Richard Millar is the Culinary Director at the new W Kuala Lumpur with the hotel’s all-day dining concept Flock being a showcase for fresh and, where possibly, sustainably sourced produce. Melbourne-born Millar has over 30 years cooking experience, mostly in high-end, five-star resorts in Australia, the Pacific and Asia.
Not surprisingly, the culinary direction is modern Australian, which Millar claims sits very comfortably with the young, hip and trendy positioning of the hotel. Its farm to Flock approach also means working with local artisanal producers including a Kuala Lumpur-based cheesemaker and organic farmers in the Cameron Highlands.
There is a sensory sharing and interactive approach to dining that is meant to be fun and unpretentious. The chef has several dishes that he particularly enjoys presenting including an heirloom tomato salad with locally-made Milky Way chèvre cheese dressed with thinly-sliced onions, crostini and pesto vinaigrette.
The chef also loves preparing two interactive dishes – Wagyu beef seared on a hot volcanic stone and the Rojak Table Experience. The latter is a mixed plate of sweet treats like guava pannacotta, pickled papaya, peanut crumble and shaved mango ice served on a banana leaf and one that certainly satisfies local palates.
