District 10 Bar & Restaurant at UE Square - The Chef Owner Luca Pezzera

Luca Pezzera 

Executive Chef/ Co-Owner of The Bontá Group of Restaurants 

The Culinary Enlightenment 
At the tender age of 14, Luca Pezzera - a native of Bergamo in North Italy, already decided that he wanted to be a chef the day that his neighbour treated him and his family home-made pizza for dinner. 

Bergamo, Northern Italy

His Culinary Education 

Luca Pezzera studied  to be a chef in the prestigious culinary school, I.P.A.S.(Istituto Professionale Alberghiero Statale translated as Institute of Hospitality State) San Pellegrino Terme, in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy. (Note I.P.A.S. is currently known as  I.P.S.S.A.R. San Pellegrino Terme). 

http://www.ipssarsanpellegrino.it/IPSSAR/

His Culinary Adventures 

Upon his graduation, Chef Luca Pezzera began his life long culinary journey that was to take him around the world – from Europe to Middle East and South-East Asia, where he practise, hone and refines his craft while on the job.    

At just 44 years of age, Chef Luca Pezzera has already accumulated an outstanding culinary expertise and experience, that spans more than 20 years' working at world renowned, award-winning restaurants, and had brought him to various ends of the globe, be it Europe (Italy, Switzerland, Scotland), or Middle East (Istanbul, Jordan, Dubai) and Asia (Jakarta, Singapore). 

The early phase of his culinary career in Europe centred on developing, refining his culinary skills, whilst the second phase of his career in Middle East saw him heading the famous Spasso Italian Restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Istanbul in 1996.

He went on to launch the opening of L ‟Incontro Italian restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Amman in Jordan. 

In 2001 Chef Luca Pezzera was headhunted to oversee the operations of Italian restaurant Mosaico, as well as the terrace, lobby lounge and pool bar at the Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai. 

In the year 2002, Chef Luca Pezzera realised his life long dream to work in Asia when he was headhunted to launch award winning Italian restaurant Scusa, which offers superb Italian cuisine in a trendy, yet casually elegant atmosphere. The open kitchen and wood burning oven rotisserie are among Scusa's main features. Scusa opens at the Jakarta MidPlaza, an InterContinental City Hotel in Jakarta.

As Executive Head Chef at Scusa, he spearheaded its operations and was instrumental in bringing Scusa to its current fame, earning him the title of Top 100 Most Influential People in Indonesia, conferred by the Indonesia Tatler. During his five-year working stint in Jakarta, Chef Luca Pezzera earned numerous awards and accolades, including :

• Winner of the Black Box Competition 2005 (Jakarta Area), 
• Winner of Indonesian Black Box Competition 2005, 
• Winner of Regional Black Box Competition 2005 (Best Dessert Category) and 
• Best Restaurant Award 2006 (Jakarta Kini). 

Famed for its excellent Italian fine-dining cuisine, Scusa was a favorite of many high profile individuals. At Scusa, Chef Luca Pezzera had the honor of cooking for head of states such as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono  

and King Abdullah II Bin Hussein and his Queen, 

 

as well as celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone and Catherine Deneuve. His amiable personality garnered him a fan base of Indonesian socialites and businessmen, who until today remain loyal customers.

In 2007, a customer from Singapore visited Scusa and proposed to Chef Luca Pezzera to operate an authentic Italian restaurant in Singapore with him as Head Executive Chef and Co-Owner. He took up the challenge and established Bontá Italian Restaurant & Bar in March 2007. 

Bontá meaning "the origin of goodness” in Italian, is located amidst the bustling wine and dine belt of the famed Mohammed Sultan Road. The restaurant specialises in Northern Italian cuisine with an assortment of dishes from other parts of Italy. 

“My cooking style focuses on the art of simplicity, using only top quality and fresh ingredients. I am largely influenced by the ingredients and cuisine of Northern Italy, preferring to retain the authenticity of the dishes, albeit with a modern touch,” says Chef Luca Pezzera, a native of Bergamo in North Italy. Also, realising the untapped potential of Bonta's alfresco space, Chef Luca launched B Bar by converting the space into an intimate 20-seater lounge serving Italian piccolo mangia, showcasing a casual yet stylish take on his famed cuisine. 

