Vasunthara Ramasamy: "There are so many styles of chicken curry; there is even a white chicken curry. If Clarissa cooked that, people would say that that is not a Singaporean chicken curry. So what is Singaporean chicken curry? Do we have one? The consensus is that we can never have a national dish because it is very hard to represent Singapore. But why seek for singularity when you are so diverse? Why do we seek such homogenous experiences with Indian food?"

Vasunthara Ramasamy, Culinary Teacher and Masterchef Singapore Season 2 Contestant, shares about feeling pride as a Singaporean Indian, plus: *No-grind thosai* *How we can bring Indian home dishes to the masses* *Singaporean Indian food as a diasporic cuisine* *How Singaporean history impacted Indian food in Singapore* *Sardine curry* *Caste and Indian food culture* *Sense of inferiority that Singaporean Indians feel towards their food* *How the palate of Singaporean Indians differ from Indians in India* *Fish head curry* *Caste in Singapore* *Homogenization of Indian food in Singapore and Malaysia* *The rise of curry powder* *The case for making your own curry powder and spice blends* *Grinding your own turmeric powder and asafoetida* *Preconceived idea that Indian cuisine is not on par with European cuisine* *The need for more champions of Indian food* *Singaporean chicken curry saga* *Fear of failure as Singaporeans* *Home-cooking* *Her Masterchef journey*

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Preston Wong: "The goal should always be to make the message of sustainability and reducing food wastage as mainstream as possible. What point is there if it is just within that echo chamber of eco-conscious people? For us, we can break that barrier because price is not a big issue unlike other sustainable merchandise that may face challenges of accessibility due to price point issues. I would think that surplus food is a good bridge and show people that things can be affordable, and yet can be good stuff if you look beyond the exterior and short-dated condition of the item."

Preston Wong, CEO and lead innovator at Treatsure, shares about how his business tackles the problem of food waste, plus: *Reducing wastage from buffet lines* *The difficulties that buffet restaurants and hotels face in estimating the amount of food to prepare* *Grocery wastage* *Collaborations between partners and artisans to convert waste to new products* *Building a community* *The importance of education* *What keeps him going* *Using technology to reducing waste* *Why develop an app*

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Evelyn Yap: “Singapore is not an agricultural country. That limits the kind of produce we get, but also, we don’t know what is out there because our habits have changed to shopping at supermarkets, as opposed to wet markets, which stock more diverse produce.”

Evelyn Yap, chef & founder of Happivore, shares about her journey as a chef supporting farmers, plus: *How Rustic Canyon shaped the way she cooked* *Supporting farmers in Thailand* *How her experience in Thailand has impacted her as a cook* *Exposure to regional produce* *Favourite Asian vegetables* *Mental health* *How her Singaporean roots influenced her* *Fusion food* *Tips for making vegetables delicious* *Framework for learning how to use a new vegetable*

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Edmund Wee: “We don’t get a lot of chances to form relationships with people in our lives – we’re busy, we’re working. And you have to go shopping for your food. You either shop on Red Mart or the supermarket. Why do those two when there’s a third alternative, where you can do your marketing and at the same, you form relationships. Why not? It is so wonderful! So, it’s a no brainer for me to decide to go to the wet market. It is obvious to me to do so.”

Edmund Wee, publisher & CEO of Epigram Books, shares his insights on the book publishing industry, plus: *Wet market tips* *How Epigram started publishing cookbooks* *Epigram’s focus on Singapore and Singaporean stories* *Process of making a book* *Selection process* *Margins in the book publishing business* *Is print dead?* *Why read a book or cookbook?* *Why go to the market* *How wet markets can be improved* *Will wet markets survive?*

Shop Wet Market to Table via Epigram: https://epigrambookshop.sg/products/wet-market-to-table-a-modern-approach-to-fruit-and-vegetables

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Christopher Ng: “It is heartwrenching every time I go back to Singapore, because I see the difference. And it is a significant marked difference every year. I try to go to the places that are familiar to me, but even those places are changing rapidly although certain places are still familiar, I wonder how long they are going to last.”

