Chef Dave Pynt is opening his doors to his friends who will cook delicious new dishes just for the event.

Dave Pynt is full of ideas; you can easily tell by the way he crafts his menu daily at Burnt Ends. He has another good one this year: the 12 Chefs, 12 Months series. The collaboration with Mastercard invites guest chefs every month to helm his kitchen for one night only.

It made its debut on the 23rd of January—to a packed restaurant no less—with chef Blaine Wetzel of Willows Inn calling the shots in the kitchen. As Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chef of 2012 and James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef of 2015, he is known for locally sourcing his ingredients. This time, it was his use of vibrant Asian flavours that inspired his original dishes prepared from scratch, exclusively for the event.

Guests were served with innovative dishes such as the shredded small fish mixed with ginger blossoms, curry leaves and served on a spoon as well as the coconut crab, reminiscent of home with its distinct milk and lime leaves taste.

Steak wasn’t part of the menu. The only red meat served was the quail on embers, cooked on Pynt’s custom-built grill that lent it with just the right amount of tenderness and smokiness.

The first of the guest chef series set the bar for what you’ll expect for the rest of the year: sumptuous, original dishes that you won’t be able to taste anywhere else.

Other chefs who are helming Pynt’s kitchen are Trevor Moran of Ex-Catbird Seat (27 February), Will Goldfarb of Room 4 Dessert (6 March), Aaron Turner of Igni (17 April), Clayton Wells of Automata (22 May) and Jowett Yu of Ho Lee Fook (19 June) for the first half of the year.

The next half will see Matt Lindsay of Ester (10 July), Hideki II of Shirosaka (28 August), James Henry of Belon (4 September), James Lowe of Lyle’s (23 October), Mark Best of Marque (6 November), and Tom Adams and April Bloomfield of Coombeshead Farm (18 December).

Stay tuned!

Menus and ticket prices for each dinner will be released on the day of the event on Burnt Ends and Priceless Singapore

Photos courtesy of Burnt Ends and Mastercard