Well Suited

Award-winning chefs Julien Royer and Kirk Westaway reveal how friendship lifted them to the top of their game in the same city.

Their fine-dining restaurants rank among the top in Singapore, and, together, they won awards for Jaan at Swissotel, yet not many people know that the abiding friendship between chefs Julien Royer and Kirk Westaway started in a professional kitchen in London’s Mayfair district.

The Michelin-star chefs are the stars of Ermenegildo Zegna’s latest “Defining Moments” video, which is part of a series featuring the musings of well-known personalities.

When Royer was appointed head chef at Jaan in 2011, he needed a sous chef. Westaway, who was then in Argentina and on his way back to London to pursue his career, was the first person Royer called. It was an opportunity too good to turn down, and Westaway found himself abandoning his original plan and joining his friend in Singapore.

Both Royer and Westaway grew up on farms in the countryside; the former in the Auvergne region of France and the latter in coastal Devon, England. From a young age, both men were accustomed to using the freshest seasonal ingredients harvested from their surroundings.