Who's cooking with Boo?

Boo's crew

It would be reductive to say that culinary collaborations are "having their time in the sun." In fact, as the narrative around food becomes more focussed and conscientious, liaisons between different chefs and their respective brands are becoming more commonplace. This is evident in the frequency and number of collaborations taking place in the city, with chef Boo Kim's passion project, Dirty Buns, joining the coterie of gourmands. Boo's Crew ascribes to the same philosophy - working on menus with other chefs can lead to more robust findings. In other words, too many cooks don't spoil the broth.

Crispy Papaya Salad for Boo's Crew with Chef Seefah and Karan at Dirty Buns

For its latest and second edition, Boo has joined hands with chef-couple Seefah Ketchaiyo and Karan Bane, who're known for their chops in Thai and Japanese cuisines respectively. Some of the highlights from the menu include Okonomiyaki, crispy papaya salad, spicy chicken chili basil bao and pulled lamb massaman bao. Speaking about it, Ketchaiyo told us, "The idea is to collaborate with friends and have fun."

Edited excerpt from an interview with Boo.

What is the principle objective that lies at the heart of this collaboration?

All over the world, you'll have one night that ends up being ‘industry night'. For example, in Chicago, it was on Thursdays. Every weekly, all my chef friends and I would get together and either visit one of our own restaurants or have a night of drinks while chilling at home. I wanted to recreate this and connect with other people in the F&B space over good food and drinks. That's why I launched Boo's Crew.

What is your vision for this property and how do you hope to see it evolve?

Since we're only on episode 2, I expect there to be some changes in the future, however, I really love the way the first event went. We had Vicky [Ratnanai] come in and create a menu, plus two cocktails. On the day of the main event, Vicky and I got behind the bar to serve our friends and patrons and we had a great time! I look forward to inviting more people from the industry to join me at this monthly event.

Pulled lamb Massaman bao for Boo's Crew with Chef Seefah and Karan at Dirty Buns

What are some of the factors that you keep in mind while deciding who to collaborate with?

Honestly, as the name suggests, it's more about collaborating with friends. So, I've started by inviting people I hang out with regularly. Though I am excited about the idea of inviting chefs I don't meet very often, too, because that will allow me to get to know them better.

Please tell me a little bit about the menu that you, Seefah and Karan have come up with.

Seefah and Karan are great with Southeast Asian cuisine, especially Thai and Japanese. They've taken our baos and rolls and created fillings with their own flavours, such as the spicy chicken with chilli basil bao and spicy grilled tenderloin roll. There are also a few of their signatures like the crispy papaya salad and okonomiyaki.

ON December 19, 7 pm onwards
AT Dirty Buns, 9A, Trade View Building, Kamala Mills Compound, Gate No 4, Lower Parel
CALL 8433988838

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