Shake it Till You Make it

With the help of incubation spaces and programmes, aspiring chefs, hawkers, and bakers can test their ideas before diving into the deep end

- GRACE MA

Behind a nondescript door on the second floor of an Ann Siang Hill shophouse, bartender June Baek and chef Son Pham are dishing out izakaya-style dishes, shaking up cocktails, handling reservations and payment, all with cheery smiles as customers stream into the 10-seater space. 

The two are the first to test their gastrobar concept Guerilla at Ghostwriter, the latest incubation space in Singapore’s food and beverage scene. Launched by Jay Gray, who is behind cocktail bars Low Tide and Sago House, as well as Underdog Inn, which specialises in smoked meats and seafood, Ghostwriter also housed chef Pete Smit’s pop-up supper club collaborations Dirty Suppers, which moved on last year to bigger, permanent premises. 

Gray wants Ghostwriter to address the gap in training young food and beverage operators to take an idea from proposal to launch. He says: “It’s good to know whether you can work with someone, if an idea you’ve done at home or for friends would work before you pour your life savings into it. There are few opportunities for operators to try something out at a low cost and risk. We want to give back to a community that has always looked after people.”

The duo have both worked in international establishments for over 20 years — Pham launched Sonny’s Pizza last year, while Baek has worked at Seoul’s Bar Cham and Singapore’s MO Bar — but running a new concept for the first time in an unfamiliar space proved to be a completely different experience.