From Grandma's Kitchen to Her Own League

KrisShop: Shermay, you’ve got a degree in Political Science and History from Brown University, and you did investment banking at Morgan Stanley and UBS. How did you end up getting into the food and beverage (F&B) industry? 

Shermay: I think all the experiences before have led up to this moment and prepared me to be in F&B. It was good interdisciplinary training that helped me build a strong foundation. I still have a keen interest in news, current affairs, politics and history.

The pivotal moment was when I decided to quit my corporate job to go into F&B, which then launched me on a path in what I believe is my life’s work and calling. The big difference is passion. Because, while F&B can be hard work, I remain energised every day and this drives my creativity. I also think I have an innate knack for making food. In some ways, this is quite inexplicable.

You went on to attend the world-renowned culinary institute, Le Cordon Bleu. Tell us about your time there – how do you think it has shaped who you are today? 

Le Cordon Bleu was a structured, intense and classical form of training. It was especially useful when I was running my own cooking school. It gave me a sense of how to run cooking classes, develop a curriculum and so forth. It also gave me the lingo and culinary chops I needed to work with culinary instructors and chefs.

My training at Le Cordon Bleu was all about refinement, reductions and sometimes overly-stylised presentation, so it has taken me a while to evolve as a chef. For example, now, I make my sauces deliberately thick and coarse so that it tastes like it is homemade or as if my grandma made it herself. Having that classical foundation helps me to know how far to go and in which direction to create that perfect taste and texture.

You seem to mention your grandma quite a bit in interviews. How big an influence has she been on your food and cooking philosophies? 

Much of what I create now is inspired by my grandma’s recipes. It is my way of honouring her memory and carrying on her tradition. After all, flavours are so powerful and evocative. It is an immediate way to evoke memories of childhood, especially of a grandparent’s cooking.

She was – and is – much-beloved in my family. She doted on her grandchildren and often expressed that love through her food. My father would often collect a tingkat (tiffin carrier) of her hearty home-cooked food after work.

I have very fond memories of my time with her, how loving and fun she was and how we often spent days in her kitchen or grocery shopping at Tekka or Farrer Market. My grandma was intelligent, capable, resilient and witty. As a family, we’re indebted to her for all her sacrifices and resourcefulness, especially during World War II.

What do you think makes Peranakan cuisine so different from others?

Peranakan food has all the complexity and dimensions of what all great cuisines should have. It can be sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami – all at once.

And it is all about the spice paste (rempah) which is often made of galangal, turmeric, ginger, coriander seeds, cumin and shrimp paste (belacan, a fermentation which gives the umami component). The rempah is usually fried until your nose tingles, or in some cases, boiled. Tamarind is then added for a tangy and sour taste (assam), or coconut for creaminess (lemak). All this results in a rich and complex-tasting cuisine that is sophisticated and refined. 

What do you think makes for good Peranakan food? Do you think there’s room for more experimentation? 

I tend to be a traditionalist. I think there are so many old school recipes that have not been continued because we don’t take the pains to learn and re-create them.

One of my favourites is the traditional hand-made – not machine-made – kueh pie tee shells which are paper-thin and collapse in one bite to reveal the warm filling of very finely shredded stewed vegetables and meat. The factory-made ones are thicker and more resistant, but lack this delicate quality. As a chef, I am keenly aware of the impact of making compromises.

I think most people who have fond memories of Peranakan food, hanker for the unadulterated traditional version, not a simplified or deconstructed version. 

In just 5 years, you’ve built Shermay’s Singapore Fine Food into a really strong brand with great reviews. What’s your recipe for success? 

Mostly, good intuition. To borrow a friend’s line, food manufacturing is ‘magic and logic’. ‘Magic’ is what a chef, food crafter or tastemaker does just because it seems right. To create something we think is tasty. ‘Logic’ is making the effort to ensure it is consistently of high quality, safe to eat according to regulations, packaged with good design and well marketed.  

How are your sauces and crackers different from those of other brands?

Each product exemplifies what I think good flavour is. Two of my highlights are Cilicuka Original, a red chilli sauce, and Nonya Curry Powder. Both are based on my grandma’s handwritten recipes – scribbles on aged exercise book paper. 

I faithfully recreated and tested these recipes until my family said that it tasted like what they remembered it to be. I am often guided by their taste buds and my own sense of what is tasty. All the products are what I would serve to my own family and friends, and I am always guided by this principle. I only make what I would eat myself.

I felt the Cilicuka Original achieved a milestone when Singapore Airlines decided to serve it on board. Later on, the Nonya Curry Powder was awarded 1 star at the UK’s Great Taste Awards, which is judged by a professional guild of food crafters and chefs. I didn’t set out with these achievements in mind, I simply wanted to make a good food product that expresses the flavor of Singapore. 

Moving forward, what are your dreams for Shermay’s Singapore Fine Food – and for yourself?

My focus right now is on quality, honing the products, serving my local market, building a strong base and loyal following, before thinking of venturing further afield. My products fall in many categories: groceries, snacks, festive gifts, souvenirs. If done well, there's a lot to do!  

In a sense, I'm already living part of the dream: to have Singapore Airlines, hotels and home cooks serve my chilli sauces and use my curry powder, to be part of the independent food crafter community. It means chefs and home cooks embrace these flavours, and these taste memories are now part of their lives. I really savour all these experiences.

Finally, what advice would you give to a young chef or culinary entrepreneur looking to make their mark? 

I would say don’t get too focussed on making your mark. It is good to have an end-goal in mind, but first develop deep skills and knowledge in a few areas, and be willing to clock in the hours. For instance, while it is good to know how to cook well, knowing how to do food styling and photography adds another dimension to your capabilities. The most exciting kinds of work, I feel, are at the intersections of food and design, technology, science, etc.

I also think it is important to evolve your work to create a sustainable career for yourself. I started out as a cookbook author, ran a cooking school, then went into food manufacturing and consulting. All this requires adaptability, flexibility and a willingness to continually learn. The one consistency or thread that runs through all of it is my focus on Peranakan cuisine and my grandma’s recipes – in this sense, I think I’ve always stayed true to my core beliefs.

 

---

Shermay’s Singapore Fine Food is available on With Love, SG, a curated collection of homegrown brands that showcase Singapore’s unique culture and heritage.