Under the Bontá Group, Chef Luca Pezzera also co-owns :
District 10 (in UE Square and The Star Vista), 

Trattoria Gallo D‟Oro, 

located at Central Mall with Chef Carlo Marengoni (below), a former executive chef of Ristorante Bologna at Marina Mandarin.

While running the daily operations of his restaurants take up most of Chef Luca Pezzera's time, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife and two children during his day off. For leisure, the outdoor fan travels to nearby countries to dive, ski, trek and is game for any outdoor adventure, and is ever ready to take a plunge – literally (bungee jumping). His biggest indulgence, fly fishing, 

has earned him bragging rights to a spot in My Paper where he shared his experience of fishing at Taahunaatara Bridge in New Zealand, with Miss Jill Alphonso, Lifestyle Editor, in May 2012. Since 2008, Chef Luca's classic Northern Italian creations have been featured in over 40 media such as The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, TODAY, Appetite, Epicure, Channel NewsAsia Singapore, and 938 Live.

Woody Family Cafe at 12F Andrews Avenue - The Beginnings The Ambience The Chef The Signatures The Promotions

The Beginnings 

Armed with an MBA from University of Leicester, UK, Jenny Yeo spent a good number of years climbing the corporate ladder, and established herself as a experienced HR Director overseeing HR Operations in many big corporations. Though having achieved much in the corporate world, she felt this inner calling to follow her Peranakan roots. Armed with many of the traditional Peranakan recipes passed down by her mum, Jenny embarked on her culinary journey as a Chef and in 19 Sep 2009, started Woody Family Cafe together with her husband Sam as Co-Founder. 

It was a dream come true for both Sam & Jenny as they both long wanted to run their very own PUB Restaurant.  Sam is skilled in operations and loves to create ideas for its exterior & interior decorations & ambience settings.  As for Jenny, she loves to cook and being a Peranakan by birth she has acquired skills from her late mother. Woody Family Cafe first started off with a Fusion Peranakan Cuisine with both Western & Peranakan cuisine fusion blended.

Whilst Jenny takes care of the software: Woody Family Cafe's website, Woody Family Cafe's online presence, the Peranakan & Fusion recipes, the Pernankan & Fusion Cuisine, the Cafe's kitchen, the raw ingredients, the procurement;  Sam handles the hardware at the cafe: the fittings, furnishing, electrical fittings, mechanical, technical aspects as well as the creative decor. 

Sam had been a talented musician in his younger days, specializing in keyboard and the guitar. He played popular contemporary songs from the 1960's to the 1980's, and had performed in public in many renowned Singapore nightclubs, hotels and pubs as well as in gigs and road shows. 

Jenny was in the Financial Sector majoring in Human Resource & Accounting for more than 35 years in MNCs.  Her scope is wide as she majored in Franchising, as well as structuring & setting of businesses of wider scopes in terms of Human Resources, Administration and Accounting. 

Jenny, being the go-getter, meticulous, thorough, well-organised personality, whilst Sam is the quintessential gentleman, always patient, very creative, very resourceful, flamboyant, easy-going, sociable, and extremely musically talented. It is these contrasting personality types that enables this husband and wife team to complement each other beautifully.

The Ambience 

When I first step into Woody Family Cafe at 12F Andrews Avenue, the Cafe's rustic charm setting gives a cozy warm feel. There is no table number allocated to each table, instead the tables are each given a name based on the decor theme. So there is the India Corner (below)

The Breezy Corner 

The Bibi-Baba Corner

The Relax Corner 

The Rustic Corner

The Family Corner  

The Adam Corner 

The Eve Corner 

The ceiling is lined with Peranakan inspired weaving cloths, interspersed with small bright light bulbs, giving the  dining section a warm cozy feel. 

