BUSINESS PROFILE // Burnt Ends
Burning Man Chef Dave Pynt is slaying the game at his Singapore restaurant, Burnt Ends. WORDS Annabelle Cloros DAVE PYNT IS the highest-ranking
To put it simply, the past few years have
pretty-plating kind of restaurant.”
his “shitty little barbecue restaurant” in
restaurant has accumulated some serious
Ends, and Pynt tends to steer clear of the
Choice Award in 2017 and Burnt Ends
of house team take care of them like the
Australian chef in the world. Burnt Ends, Singapore, clocked in at no.59 on the
extended version of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list — a high for any chef.
When quizzed about his reaction to the
news, he responded with the following: “I
haven’t looked at the entire list to find out,
been great for Burnt Ends. The six-year-old accolades with Pynt receiving the Chefs’
earning its first Michelin star in 2018. The
restaurant also snagged the no.10 position on the Asia’s 50 Best list.
So what are the real perks of these
but that’s good to know.”
accolades beyond recognition? Lists and
the event, but he skipped the legendary
and an increase of media attention, but
Pynt’s reply says it all. The chef attended
after party to get back to his young family. He’s laser focused on running Burnt Ends, three Meatsmith locations and now The Ledge in the Maldives. But he did say
this: “It’s pretty surreal to be honest. It’s incredible that there a lot of people out there who like our restaurant.”
The chef sat down with Hospitality
to talk about the weight of stars and
rankings, the nuances of operating in
Singapore and why he just wants his staff to be better than he is. 16 | Hospitality
stars naturally lead to spikes in bookings it’s not all glitz and glory. Awards tend to
raise diner expectations, and some people
Burnt Ends is unapologetically Burnt
odd unhappy customer and let his front
professionals they are. “My tolerance level for that kind of thing is very low,” he says. “Everyone is entitled to what they see
as value for money and what we should deliver [in relation to] what we charge
and the accolades we’ve won. But in my opinion, we do what we do. Take it or leave it — you don’t have to be here.”
don’t realise Michelin stars don’t equate to
There are a number of commonalities shared
it belongs in a gallery. Pynt’s experienced
in the world. The most pressing? Staffing.
white tablecloths and food that looks like this issue at Burnt Ends. “Every now
and then, there are people who don’t
understand what we do,” he says. “Having a Michelin star, I think some customers want things a little bit more prim and
proper, and we’re not. We’re loud, we’re
noisy, we work with ash and we’re not a
by restaurants, no matter where they exist
While Pynt says he doesn’t struggle to find
workers — the team is now three times the
size as it was when Burnt Ends opened — he
knows it’s an issue for his peers. “We have an amazing team and a lot of them have been
with us for a long time, but I know it’s a big problem in our industry,” he says.
