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Some people dream of castles and others dream of white picket fences. Food brother Bjorn Shen dreams of a small room where he can unleash all his wildest ideas. In late 2019, that dream became reality – and from 2020, he lets 4 persons into the room to play with him: Small’s officially opens to the public in February 2020.
Small’s is a tiny room that's attached to Bjorn Shen’s flagship restaurant, Artichoke. Originally his office, it was converted into a studio for culinary research and development; at heart, it’s Bjorn’s man cave. At Small's, he experiments with things and ideas that get called oddball by some, genius by others. Now it’s open to public three days a week as an omakase counter where he can show and tell his guests what he’s been up to.
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Small’s is as personal as it gets. If – as restaurateurs are won't to say – Artichoke is Bjorn’s ‘house’, then Small’s is his man-cave.
Everything in Small’s has been personally handled by Bjorn, right down to the installation of the long pendant light that glows white and purple; and the ever- changing playlist that reflects his mood and thoughts. His cheeky sense of humour is evident from ceiling to floor – at the top of the walls, multiple Borats give cheery thumbs-ups to guests.
He’s even put some of his most cherished objects and memories to “work”. Tableware includes ceramic plates handmade by his sister-in-law, and flatware he inherited from his grandparents; and a small fish tank recalls his youth where he was put to work in a little pet shop by his father.
In short, eating at Small’s is a private dining experience – one on four, face to face – that Bjorn has never been able to offer before.
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Bjorn is chef-owner of Artichoke, and author of the Artichoke cookbook. Notorious for his rebellious personality and outlandish style of cooking, Bjorn has earned significant industry recognition over the years. Outside of starting food brands Artichoke, Bird Bird and Neh Neh Pop, Bjorn wrote a monthly column titled ‘Bjorn Says’ for Time Out magazine, lectured at the Culinary Institute of America, and actively consults on menus for restaurant openings. Industry accolades that he has accumulated over the years include ‘Chef of the Year 2013’ - SC Global, ‘Rising Chef of The Year 2015’ finalist - World Gourmet Summit, ‘Best Local Chef 2016’ - SG Readers’ Choice Awards, and ‘WGS Best 20 Chefs 2016’ - World Gourmet Summit. Bjorn is also frequently on television, having most recently featured as judge on MasterChef Singapore on Mediacorp’s Channel 5, and also on programmes such as MasterChef Asia and Secret Eats, and in lead roles on Eat List Star Season 2 and The Ultimate Brocation.
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