What do the pork belly sliders at Three Muses say about the kind of restaurant you run?

The dish was conceived through an amalgamation of all the cooks in the kitchen. One suggested we do something with apples, one suggested pork belly, and I said, ‘Let’s do it on scallion pancake.’ It was really nice to get the cooks’ input on a dish that’s become so popular for us. We were three to four cooks who put our heads together. It’s braised in chicken stock, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and beer. It’s an Asian technique, but not in-your-face Asian. And then it’s served with apple chutney and with some crispy apple on top.

Photo: Elsa Hahne

It’s rare to get this kind of input from cooks only because it’s rarely asked for. A lot of cooks are afraid to get rejected—‘Will chef take me seriously?’ But this is the kind of chef I want to be—someone who gets input from their cooks.

Do all cooks at Three Muses prepare the dish the same way?

Exactly the same way. They’d better!