The Hills Are Alive

They say you can take the girl out of Singapore, but Restaurant Klösterle’s chef Ethel Hoon, is a testament that you can’t take Singapore out of the girl. From Cornell to the Cordon Bleu, and celebrated stints in Michelin-decorated institutions, discover how she keeps the Lion City spirit alive with her husband, chef Jakob Zeller, in the Austrian Alps.

- Adriel Chiun

In the beginning, there was food. I have always been obsessed with food from a young age and I think it comes from the fact that it played a key role in my family. Family gatherings always revolved around food. And we always fussed about what and where to eat. Growing up, my dad—the sole bread winner of the family—would not always make it home for dinners, so we’d set aside Friday evenings for family dinner. And Sundays were spent at my grandmother’s for lunch, which she prepared. Food was always a medium that I associated with bringing people together and how relationships are nurtured. My late mother witnessed my love for food from a young age and would always take me along during grocery shopping. I would go to weekend wet markets with her; where she taught me how to pick the best mangoes, watermelons and even fish!

THE EPIC JOURNEY WEST. I always thought that I wanted to pursue French cuisine which was why I decided to attend Le Cordon Bleu after I did Hotel Administration at Cornell University. In my mind, I had always believed French cuisine to be the epitome of fine dining. After I graduated, I did a stint at a classic restaurant in Paris called Taillevent and it was the first time working in a traditional French brigade system—seeing how a large kitchen operated at such a high level. I loved the pace and the energy and the quality of ingredients they were working with. I came home when my visa expired and managed to get a job as a commis at Les Amis under chef Sebastian Lepinoy.