The Chef - Jenny Yeo 

The Signatures 

Some of the must try Signature dishes are :

Mini loaf Mushroom Soup (below) - The mushroom soup is made using core ingredients: fresh Shiitake mushroom, some Button Mushroom, plus a special type of mushroom.

How it is prepared : Chef Jenny Yeo first cooked the fresh mushrooms for 1 hour, then blend/pureed it. Besides that, she still add fresh mushrooms, then whip it with some fresh milk to lend a creamy texture to the soup. So essentially, the fresh mushrooms are first sweat with olive oil and garlic for 1 hour, pureed, then to it is added more fresh cooked mushroom. The mushroom is pureed with added pepper but no salt for a healthier taste, then to it is added fresh cream, which is whipped into the soup, to make it creamy. Husband Sam suggested to Chef Jenny Yeo - to serve the mushroom soup using freshly baked mini French loaf. Chef Jenny Yeo gets her mini loaf from her regular Bakery supplier. When the bun is warmed up together it becomes crispy. 

Food Tasting Notes : The taste is creamy, mushroomry, savory. A little unsalted butter is added only to taste. You can taste bits of the mushrooms in the soup. 

Curry Pork Ribs - The rempah paste is made using special secret recipe from Jenny's late Mum. The core ingredients include: chili padi, dried chili, fresh chili, garlic, shallot, lemongrass, ginger, coriander, some ordinary curry powder, but no coconut. Chef Jenny Yeo uses fresh chilled Baby Back Ribs from USA.

How it is prepared : There is no need to marinate the meat, just need to simply fry the rempah for about 20 mins until there is a fragrant aroma, then stir constantly for about 2 hrs on low fire till rempah flavor is fully absorbed into the meat. As Baby Back ribs usually does not have much fat, hence it is more healthy. This dish is prepared in advance, then served warm as per order. Chef Jenny Yeo shared that the rempah is prepared in bulk once a month, then packed in several individual large ready to use packs, then frozen in the freezer for convenient use in the entire month. The curry powder is added later when cooking the rempah. 

Food Tasting Notes : Only 4 words to describe : spicy, aromatic, lemak, flavorful. The meat is tender and tears off from the bone easily. This dish is best eaten when served hot. 

Buah Keluak Omelette $12.90 - made using a special recipe & core ingredients: onions (sweet), mushroom, chicken sausage(salty flavor), chili padi, buah keluak(bitter taste) , 3 eggs, and a special flour from Australia. Comes served in thickness 0.5 inch, 3 inch diameter omelette. 

Tasting Notes : Spicy flavor, sweetness from the onions, fragrant aroma because of the richness coming from the 3 eggs. 

Fresh Onion Rings - Here at Chef Jenny Yeo's kitchen she uses fresh onion rings, rolled in flour batter made using her own Chef's Special Flour Batter recipe, deep fried in oil, then served with her home made Special wasabi sauce. 

How it is prepared : Chef Jenny's special flour recipe consists of 6 different types of flour, the special flour mixture is prepare in advance in big quantity, only when she needs the flour mix to make the batter will she scoop up some of it to use. The flour batter cannot be too dilute. The flour batter is made using 6 types of flour, salt, a little sugar, pepper, no MSG, no breadcrumbs. Fresh onions sliced daily, prepared ala minute. The flour coats onion ring well, due to consistency  of flour batter, made fresh, oil must be just nice. The wasabi lends a sprightly taste, and is concocted, grounded, then  mix with mayo, olive oil, then  sweeten it to have a sweet taste. Sprinkle with bits of carrots diced at kitchen here. 

Food Tasting Notes : The onion rings lends a sweet juicy bite because fresh onion is used here, whilst the wasabi sauce lends a sprightly flavor. 

The Promotions 

WOODY FAMILY CAFE is located at :

12F ANDREWS AVENUE 

SEMBAWANG STRAITS ESTATE SINGAPORE 759930 

Tel: 67581185 

Mobile: 98356126 

email: events@woodyfamilycafe.com.sg 

email: yeojenny@woodyfamilycafe.com.sg