The French chef enters a new chapter in his culinary odyssey with the opening of his own establishment, where he champions ‘contemporary woodfire gastronomy’
French chef Remy Lefebvre is a familiar face in the local dining scene, having helmed Spanish restaurant El Mero Mero and steakhouse Butcher’s Block since moving to Singapore in 2014. This year, he has embarked on a new chapter in his 20-year culinary odyssey with the opening of Casa by Remy Lefebvre at Chijmes where he is chef and co-owner.
As its name implies, Casa is his home where he and his team invite guests to partake in a delicious meal that revolves around ‘contemporary woodfire gastronomy’. That said, this novel concept can’t be boxed in one specific cuisine as it is the summation of all his life’s journey—starting out as a young boy learning about nature’s best bounty while growing up in Africa, becoming an adult and helming some of the lauded restaurants in Spain, and finding his niche in woodfire cooking during a stint in the Caribbean.
These memories are showcased on a plate with a bevy of seafood- and vegetable-focused creations (available in multi-course lunch and dinner menus) that are dependent on the season and made with the finest sustainably-sourced ingredients—among which are line-caught fish, organic and wild-foraged fruits and greens, and traditionally farmed meat. The meat and seafood are often dry-aged in-house and cooked using classical methods over woodfire to draw out their purest flavours.
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The smoked trout with kampot pepper—which is served as part of the trio of snacks alongside charred eggplant with pollen and bacon with pumpkin miso—is a wonderful introduction to Lefebvre’s kitchen. It consists of bite-sized Petunia trout from Tasmania that is aged for five days, cured with salt and sugar and cold-smoked using woodchips to enhance its delicate taste with a kiss of smoke. It is elevated further with a generous sprinkle of dried black kampot pepper.
His sojourn to different countries has exposed Lefebvre to a world of flavours, as showcased in the Blue Mussels and Gambas. The former takes its cues from the Japanese chawanmushi, which Lefebvre thought had the same silky smoothness as the French crème brulee. Thus, he created his own rendition using a custard base made with mussel dashi, cooked in a charcoal oven, and decorated with seasonal seafood and peaches.
The latter was inspired by his years working in Spain—home to the ubiquitous prawn dish. Lefebvre’s version comprises lightly brined prawn tails smoked over fruit wood chips and French hay to enhance the sweetness and topped with thickened pine nut milk for added creaminess. The dish is given a Japanese touch with the addition of seasonal uni as well as house-made yuzu and wasabi kosho (Japanese condiment).
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