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Chef Denise Tsi
Chef Denise’s culinary journey began when she enrolled into the Shatec Culinary Institute of Singapore and gained a keen interest in Italian cuisine after an internship at the Grand Hyatt Singapore. Chef Denise continued on the path of specialisation and has honed her culinary skills over the past 17 years, spending a majority of her career at Italian establishments such as Osvaldo Ristorante & Bar, Zafferano Italian Restaurant & Bar, Bar Cicheti and Forma.
During the year of 2012, Chef Denise furthered her studies in Switzerland and interned at a luxury boutique hotel in Los Angeles for a year where it deepened her knowledge in kitchen management. During her stint there, she was exposed to the diverse culture of Californian cuisine hence influencing her decision to join Spago by Wolfgang Puck in Singapore, during the year of 2016.
At Spago, Chef Greg Bess gave her the opportunity to take on a pasta making role and she immediately fell deeper in love with the craft. This led Chef Denise to find a restaurant that is more pasta focused, hence joining Bar Cicheti as Sous Chef in 2019 where she was the main pastaia. During her tenure with the Cicheti Group, she achieved the honour of being awarded Junior Chef of the Year in 2021 by the World Gourmet Awards association.
Soon after, a golden opportunity rose to focus on her passion for the craft of pasta making. She was able to train under the tutelage of Sfoglino Lee Yum Hwa of Ben Fatto Private Dining, before they both opened Forma as the opening team in 2022. They strove to honour the Italian heritage by diving deep into artisanal pasta formats for diners with a hope to expose them to unique and rare shapes of pasta, as well as their origins.
You will be learning pasta shapes of Southern Italy:
Orecchiette with Clams and Bottarga
Orecchiette literally means “little ears” can be found in Puglia. To form the shape, lengths of dough is rolled into ropes and carved out using a butter knife one at a time. A lesser common pairing of orecchiette and clams, the dome shape is perfect for catching morsels of clam and its flavorful broth.
Malloreddus alla Campidanese (Sausage Ragu)
Also known as Gnocchetti Sardi, originates from Sardinia. Pieces of dough are rolled by hand into ropes as thick as a pencil, then cut a diagonal into gnocchetti. It is then flattened with the pad of the thumb against a gnocchi board thus producing a little shell with ridges on the back. This pasta shape is typically served with a rich sausage ragu in the Campidano area by farmers.
Fusilli al ferretto con pesto alla Trapanese (Tomato Pesto)
This hand-formed shape is achieved by coiling a thin length of dough diagonally down the length of a ‘ferro’ or thin rod.
Pesto alla Trapanese, typical of the province of Trapani, is a blend of tomatoes, almonds, garlic, basil and pecorino.
Take-home items:
Students will be making their own hand-made artisanal pasta (3 types). Students will bring home their own finished products. Chef will demo how to make the sauces for each pasta and students will sample all the 3 menus on site.
Suitable for All Levels (Novice/Intermediate/Advanced)
Maximum of 10 participants
CHEF DENISE TSI
