Food shows have made a lot of people think that surviving in the food industry is an easy task. They watch the shows and think it’s a glamorous life. Some jump in head first and fail, while others follow a more logical path, doing their research and working with experts already in the business before embarking on their own journeys.
Allen Tan is one of those people who used to watch the The Food Network and think about how much fun it would be, but luckily he took the ‘research-first’ route. After graduating from McMaster University with a degree in Economics he travelled across Asia. Upon his return he realized that the corporate life just wasn’t for him. He started putting all of his energy into starting his own food business, which he’s found to be more rewarding, and infinitely more fun.
I met up with Allen at a downtown location where he was working, researching, and building his menu.
What is the meaning of me.N.u?
“I can’t take complete credit for that name. I came across it while travelling through Hong Kong and I just brought it back here and changed my philosophy to mean me sharing an experience with you.” Allen wants to bring people together and share his food, his experiences and his stories, “I dream of doing what Anthony Bourdain does. He travels the world eating and discovering new foods and flavours, but never shares the food or the experience with us, he doesn’t bring it back. He documents it, but if you want that experience you have to go wherever he travelled to. I want to travel the world and learn about different flavours and techniques and bring that knowledge back. I’ll then use that knowledge to create my menu so you can have the same taste experience.”
Tell me about your trip through Asia.
“I started off in Singapore where my dad’s brother lives. While I was there, my day mainly consisted of waking up, eating, and going to bed before waking up and doing it all over again. I then went to Malaysia, where my parents are from, to see Formula One racing, then headed over to Thailand where I took a cooking class”.
As usual Allen did his research before leaving Toronto for Singapore. He reached out to the most popular Singapore based food bloggers and emailed them questions about where to eat, what dishes he should try and who he should talk to while over there. They all suggested different places to visit, but the one direction they all pointed him towards was that of Dr. Leslie Tay, Singapore’s biggest food blogger. Luckily enough, Allen met up with Dr. Tay, who then introduced him to two local film makers. Their latest project involved visiting different hawker centres (open-air complexes that house many different stalls, selling all different kinds of inexpensive street food) and documenting it as they tried the food and heard the stories of the stalls and their owners. He was invited to travel and eat with them. “The stars aligned for me when I got that opportunity. I got to learn about all their street food and its rich history”.
What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered thus far?
“I have no real world business experience, so the biggest challenge right now is learning how to build a successful company. Every day a new challenge pops up. For example, right now I have to go back to Costco for more ingredients because I didn’t properly plan everything out”. He’s also working on getting more and more people aware of his brand while trying to be more engaging with his audience. “The brand is me; people are following me and my personality.”
How was it working with and getting yelled at by Matt Basile (aka Fidel Gastro)?
“I worked with another food truck owner who yelled much more than Matt did, so I was prepared for it. If I had gone right into Matt’s kitchen and he yelled at me I wouldn’t know how to respond to that. If I couldn’t take the yelling and deal with it then I definitely wasn’t in the right industry. I also did a 16-hour shift with him and while doing it I realized that days like these are what I’m going to have to learn to love. He instilled a lot of really good work ethics into me”.
How are your plans for getting your food truck on the road?
“I like to say that the food truck is the goal somewhere far down the line”. Right now he’s trying to focus his attention on pop-ups and being successful in the pop-up and catering world. Ideally, he’d like to be in a position where he’s able to travel more.
Your rice balls have been a hit thus far, is that what you’ll be known for?
“No, I want to release different ideas to the public at different events, so right now I’m in the testing phase of the rice ball. It’s just the first thing I’m doing but it’s not the only thing I’m going to do”. Allen plans to introduce new items at different events, tailoring the item to fit the crowd. “At certain events, like TUM for example, I’ll drop a new item and see how people respond to it.”
Allen says he gets his inspiration for his menu items from different places. A chance encounter in L.A. with chef Roy Choi, from the Kogi Korean BBQ food truck, led Allen to begin developing his first dessert item. “I walked into a store and there he was. After telling him about how big a fan I was he gave me something quite special, and I’m going to use that in my first dessert item.”
Who would you like to collaborate with on a menu?
“I was just talking about this with someone else. I’d like to work with some of my mentors who’ve taught me so much. People like Spiros Drossos from Food Cabbie, Matt Basile from Fidel Gastro and Matt Pettit from Rock Lobster Food Company. I’d like to pay tribute to each one of them by working with them to come up with a menu item at different events that I’ll be at. They’ve known me from the beginning and they’ve seen me and my business grow, so I think it’d be pretty cool to collaborate with them since they’ve all been a part of my journey.”
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