Sujatha Asokan’s journey to becoming the head chef of Quenino, one of Singapore’s most innovative restaurants, began in the unlikeliest of places: a Burger King kitchen.
At 14, flipping burgers wasn’t glamorous work, but it was here that Sujatha learned discipline , a skill she seems formed the foundation of her culinary career.
From that unassuming start, the 34-year-old’s path has been defined by a singular commitment to experimentation in the kitchen. Today, as the head chef, also known as ‘Chef de Cuisine’ she oversees a kitchen that fuses the rich traditions of Southeast Asian cooking with modern techniques.
Sujatha was born in Singapore to a Malaysian Chinese mother and a Singaporean Indian father. Her upbringing was shaped by the intersection of cultures, where food was a language through which family members communicated.
“I grew up in the kitchen, watching my aunts, parents, and grandparents cook,” she recalled. “It was a place of constant curiosity for me. I wanted to understand what made every dish come alive.”
Her maternal grandmother, a revered figure in the family, played a pivotal role in shaping Sujatha’s culinary philosophy. More than just teaching her how to combine ingredients, her grandmother imparted an understanding of what it meant to play in the kitchen.
Her first real step into professional cooking came through a part-time job at Burger King, but it was only after her O Levels that Sujatha began to seriously pursue her passion. With encouragement from a teacher who noticed her aptitude for food science, she enrolled in a Baking and Culinary Science diploma program at Temasek Polytechnic. “Food and nutrition was the only A I received in my O Levels,” Sujatha said “ so it just made sense.”
Her rise through Singapore’s competitive culinary scene took her from Temasek Polytechnic to some of the city’s most respected kitchens, including Stellar at 1-Altitude and Pollen.
Each position added a new layer of refinement to her skills, but it was at Botanico, where she became head chef, that she truly found confidence to ideate, create and produce.
There, she merged the vibrant flavors of Southeast Asia with global culinary techniques, creating dishes that were both familiar and new. When Quenino opened its doors in 2023, she was given the freedom to make full use of the gamut of skills that her prior experience had given her.
Sujatha’s approach to leadership is one of collaboration. In an industry often marked by hierarchical structures, she emphasizes trust and mutual respect within her team. “Skills can be taught,” she said, “but attitude is everything.”
It’s an ethos that, she believes, has allowed Quenino to flourish as a creative space, where the chefs are given the freedom to experiment and grow. Every six months, the team undergoes a complete menu revamp, a process that includes research trips to find new ingredients and explore new ideas.
In one such trip to Cameron Highlands, Sujatha stumbled upon tamarillos, a fruit native to South America. “It’s like a spicy passionfruit,” she said, “and we decided to experiment with it.” It now forms one of the amuse-bouches on Quenino’s menu.
Part of the challenge at Quenino, she explains, is working with unfamiliar ingredients and flavors, often even those that the team initially dislikes. For the current menu, the chefs purposefully selected ingredients they found difficult to work with. “It forces you to be more creative,” she said. The result is a menu that is not just about new flavors, but about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
Sous Chef Chung An Dric, who has worked alongside Sujatha for years, stressed on the importance of creative freedom in Quenino’s kitchen.
“It’s a partnership, not just a job,” he said, noting that Sujatha’s approach has fostered a unique and collaborative environment. Their relationship is grounded in trust and mutual respect, and it’s this dynamic that has become central to the restaurant’s success.
Despite her rising acclaim, including being named Rising Chef of the Year at the World Gourmet Summit, Sujatha measures success differently. “Food isn’t just about feeding someone,” she said. “It’s about connection.”
Outside the kitchen, she unwinds by traveling to eat her way through the region, hunting for new ingredients and ideas. “And I play badminton with friends,” she added, laughing. “It helps to whack a few things now and then.” She also treasures moments of quiet rest – “just catching up on sleep and doing absolutely nothing.”
Through her work, Sujatha shows that innovation doesn’t mean abandoning roots, it means using them as creative fuel. At Quenino, she and her team are building a new kind of kitchen: one where the future of Southeast Asian cuisine is constantly being rewritten, one memory-laced dish at a time.
