This month sees the launch of the Tastemakers list, the third installment of Tatler’s Asia’s Most Influential series, which identifies the leaders across Asia making an impact this year in their respective fields.
Focusing on the F&B industry and spanning a host of professionals from chefs, bartenders, mixologists and restaurateurs to social and FoodTech entrepreneurs, food critics and farmers, the selections include such luminaries as restaurateurs Syed Asim Hussain and Christopher Mark, co-founders of Hong Kong’s ever-expanding Black Sheep Restaurants; DeAille Tam of Obscura restaurant in Shanghai, who was named Asia’s Best Female Chef 2021; Berg Wu, a World Barista Champion and founder of Taiwan’s acclaimed coffee chain Simple Kaffa; and founder of Singapore’s Brass Lion Distillery, Jamie Koh, among many others.
See also: Asia's Most Influential: The Culture List 2021
1. Caleb and Joshua Ng
Profession: Restaurateurs, Interval and Cut Sando Bar
Location: Hong Kong
Impact statement: Driving a future-forward approach to F&B in Hong Kong
Identical twins Caleb and Joshua Ng, founders of Twins Kitchen, have long been making their mark on Hong Kong's F&B scene, whether through quaint neighbourhood café Common Ground, Preset Event Space located underneath their original coffee and wine bar, Interval in Central, or food incubator PMQ Taste Kitchen.
Most recently the pair relaunched Interval as two entirely new venues in Cyberport and Lohas Park where they are cementing their future-forward approach by experimenting with low-intervention and biodynamic wines, sourdough pizzas, live-fire cooking and, in the case of the Cyberport restaurant, an on-site farm created in collaboration with Farmacy HK that reduces the operation’s carbon footprint. Their next project, Cut Sando Bar, demonstrates an aptitude for identifying the next great idea in food, combining Japanese-style sandwiches with natural wines and curated music.