Kirk Westaway

The selection of young Chefs living and breathing JAAN’s restaurant life, eighteen hours a day, shoulder-to-shoulder in the heat. It can be intense, but I have learnt not to complain. It is important that we share a connection, as well as ideas and new styles.

The pepper works well in English cuisine. I always use it somewhere in the menu all year round, although usually as a garnish or spice and generally not in the spotlight. To make the pepper the star of the show is interesting because it requires you to contemplate your recipe in a different way.

It was December 11, 2011. I remember the date because I had just arrived in Singapore for the first time and discovered my new restaurant hours later at dinner. I will never forget gazing across the marina as the bright lights of my new city reflected on the gold label when we opened that bottle of Krug. It would be the first of my many engagements with the House.

A few years ago, I was invited to Hong Kong by Krug, on a boat journey with some of the top Chefs from around the world. We shared jokes, stories and Krug Champagne under the stars in the middle of the river in Hong Kong. It was truly a wow moment.