Dough has been an intrinsic part of The Cicheti Group’s success as it expands its business in Singapore’s dining scene. Cousins and business partners Liling Ong and Lim Yew Aun share their recipe for fostering sustainability—both in and outside the kitchen
Sustainability is more than a buzzword for restauranteur Liling Ong. It is manifested in an all-rounded manner across the four Italian restaurants by The Cicheti Group, which she founded with her cousin, chef and co-owner Lim Yew Aun.
Diners can dig into hearty pasta that’s rolled out from excess dough and drenched in a stock concocted from leftover meat or vegetable trimmings, or take a sip of wine made from indigenous grape varietals grown in small, multi-generational vineyards. They can also soak up in the restaurants’ convivial vibe that is accentuated by artworks and furnishings by a community of local artists and craftsmen. Ong says: “Being sustainable is more than just ticking a box, it has to be ingrained as part of a business philosophy.”
Read more: How One Restaurant Group Is Leading The Industry Towards A Sustainable Future
It’s only in the past three years that sustainability has become a vital part of The Cicheti Group’s ethos. As the impact of global warming hit home, the 35-year-old was stirred up by a strong sense of wanting to do something about it in her restaurants. “I am not a tree hugger or green warrior,” she says. “But I couldn’t help but be moved by what was happening.”
Last year, the group collaborated with private dining outfit and pasta-maker Ben Fatto to organise four-hands wine-pairing dinners with a zero-waste theme. The sold-out dinners featured pasta dishes served with “ugly” ingredients, and a deconstructed bread and pudding with leftover potato skin.
The group is so committed to the cause that last year, it joined the F&B Sustainability Council, a local industry group for restaurants to share ideas on sustainability practices. The council has pledged to adopt green solutions such as reducing food waste and taking on carbon assessments.
“You can’t change the industry by yourself—there needs to be a movement that has key players in the scene commit to sustainability in a public and actionable way to keep each other in check,” she adds.
Read more: 5 Eco Heroes Creating a More Sustainable Asia in 2021
That spark coincided with Japanese-Peruvian sommelier Ronald Kamiyama joining the group as a managing partner in October 2018. Having worked in acclaimed restaurants such as the three-Michelin-starred L’Effervescence in Tokyo, which is famed for its zero-waste practices, Kamiyama laid the groundwork to make The Cicheti Group’s operations more carbon-friendly. It started with curating a sustainable wine list and educating staff and diners stories behind the winemakers and provenance. The practice gradually seeped into the kitchens, where Lim started to look at reducing food waste. These initiatives complemented the group’s long-running practice of collaborating with local artists. “A restaurant can be a place where food, art, music and design congregate to build an identity,” Ong says.
Over the past eight years, the group has made an indelible mark in the competitive dining scene here. In 2013, Lim and Ong, both novice restaurant operators, started Cicheti, a rustic-chic trattoria in Kandahar Street. That was followed by the runaway success of Bar Cicheti, a contemporary pasta and wine bar that opened in 2018—shortly before Kamiyama, 40, came on board. After branching out to coastal Italian cuisine with osteria Caffe Cicheti in 2019, the group has unveiled its boldest concept yet, Wild Child Pizzette in August this year.
Don't miss: 5 Reasons to Visit Caffe Cicheti
The “free-spirited and experimental” pizzeria in Boat Quay serves 10-inch Neapolitan-style pizzas, or pizzette, alongside sake and natural, organic and biodynamic wines. Imagine Tuscan kale and pickled onion pizzette paired with Motoshibori sake from Osaka, and Spianata Calabrese pizzette that has spicy salami drizzled in tangy Sichuan chilli honey.