Honest Cooking, Memorable Creations
His cooking philosophy earned him the Rising Chef of The Year award at the World Gourmet Summit in 2006 and he was consecutively nominated for San Pellegrino Chef of the Year in 2009 and 2010. Gunther’s was also named in Asia’s Top 10 restaurants in 2009/2010 edition of The Miele åGuide, New Restaurant of the Year in the World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence in 2009 and ranked 84th in the prestigious San Pellegrino World’s Best 100 Restaurant in 2010.
Gunther’s also won Restaurant of the Year and Outstanding Caterer of the Year at the World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence 2012; an achievement that demonstrates culinary, cuisine and service excellence in Singapore.
Q: You’ve been in Singapore for around 13 years now. What have you gained in that time in terms of refining your cooking style and conducting business in arguably the busiest country in the world?
A: In my 13 years in Singapore, I still cook the same way—simple, honest and down to earth, and I have always treated my guests as family and always make sure that the atmosphere in the restaurant is very homely.
Q: How did you come to create Gunther’s after having worked for a number of renowned restaurant groups in Singapore?
A: After working with other groups of restaurants for many years, I thought it was about time to present a cuisine that I can truly call my own. I wanted the guests to focus on my creations and feel that they are at home.
Q: What inspired Gunther’s Restaurant’s concept of honest cooking from the heart?
A: The concept of honest cooking from the heart was from way back when I was in Belgium helping out in my parents’ restaurant. It was situated by the coast, and everyday all the ingredients were fresh. Being honest with food means keeping ingredients in their natural shape and keeping their flavours, thus creating dishes with so much passion to keep your ingredients as natural as they can be.
Q: What are some of the core philosophies needed to run a successful fine dining restaurant such as Gunther’s Restaurant?
A: One is building relationships, not only with customers but also my staff. My staff are important, since in unity, we run the restaurant. The kitchen will not be able to survive without the service team; vice versa. My customers, of course, bring out the best in everyone in the restaurant. We work together to be able to make our guests feel that they are home. Another is respect for product. Each product has its own characteristics and I have to make sure that I bring out the best in all the different products that we have. All ingredients must also be treated equally, regardless of where they came from.
Q: In your personal opinion, how big of an impact has French cuisine played in Asia’s fine-dining scene?
A: In my opinion, the impact of French cuisine is great in Asia, not only in fine dining but in casual dining as well. We have a lot of French fine-dining restaurants in the country now (plus they are growing in number) and even brasserie (some locally owned) are making their way into the market.
Q: How have you refined your take on French cuisine now that you’re in Singapore? Is there anything you do differently?
A: I like my simple ways of cooking – simple yet creative and memorable. If there is anything I would do differently, it would be to make it even more homely than it is now.
Q: Unlike some countries in the region, I imagine it is fairly easy for you here to import or source whatever ingredients you need for your creations. Is this always the case?
A: Most of the time it is easy to source ingredients for dishes in the restaurant, but you can’t really blame suppliers if on rare occasions they are unable to deliver because of certain circumstances that are beyond their control.
Q: What is the single most complicated French cuisine you have ever created?
A: (with a friendly laugh) I am not a complicated guy, I like all my dishes simple but I make sure it is memorable.
Q: What advice can you offer to budding chefs/restaurateurs trying to make their mark in Asia’s highly competitive culinary scene?
A: Always have the heart to become a chef. In creating dishes, always make sure that you have the passion. Let lose all your senses and allow your mind to be free when you cook. That’s the only time that your heart will be able to guide you to prepare dishes that remind people of home.
Grilled Pen Shell, Consommé
Ingredients:
– Pen shell
– Consommé
– Sakura prawn
– Tomato
– Chives
– Quail egg
– Cognac
– Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
For the Pen shell:
– Take the meat out of the shell.
– Slice thinly (about 1mm thick, preferably
with a slicing machine)
– Grill one side of the pen shell meat and put
aside.For the Seafood consommé:
– Boil the consommé in a big pot.
– When it comes to the boil, add Sakura
prawn and tomato. Cook for 30 seconds,
then add the chives.
– Stir constantly and add beaten quail
egg to thicken the soup.
– Add some drops of cognac and stir well.
Final step:
– Place the grilled pen
shell meat in a bowl
for serving.
– Slowly pour the
consommé on top
of the pen shell meat.
Ready to serve.
