Cover Acclaimed chef Violet Oon previously worked as a food writer at the now-defunct newspaper New Nation
Acclaimed chef Violet Oon previously worked as a food writer at the now-defunct newspaper New Nation
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The renowned chef behind National Kitchen by Violet Oon previously had an illustrious career as a food writer at New Nation, and shares her tips on how to review and write about food
Gone are the days of the hallowed food critic, whose authority rested under the auspices of venerated publications and whose verdict could make or break a restaurant. With social media, anyone can write about food. Under a culture driven by visuals and short attention spans, one might assume that the quality of food writing has fallen in favour of captivating content, but the opposite is true—the hunger for long-form, quality content, including food writing, has increased. How, then, do you write convincingly about food?
Enter Violet Oon, one of the most recognisable chefs in Singapore who is behind famed restaurants Violet Oon Singapore and National Kitchen by Violet Oon. Oon has been cooking Peranakan food since she was 16, but before she embarked on her career as a chef and restaurateur, she was first a feature writer at the now-defunct newspaper New Nation. In 1974, David Kraal, then the newspaper’s editor, got her to write for the food column, claiming that “it's better to have somebody who knows how to cook to write about the food”.
If there’s anyone who knows more than a thing or two about food writing, it’s Oon. We picked her brain on what a food writer needs to have to write well, how to be critical, and her top tips for writing engagingly.
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Above High Tea experience at Violet Oon Singapore (Photo: Instagram / @violetoonsingapore)
High Tea experience at Violet Oon Singapore (Photo: Instagram / @violetoonsingapore)
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What sets exceptional food writing apart from the rest?
Curiosity, the quest to unearth the secrets, and a sense of the bizarre. For example, I wanted to find out about the Chinese food culture of food as aphrodisiac. I went to Hong Kong one winter to eat snakes, snails and maybe puppy dog’s tails. I came back and wrote a double page spread on sex foods for men. This was one of the most popular food stories I wrote—all sorts of Rotary Clubs invited me to speak during their club lunch meetings for months after!
I think what sets exceptional food writing apart from the rest is not only about whether you like the food, or about trends. It’s about what you are interested in. What is the food that is being cooked? What does a chef’s talent represent?
As a food critic, you learn to analyse not just subjectively, but also objectively. You may not like something, but you must know enough to know whether it’s a very well executed dish, or if the technique is perfect, or if the emotion is correct.
I always give boiling chicken as an example. In Chinese cooking, you always put the chicken into boiling water. In French cooking, you put the chicken into tap water with the vegetables. Both are correct. So you have to know the history and culture of food, and when food writing incorporates that it sets it apart from the rest. Otherwise, it’s only about the chef, or taste, or how it looks. I don't think that’s enough.
How, then, do you develop your palate and knowledge of food?
When you eat something new or even familiar you have to go with a virgin mind. You may know a lot, but be hungry for new knowledge that increases your understanding. For example, you may be an expert in Teochew cuisine, but if you’re not familiar with Cantonese food, you do not know much about it and there is much to discover.
I always made the point of asking knowledgeable people what it is I’m eating. So when I wanted to find out about bird’s nest, I would ask a bird’s nest expert and ask him what it is. Like the well-trained reporter I am, I always ask two to three experts on the same topic to get a real feel of what’s the correct information.
I cannot just write anything on social media without doing research. It is a discipline that I have. To develop your palate, you have to know how to eat well—I think whoever cooks well has to know how to eat well. You have to be open to different tastes and know what you like and don't like.
What do you look for when you evaluate a dish?
When I evaluate a dish, I ask first of all, does it look appetising? It doesn’t have to look spectacular. It doesn’t have to look trendy. Second of all, is the cooking sound? Does it taste great? You may not like it, but you need to have enough culinary knowledge to know whether it is cooked perfectly or otherwise according to its own precepts.
Above Tok Panjang feast at National Kitchen by Violet Oon (Photo: Instagram / @violetoonsingapore)
Tok Panjang feast at National Kitchen by Violet Oon (Photo: Instagram / @violetoonsingapore)
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Do you have any tips on how to write engaging and captivating food descriptions?
Your language skills have to be very good. You have to know different ways of describing. I think what is not enough is using shortcuts—words like “umami” and “wok hei” are used to death! Paint a taste in words, describe the heat in which an item was cooked.
I do not speak or read Chinese but I read a food book on Chinese food and there are at least 10 ways to describe the act of boiling. Describe it such that the reader can imagine the setting, the mood, the food, the style, and the service. You have to paint a word picture.
What do you look for when you evaluate a restaurant?
It depends on what I’m looking for. I was just in London and I went to someplace called Barrafina. You have to sit at the counter with seats so deliberately packed so tight that I could hardly navigate that small space, but everything was perfect and choreographed. Compare that to another famous restaurant I went to, which was huge. At the end of the day it didn’t feel romantic, it felt a bit lonely. So you have to check things like that.
In a restaurant, there are a lot of things to take into consideration, like how do you greet people? I’m very fussy about water and bread.
If you have to be critical about a restaurant, what is the best way to go about it?
Be descriptive, and not be destructive. Describe the experience without being emotional about it. If you didn’t like something and somebody treated you badly, just say it like it is.
When I was a food writer, I tried not to be cruel. And if a restaurant was so terrible, I didn’t write about it because I think they’re going to just kill themselves anyway. I always remember that people actually have put their savings into their restaurants, so you have to be very careful. You have to look and give them encouragement. You have to say, ‘I think this needs something else’ rather than say ‘this is wrong’.
It is easy for me to judge service when the server’s kindness can shine through. But you have to be kind to the server or host as they are people like you and me. You will be able to make someone’s day! It is a wonderful feeling on both sides.
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Ethan Kan was Tatler Singapore’s dining writer.
