Tropicana Magazine Mar-Apr 2017 #112: Riding on a Life Line

CLIFT DINING | THE COOKBOOK
“Out of a combination of
pragmatism, idealism and the thrill
of a challenge, star chefs like Dan
Barber and Jamie Oliver are turning
the culinary scene on its head by
bringing some palatable solutions
to the table.”
This ranges from how our vegetables
are grown and whether it results in the
decimation of forests and wetlands and
polluting fertiliser and pesticide run off;
to how much meat we consume and the
amount of greenhouse gasses its production
emits; to whether we should be eating what
we are served at all – like foie gras and veal
due to its cruel practices, and certain types of
cod and yellow and bluefin tuna, which are
being fished into extinction.
Until recently, there were few champions
of sustainable eating and farming, outside of
the animal welfare-led vegetarian and vegan
scene. Hyper-local cooks, those unsung
home chefs and small town and village
eateries that rely on local ingredients grown
in their backyard garden for their cooking
pot, did it as a matter of course.
But the advent of middle-class growth
and large disposable incomes afforded
more people increasingly lavish options at
the dining table and spawned a culture of
conspicuous consumption. The rise of the
foodie and the celebrity chef were part of
that development, but the attendant effect
was a populace that consumed beyond the
earth’s means, for convenience wrapped it
up in unnecessary packaging and amassed
unsustainable amounts of waste that could
not be disposed off adequately.
Fortunately, things are changing. And
the changes aren’t all environmentally
motivated. For health reasons, raw food
diets and an interest in whole and organic
foods have surged. And that’s great news
for the environment. More people are
eating less meat or giving it up entirely, and
crucially people are asking questions about
where their food comes from and how it
was cultivated.
Though the culinary scene has been
surprisingly slow to adapt, perhaps out
of an unwillingness to compromise
its art, a progressive new school of
thought has emerged and entire kitchens
are fundamentally changing the way
they operate.
Out of a combination of pragmatism,
idealism and the thrill of a challenge, star
chefs like Dan Barber and Jamie Oliver are
turning the culinary scene on its head by
bringing some palatable solutions to the
table, advocating for meat-free diets, putting
sustainably-sourced fish on menus and
asking important questions about where our
food comes from and where it goes.
For gourmands lucky enough to partake
of Asia Pacific’s phenomenal gastronomical
scene, Ryan Clift is one such advocate for
sustainability. Based in Singapore, the
British-born chef has worked his way up
from culinary school to culinary trailblazer
by way of Claridges in London and Vue De
Monde in Melbourne, under the tutelage
of masters like <strong>Mar</strong>co Pierre White and
Raymond Capaldi.
As of 2008, Clift made Singapore his
base of operations and in a very short time
has opened the Tippling Club, Open Door
Policy, Open Farm Community and Ding
Dong. Each of his award-winning eateries
practices a produce-centric philosophy, one
in which ingredients are locally sourced
and dishes are adapted to the seasonal
produce available.
99 MARCH/APRIL <strong>2017</strong> | TM