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| Q: |
Chef Toh, what does quality food mean to you? |
| Chef Toh: |
Quality food is what brings people together and keeps them coming back for more. Contrary to popular belief, quality food is not necessarily expensive. What is the use of the finest and freshest tasting dish if only a few can afford to eat it? To me, freshness, taste and value come hand-in-hand when it comes to quality food. |
| Q: |
What is your most important rule of good cooking? |
| Chef Toh: |
Experiment. Experiment. Experiment. My years of experience have taken me through many experiments on method, timing, temperature and taste. For example, the exact timing to flip over a steak at the right temperature of grill is not by chance, it is a result of knowledge gained after years of experimenting. |
| Q: |
Fostre has quite an extensive range of menu choices. What do you bear in mind when designing the menus and can customers make changes to the menus? |
| Chef Toh: |
We provide a wide range of menus so our customers can easily pick what is most suitable and be assured of the correct balance, variety, colour and texture in their choice. A lot of care and planning go into designing the menus, such as the portion of vegetables to meats and sweets to savouries and a lot of our menus are themed as well. Of course, customers can make changes to our menus, however switching and replacing the dishes may break the theme or the balance resulting in perhaps too much of the same type of dishes or a misfit in the menu. |
| Q: |
Your range of cooking styles is quite varied from Western to Asian, European and Fusion as well. How are you able to be good at all styles? |
| Chef Toh: |
Eating is universal. So is my experience. I started specializing in Western cuisine, then I moved on from there. My roots in Western cooking have taught me the fact that feasting is for the eyes as much as it is for the palate. I grew to learn about the strengths of food preparation and cooking styles for Asia and Europe. In my career, I have been blessed with the opportunity to cook for, with and learned from the best chefs in the different regions of the world. That makes me a very lucky well-rounded chef. |
| Q: |
You spoke a little on your culinary creations being a feast for your eyes as much as it is for your palate. Can you elaborate? |
| Chef Toh: |
To me, art is something I enjoy even from a young age. I thought I wanted be an artist and I believe in some ways I have become one. As I mentioned, Western and European cooking focus a lot on presentation. There is a lot of artistry. Good food does not just delight your sense of taste, it is an experience for your sense of vision, smell and touch as well. So, I do spend a lot of time making the food we serve at Fostre pretty to look at on top of being lovely to eat. |
| Q: |
How do you ensure the consistency and standards of your creations from the Fostre kitchens? |
| Chef Toh: |
Consistency and standard come from experience, persistence and passion. With the many able chefs under my wings, my lessons to them on techniques, timing, temperature and all the other skills are followed up with a lot of testing and tasting. I am very diligent in making sure I sample the food and check for proper preparation throughout. |
| Q: |
We understand from your chefs, you are the most generous teacher. How do you feel when you teach all these young talents your secrets? |
| Chef Toh: |
Someone once said, in teaching we will learn. Cooking is a very giving profession and it takes many years and many experiences to be a good chef. Along the way, many people shared with me the secrets of their success. In this profession, we are all in the same pursuit. Our shared objectives are themselves the very ingredients that bring us together in the Fostre kitchen. I hope that through me, my chefs can learn faster and move closer to our goal of creating quality food that brings people together again and again. |
| Q: |
Lastly, Chef Toh, what in your opinion makes a good caterer? |
| Chef Toh: |
That's easy, one that serves quality food and has a top chef behind it! |
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