Singapore content platform CreatorsLab debuts The Creators, a video docuseries that takes a deep dive into the minds of some of Asia’s – and Singapore’s – best culinary talent.
Local celebrity chef Bjorn Shen needs little introduction, but a latest video docuseries episode on the chef-owner of edgy Middle Eastern restaurant Artichoke sheds surprisingly deep insight into his psyche. In the second episode of The Creators by online content platform CreatorsLab officially unveiled this week, the MasterChef judge shared his ups and downs in the F&B business, including the soul-crushing closure of his second restaurant Bird Bird, and the idea behind his latest concept, Smalls.
The Creators pilot episode was soft-launched earlier this year, featuring chef-owner Han Li Guang of Michelin-starred modern Singaporean restaurant Labyrinth. But the new episode was particularly striking not because of Shen’s origin story, but how open he was with his failures.
“If every morning, you get out of bed, you go to the toilet and you take a shit. And you pull out a thousand dollar note from your wallet and you wipe your ass with the thousand dollar note. And you flush it down the toilet. You do that every morning for two years, you would still save more money than I lost (on Bird Bird),” shares Shen in his The Creators episode.
What’s also stirring were the interviews with Shen’s (extremely articulate) father and wife, both of whom describe a rather different side to his brash, sometimes self-deprecating public persona.
But don’t mistake The Creators for a cooking programme. Aside from some gratuitous shots of Artichoke’s signature Green Harissa Prawns, Bird Bird’s popular but short-lived Chicken Skin Ice Cream, and Small’s massive Banhmi Pizza Sandwich, there are few behind-the-kitchen scenes, certainly not enough for you to be picking up any useful culinary tips.
Watch The Creators because you want an inside look at the F&B industry. Watch it if you want to get inside the messed-up head of this wildly talented chef. Just don’t watch it when you’re feeling hungry. Can’t wait for upcoming episodes.
You can catch The Creators on https://www.creatorslab.co/.
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