Since restaurant Air, which stands for “awareness, impact and responsibility”, opened at Dempsey Hill this January, sustainable principles have already been built at its core. After all, the farm-to-table concept is helmed by Will Goldfarb, the chef‑owner of Room4Dessert in Ubud, Bali, and Matthew Orlando, the chef-owner of the now-shuttered Amass in Copenhagen, Denmark, which was considered as one of the world’s leading restaurants in sustainability. But describe Air as a “sustainable restaurant” and you will be gently corrected by Orlando, who says, “that’s just a by-product of our pursuit of new flavours”.

For one, the 40,000-square-feet space features a sprawling garden created in partnership with local urban farm City Sprouts, which grows about 60 types of seasonal herbs, spices and fruits that are used heavily on the restaurant’s menu. There is also a massive R&D kitchen on the second floor, where the culinary team regularly experiments with ferments, nose-to-tail cooking, and the use of by-product ingredients that are often discarded. “We created a lot of not-so-good dishes” quips Orlando, “as well as innovative dishes that make the best use of every ingredient”.

Take, for example, the iteration of his Amass signature fermented potato bread. At Air, he replaces the potato with cassava, a quintessential Southeast Asian ingredient he discovered on a trip to Johor in Malaysia. He serves it with whipped mushroom XO butter, made with mushroom trimmings cooked with ginger, onion and garlic for 12 hours.

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Other signatures include the coral grouper fillet served with lavash made with fish bones, lemongrass and chillies. And then there is the Reincarnated Chocolate, which is made with the by-product of three common processes: cocoa husks that are thrown upon processing cocoa beans; cascara, the dried skin of coffee cherries that has no purpose; and coconut flesh, which is discarded in the commercial use of coconuts. These three ingredients are roasted and ground with cocoa butter, resulting in decadent bars with a coconutty finish. “Basically, this is the traditional way of making chocolate, just without cocoa beans, of which there is a worldwide shortage,” Orlando explains. While the culinary team goes through all these complicated processes to create delectable dishes, Orlando lets on that they do not want to preach. “It’s about informing guests, but on their own terms,” he says.

With these sustainable principles set in place, the next focus for Orlando and Goldfarb is “awareness”, which is why they included a cooking school within the space. The idea behind this, declares Orlando, is to create a space where individuals can “connect, learn, and inspire each other, ultimately contributing to a more vibrant and informed conversation around food”.

Truesdale-Jutras agrees that awareness is the next step, coupled with responsibility, which is why he founded sustainability consultancy Re:Growth, where his “small squad” helps businesses become more sustainable environmentally and economically. With his role at the F&B Sustainability Council, he hopes to move the discussion forward with industry leaders to come up with greener solutions and more sustainable practices.

While more businesses are moving towards sustainable approaches in the kitchen, LG Han, the chef-owner of the Michelin-starred restaurant Labyrinth, hopes that the industry does not forget about cultural sustainability. In his kitchen, where he crafts his New Singaporean cuisine, Han continues to work on preserving heritage flavours so that future generations can enjoy them. “Every single dish we create at Labyrinth, we deep dive into the traditional roots and recipes, not just how to do it now but how it was also done in the past,” Han explains, adding that while Labyrinth is a modern Singaporean restaurant, the traditional aspects still remain. “We just don’t present it in a way that people may recognise.”

The Hainanese pork curry rice dish he served on his menu last year was made using a recipe that was given to him by a retired hawker chef. While the curry today is often made with potato starch and sugar because “it’s faster and cheaper”, Han closely follows the traditional recipe, making everything from scratch and using sweet potato to thicken the sauce.

And instead of rice, he serves it with various grains such as millet and barley, as well as breaded and deep‑fried pork. “The flavours [of the Hainanese pork curry rice] are there,” says Han. While he does not say much about the other Singaporean dishes he is working on, he tells us that he is currently working on his own version of the salted egg.

Despite the hard work and effort that comes with championing cultural sustainability, Han is not deterred. He surmises: “If we don’t preserve these [heritage flavours], then we’re going to have a whole new generation of Singaporeans growing up not knowing who they are.”

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