He may have worked in the lofty pastry kitchens of Noma — voted the World’s Best Restaurant in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014 — and the now-defunct two Michelin-starred Restaurant Andre in Singapore, but all Singaporean lad Mohamed Al-Matin wants is to open his own bakery selling rustic bakes like cruffins. So two years after his stint as Noma’s pastry sous chef, the well-spoken 31-year-old returned to Singapore in January this year to start his own business.
But as most stories go these days, Covid-19 happened and his plans for “a quaint little bakery selling pastries and cakes with a small dine-in area” have gone awry. Nevertheless, Matin has been making waves in the months since with his pop-ups at cafes such as Bearded Bella, Park Bench Deli and Maxi Coffee Bar where he’s sold limited quantities of his signature kouign-amann, galettes and croissants.
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1/101/10Rocky road to top positions in the world’s best restaurants -
2/102/10His time at Noma, one of the world’s most famous restaurants -
3/103/10Making ‘mouldy’ pancakes at Noma a tricky task -
4/104/10Why give up glam job to open bakery in S’pore? -
5/105/10Pop-up kitchens -
6/106/10Kouign-Amann (8 DAYS Pick!) -
7/107/1048-hour Lacto-Fermented Plum Galette -
8/108/10Applewood-Smoked Cruffin with Eucalyptus Meringue (8 DAYS Pick!) -
9/109/10Cashew, orange blossom and mulberry escargot -
10/1010/10Bottom line