Odette has been busy since it opened. The new restaurant by chef-owner Julien Royer, named Singapore Tatler’s Best New Restaurant 2016, still has a month‑long waiting list. Maisy Koh checks it out.
The departure of chef Julien Royer from Jaan at Swissôtel The Stamford must have been one of the worst-kept secrets of 2015. He is one of a handful of chefs who powered Singapore’s climb to a world-class culinary destination. His megawatt smile is one thing, but what’s even more endearing about him is how he unabashedly adores his late grandmother, whom he named his new restaurant Odette after.
Raised in Cantal, an area in the Auvergne region of France where livestock outnumbers humans by a stretch, chef Royer learnt to respect terroir and seasonality from a tender age. He and his family lived and ate out of the farm. His parents made everything from cheese to jam, and his grandmother showed him that the best dishes were created with love and respect for the best produce. This ethos guides his inexorable ascent as a chef.
In Singapore’s notoriously competitive F&B scene, few restaurant openings garner as much interest as chef Royer’s collaboration with The Lo & Behold Group did. Odette opened at the historic former Supreme Court wing of the National Gallery Singapore last November, and its reservation lines have been busy ever since.
As a chef, Royer is confident and curious. As a restaurant owner, he is savvy and practical. A few of his signature dishes from Jaan followed him to Odette, but by my third dining experience here, the dishes had evolved and some plating changed. The lunch and dinner menus also change slightly daily.
Of the various amuse-bouche on the menu, the mushroom tea stands out—this was also a signature of chef Royer’s at Jaan. Wild mushroom broth poured over cep sabayon produces a robust, earthy flavour, which is complemented by the buttery hints of a crisp and fluffy cep brioche that’s been baked with buckwheat and walnuts.