Christopher Ng, the blogger behind Christopher’s Asian Delicacies, shares about his relationship with food growing up, plus: *Lakeview market* *The ungroundedness as an overseas Singaporean* *Kueh lapis* *Agak-agak approach* *The demise of home-baking and kueh-making in Singapore* *COVID’s role in preserving Singapore food culture* *Perceptions of Singaporean food culture* *Mastery in the kitchen* *The way the older generation instruct* *Food as love* *Singapore’s diverse food culture and crossovers* *Hae bee hiam*

Christopher Ng’s blog: https://delicacies070.blogspot.com/

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Khir Johari: “When we look at our understanding of Malay food, it is typically based on a narrow window, and that is the hawker centre. If you get a chance to visit Malay homes (your Malay neighbours or friends), that is where you get to see things that you don’t normally experience… Reading and travelling help to inform, and with that, you’ll come to understand the diversity and beauty of Malay food, and look at it as a very healthy diet. Any food you eat in excess is bad, regardless of your background, ethnicity, or geography.”

Khir Johari, author of The Food of Singapore Malays, shares about his new book, plus: *Who are the Malays* *How his interest in Singaporean Malay food began* *Lack in documentation of Malay gastronomy* *Mee siam* *Impact of urbanization and globalization on Singaporean Malay food* *Foraging in Malay food culture* *Ulam and seafood in the Malay diet* *Ways of cooking with greens* *Connecting with nature* *Concept of Peranakan in Singapore* *What can be problematic about the way Peranakan food is marketed these days* *Food as medicine* *Growing up years* *Kampong glam then and now* *Extinct dishes* *How we can embody the Malay ethos towards food in this modern day and age* *Hope for Singaporean food culture*

Khir Johari: https://www.thefoodofsingaporemalays.com/ @khir19

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Christy Chua and Tan Aik: “Through my interviewing experience in school or at The Slow Press, I feel that sometimes when we talk to older hawkers or business owners, they might be quite unwilling to share about what they do. Sometimes they would dismiss it as, ‘I do this everyday, nothing new. It’s just normal going to work. I come here, fry some noodles and go home.’ They’d literally tell me that. I’m sure there’s a story but I can’t seem to dig it out of them, and that leads me to think, ‘Are those profiles being featured on mainstream media like Our Grandfather Story? Are those profiles that are willing to be videoed the only stories that will live on?’

Christy Chua and Tan Aik, founder & editorial director and editor-in-chief of The Slow Press, an independent food zine, share about the niche that The Slow Press is filling, plus: *Why focus on homecooked food content* *How media shapes the food preferences of the young* *Mission of The Slow Press* *Why do print?* *Featuring Filipino community and cuisine* *How their interest and curiosity in Singaporean food began* *Getting Gen Zs interested in local food stories* *Challenges in ‘preserving’ and documenting local food culture*

The Slow Press: https://www.theslowpresszine.com/

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Christopher Tan: “I think what everyone needs to realise is that we all have a say in how the food culture of our country evolves. We all have a stake, we all have a say, and we are all culture makers. Your national food culture is not something that you should have to order in. It should be something that you stand in, you cook, you practice, and you live out. Your heritage is your anchor, your compass, and your passport from which you go and explore other places, but you hold your passport. I very much hope that the younger generations will take up home-cooking as an activity, as a hobby, not as a luxury but as a necessity…”

Christopher Tan, writer, author of The Way of Kueh, and culinary instructor shares about the importance of home-cooking, plus: *Growing-up years in the UK* *How Singaporean food culture has shifted* *Motivation behind writing The Way of Kueh* *Agak-agak* *Challenges of kueh-making* *Parallels and differences between Western pastries and desserts, and kueh* *Vegetables in Asian desserts* *Why make kueh* *Social media, mastery, and repetition* *The shift from kampungs to HDBs* *‘Authentic’ and ‘traditional’*

Christopher Tan: @thewayofkueh 

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