Where did you build your culinary chops, Sarah?
Sarah Tan: My first exposure to the industry was at a Japanese restaurant while waiting for approval to intern in Germany. Thereafter, I was at Cilantro for two years followed by a 1.5 month stage at Attica in Melbourne before joining Dewakan for two years.
Three famed restaurants headed by three fantastic chefs. What was the most valuable lesson you learned from each mentor?
Sarah Tan: I have deep respect for chef Takashi Kimura from Cilantro as he taught me a lot about ingredients, seasonality, flavour and technique. Cilantro is where I honed my basics.
Chef Azlal Ariffin (we call him Steve) was the chef de cuisine at Cilantro. He is one of the best cooks I know, and I want to be able to cook like him. I would pay attention to how he cooked pasta for instance, and strive to achieve his standards.
I harbour both fear and respect for chef Darren Teoh of Dewakan, mainly because he's no-nonsense and will tell you as it is. He's not afraid to push the envelope. It is at Dewakan where I learned about Malaysian produce and embraced being Malaysian. Darren, who was also my lecturer at college, has been extremely supportive of Minus 4 Degrees.
The last time I looked at a label from a large-scale ice cream manufacture, I spotted some ingredients that didn’t look too gut-friendly. Comments?
Sarah Tan: Discerning consumers are paying more attention to nutritional content these days. I believe it is a collective effort from those who are in the industry and social influencers to help educate the market on what goes into their stomachs. I am not opposed to stabilisers; an appropriate amount can slow down melting and even aid texture. I do not, however, use any, the reason being that they mute flavours. We advise customers to finish their cartons within a month to enjoy optimum freshness.
Your ice cream tastes so ‘alive.’ I put it down to the use of natural ingredients including thyme, black pepper, banana and durian. Is it challenging to achieve consistency in your ice creams, given that you’re using fresh ingredients as opposed to imitation flavouring?
Sarah Tan: Definitely. With durian, for example, flavours vary from one season to the next, and from one orchard to another. Sweetness and aroma is also affected by the weather. Malaysians like intense flavours that come on strong, which is what artificial flavourings do, whereas natural flavours blossom on the palate slowly and subtly.
