What makes some of these local or global creatives tick? In this weekly column, Starter Lab’s co-owner Min Siah shares her favourite things.
1. Change Makers: I get fired up when I meet the rockstars who have led change in the food industry. Most recently, I met Nancy Silverton at the opening of Osteria Mozza Singapore, who tasted our Starter Lab sourdough and her appreciation for it fuelled my belief and pride in doing what we do.
I was also lucky to meet Matt Orlando (Amass Restaurant, Copenhagen) and friend Will Goldfarb (Room 4 Dessert, Bali), who have got me questioning how I can better shift my business practices toward impactful sustainability and zero food waste. I’m inspired to learn as much as possible about things I know very little, but am very curious about.
2. Human Connection & Cosmic Energy: I’m a huge believer in things unfolding as they should. That time is magic (this also applies in the art of baking). For most of my life I’ve made decisions on a little knowledge and a lot of intuition.
I make it my life’s obsession to feed energy into meaningful, positive connection with people and I demand much more from people than a transactional interaction.
Artwork by Kat Crunch
3. Her Team: This group of highly-skilled and passionate personalities put together, form a powerhouse. We are a collective of obsessive compulsive professionals constantly tweaking, fixing, redoing… to bring together the most inspiring experience possible. We analyse and obsess over how airy the bread is, how wet the dough is, even what shade the perfect crust should be, the customer experience, the melding of flavours, the science behind the making of bread.
This team is my driver, my inspiration, my support crew and my backstage pass to something pretty evolutionary.
4. Her Son: This little being is full of joy, thought, words, compassion and lives as a free-spirit. A little dude who reminds me to carry those same values in my adult life. I obsess on how to raise him kind, inquisitive and with a strong inner compass.
My hope is for him to grow up celebrating powerful women, to accept that love comes in many forms, to sit comfortably with vulnerability and most importantly, to enjoy life. He makes me a better human being.
5. Her Relationship: The growth and evolution I have with my partner is my constant study. We may dance through love, playfulness and shared experiences together, but we are our strongest through our shared challenges, breakdowns and breakthroughs.
I think a lot about how I can improve and deepen relationships in general.
6. Body Art: I’m someone who’s averse to permanence so imprinting something lifelong on my body is an act of true commitment. The one on my chest represents my son’s name in Sanskrit. Receiving this tattoo reminded me of breathing through the intensity of labour.
The wheat stalk on my arm was added when I sold my company to Singapore’s well-loved friendly neighbourhood grocer, Little Farms. It’s a mark of resilience, sweat and tears poured into a business I knew hardly anything about when I started and yet turned into a beautiful and respected thing.
7. Travels: Show me a person who isn’t inspired by travel. I travel mainly for food and people. There’s nothing in the world like placing yourself in a different environment and watching how you can adapt. I have a thirst for adventure and random moments.
When I travel, I seek the spark of joy that comes from a new flavour, pockets of nature or even a surprising encounter.
8. Bali: I spent six of my most formative years in Bali. I gave up a corporate life in advertising to explore nothingness there and found ‘somethingness’ surrounded by (for want of a better description) my people.
I found compassionate people steeped in culture and belief, open-minded free thinkers, successful entrepreneurs and people who pushed the boundaries of what “should be” to choose what feeds the spirit. I became a mother, a business owner, more tolerant, resilient, creative and more grounded in Bali.
Once you’re done with the obsessions of Min Siah from Starter Lab, click here to catch up with our June/July 2022 issue!
RELATED ARTICLES
