“Teoh and I came up with the idea for KITA several years ago. We saw a lot of positive changes in the F&B industry in Malaysia, including a fresh new crop of young avant-garde chefs, respect, and inquisitiveness for endemic ingredients and culinary heritage, and a bunch of premium growers and producers coming to the fore. We thought the time was ripe to give this enthusiasm a little nudge,” says Tyler. 

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The pandemic saw them putting their plans on hold until the duo, along with Yap, decided that it was now or never to bring KITA to fruition. KITA’s lineup of chefs, mixologists, and experts is a stellar representation of those who are lighting up the local culinary scene and upcoming stars.

“For the curation of chefs, we looked at what we wanted to achieve through KITA, which is to highlight the local culinary scene. As for the masterclasses, we included what we thought were gems, what was untapped in our country and to be as interesting and inclusive as possible,” explains Teoh. “For our dinners, we went with younger chefs who have a unique mark and we wanted to give them a broader exposure in the market.”

One young chef whose distinctive point of view has been winning accolades is Johnson Wong of Gen Penang.

Wong, who celebrates Malaysian produce and flavour profiles in his exquisite dishes, made it to the top 100 of Asia’s best restaurants list this year and Tatler Dining’s Top 20 best restaurants last year. Wong is paired with Chef Shaun Ng of Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur's mysterious Hide, for two dinners in Penang and in Kuala Lumpur.

For Wong and Ng’s menu, diners can look forward to premium local ingredients with a generous dollop of the exotic. “We’ll be presenting a plant-forward menu with the proteins as a supporting role. I think it’ll be interesting because it takes us out of our usual momentum while still reflecting our cooking style,” says Wong.

“Sharing between chefs is very important, especially after going through these two years of the pandemic. It has helped make the whole community more united.”

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As for Tyson Gee of Ruma Hotel’s ATAS fame, who’s collaborating with Kim Hock Su from Penang’s neo-classical French darling, Au Jardin, the dinners represent a wonderful way to cook outside his comfort zone.

“I’m working on a few dishes that I haven’t done before, and with some new ingredients that are still very 'new' to me. I’m particularly looking forward to my first cold starter of nutmeg fruit, foie gras, and scallops,” says Gee. “Collaborations are great. As a chef, you're always learning. By partnering up with another chef you can observe food through the eyes of another chef, learn how they prepare certain ingredients, how they move, and learn their train of thought, among other things.”

As this all-star lineup of culinary luminaries prepares to kick off KITA (bookings via FunNow), Tyler sums up what the festival hopes to achieve succinctly: “We want to put Malaysia as a fine-dining culinary destination firmly on the map. We want to inspire the younger generation–and the older folk–and help them appreciate their culinary heritage, terroir, growers and makers in a whole new light. We want to bring the culinary community together, share ideas and skills and unite the community. Most of all, we really just want to have some fun.”

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