Cover A new generation of chefs in Singapore is proving that restraint and resourcefulness are the defining ingredients of sustainable gastronomy (Photo: Air CCCC)
A new generation of chefs in Singapore is proving that restraint and resourcefulness are the defining ingredients of sustainable gastronomy (Photo: Air CCCC)
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From brewery by-products to fermented scraps, a new generation of chefs in Singapore is proving that restraint and resourcefulness are the defining ingredients of sustainable gastronomy
There was a time when restaurant kitchens were synonymous with excess—prime cuts trimmed to perfection, surplus produce discarded without hesitation, abundance mistaken for excellence. That era, however, is steadily receding. Across Singapore’s dining scene, sustainable practice is no longer an afterthought but a guiding principle, reshaping the way chefs think, cook and source. In today’s progressive kitchens, culinary teams operate with a recalibrated mindset, crafting dishes that prioritise both flavour and responsibility. Sourcing locally, reworking supply chains and reimagining by-products are now embedded in daily practice—proof that sustainability and creativity can coexist seamlessly in the kitchen.
Modern European restaurant and microbrewery Level33 in Marina Bay Financial Centre exemplifies this approach. “As a working brewery, we recognised early on that the brewing process produces exceptional by-products such as spent grain and yeast [along with the] beer itself,” shares group executive chef Jake Kowalewski. This thinking gave rise to its “contembrewery cuisine”, which upcycles brewery by-products into inventive dishes across the menu.
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Above Spent grain from the brewing process at Level33, used to create sustainable dishes
Spent grain from the brewing process at Level33, used to create sustainable dishes
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The highest-volume by-product at the brewery is beer spent grain—leftover malted barley from the brewing process—which is dried and milled into a nutrient-rich flour that lends the restaurant’s artisanal focaccia and barley risotto a nutty aroma and earthy complexity. “While traditional risotto uses rice, we substitute it with malted barley … it offers an al dente texture and a toasted grain aroma that white rice simply cannot achieve,” says Kowalewski. Spent grain even finds its way into the meat-ageing programme: combined with shio koji during dry-ageing, it deepens umami flavours in beef while imparting a subtle nod to the restaurant’s character.
At Air CCCC, head chef Aik Yong’s approach to waste is anticipatory rather than reactive. Fermentation is a favoured tool, one that allows the kitchen to preserve ingredients at their seasonal peak before surplus becomes a problem. “Instead of working only with what is fresh today, we’re also cooking with the past—ingredients preserved at their seasonal peak,” he explains. The golden spice pumpkin dish, for instance, uses the guts; typically discarded without thought, they are lacto-fermented in salt and water for seven days, then dehydrated and blended with oil into a rich, almost cheesy pumpkin oil that adds unexpected depth to the dish. The extra-creamy barley risotto tells a similar story, drawing complexity from two types of koji (rice and barley) to coax out natural sweetness, miso for a savoury umami backbone, and natto (fermented soya beans) for a gentle funk and textural nuance that linger well after the last bite.
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Above Somma Folkore menu, crafted with sustainable dining in mind
Above Somma Folkore menu, crafted with sustainable dining in mind
Somma Folkore menu, crafted with sustainable dining in mind
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At Somma, chef‑patron Mirko Febbrile operates by a single governing principle: nothing is finished until everything is used. His practice of circular cooking treats the kitchen as a closed loop, where fermentation, drying and ageing build a layered pantry that influences menu development. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Somma’s signature cheese experience. “We collaborate with small farms across Italy that produce cheeses from cow, sheep, goat and buffalo—but the ageing continues here in Singapore under our care,” Febbrile affirms. Matured in a controlled environment, each wheel is tended with materials drawn entirely from the kitchen’s own cycle—molasses reduced from fruit skins, preserved citrus peels, cocoa pulp, red carrot reductions, truffle trimmings and whisky vapours.
That same rigour extends to dishes such as the Khorasan spaghettone, made with ancient Khorasan wheat cooked in a concentrated red carrot reduction. “When we process red carrots, we separate juice, fibre and pulp,” Febbrile shares. The pulp becomes the base for kombucha fermentation, while the scoby is matured, trimmed, dehydrated and lightly seasoned. “[The scoby] absorbs flavours beautifully and we use it to season our whelk salad, adding texture, gentle funk and acidity.” The circularity is, for Febbrile, the point. “I love that nothing is used just once—each stage feeds the next.”
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Above Scaled by Ah Hua Kelong’s curry mussels, crafted with sustainable dining in mind
Scaled by Ah Hua Kelong’s curry mussels, crafted with sustainable dining in mind
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For Wong Jing Kai, co-founder and founder of restaurants Scaled by Ah Hua Kelong and Smolder respectively, proximity is at the heart of minimising food waste. By working within local fish farm Ah Hua Kelong, where he is a partner, and alongside neighbouring coastal producers, he compresses the supply chain, reduces the risk of spoilage and builds a kitchen culture that follows the seasons. “As a fish farm and a restaurant, our focus is to showcase the produce that we have and can be farmed in Singapore or even wild caught, like mussels and clams,” he reflects.
Menus at both restaurants are fluid, shaped by whatever the sea yields—including, at Scaled by Ah Hua Kelong, a curry mussels dish served with fried mantou, featuring mussels caught in the wild by farmers at Ah Hua Kelong. Nothing that enters the kitchen is treated as partial: heads and bones are simmered into stocks that anchor the sauces; fish maw is dried and preserved; fins and offcuts resurface in specials rather than disappearing into the waste.
With sustainability now embedded at the core of progressive kitchens, these chefs have reframed waste not as an inconvenience, but as creative provocation. The discipline of using everything—of sourcing thoughtfully, preserving intelligently and extracting flavour from what was once overlooked—has sharpened both craft and conscience. Suffice it to say that in Singapore’s evolving dining landscape, doing more with less is no longer restraint; it is refinement.
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Dudi Aureus is the senior dining and travel editor at Tatler Singapore, covering the city’s most exciting restaurants, global travel trends, and the personalities shaping the culinary and lifestyle scenes. She also serves as co-jury chair for the Tatler Best awards in Singapore, celebrating the very best in hospitality. When she’s off duty, she can often be found at a favourite hole-in-the-wall Thai spot, savouring a perfectly balanced pad thai.
