mushrooms. Lightly season and cook until tender.5. Complete the dish with a crouton of jamón ibérico, dehydrated for 5 hours.
