Every chef knows that his work is only ever as good as the ingredients and tools he works with. Our Beyond the Table video series takes you beyond the pomp and grandeur of the restaurant dining room and into the lives of local farmers and kitchen artisans - the ones who toil quietly at their craft to help make your dining experience complete.
When people ask Herbert Salim, “Nut butter? Is it like peanut butter?”, he often has to clarify – although the two sound similar, they can make a world of difference to your health.
Herbert, together with his wife Natalia, are the people behind The Hunters’ Kitchenette, a range of artisanal nut butters made using almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, or pistachios, and with no added margarine or preservatives. The couple have become regular vendors at farmers’ markets across Singapore, and their butters a common sight at various gourmet grocers.
Herbert decided to lead his family in eating better when his eldest daughter came along, he also has a younger son.
“I started to get interested in food and nutrition when we were about to have our first kid,” Herbert explains that he was inspired by the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of old where our ancestors only ate what they recognized. You’ll see that mantra on the labels of nut butters by The Hunter’s Kitchenette: almond, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia or pistachio lightly roasted and seasoned with unrefined French sea salt and coconut palm sugar, no additives or preservatives added.
“What we hope to achieve by applying this lifestyle at home is that the children can learn from a young age what kind of food they’re supposed to eat, what they need to avoid and how to stay healthy, so in the future they can make wise choices.”
In this episode of Beyond The Table, we see a father’s heart behind each jar.
Want to learn more about Singapore's local farmers and artisans? Watch our entire series of videos here.
Written by
Rachel Tan
Rachel Tan is the Associate Digital Editor at the MICHELIN Guide Digital. A former food magazine writer based in Singapore, she has a degree in communications for journalism but is a graduate of the school of hard knocks in the kitchen. She writes to taste life twice.
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