The Directors

Darren Teoh

Malaysian-born chef Darren Teoh is the head chef of fine dining restaurant Dewakan in Kuala Lumpur. Drawing from his storied Chinese-Indian family heritage, Darren is in the vanguard of a new culinary identity emerging in Malaysia; that which explores gastronomic provenance and culture through the country’s finest and freshest ingredients. Through his cooking, Darren hopes to inspire consciousness and reshape the future of Malaysian food. Darren has represented Malaysian cuisine in dozens of international food forums, festivals and events; in 2019 Dewakan was the first ever Malaysian restaurant to win a place on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Leisa Tyler

Australian-born Leisa Tyler has been an Asian-based food and travel journalist since 1998, her work appearing in publications such as TIME Magazine and National Geographic. Leisa sat on the board of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants for ten years and was part of the launch team for Asia’s 50 Best and add-on talks and masterclass events. She has organised, curated and run multiple food events, including the Re Food Forum on food waste and environmentalism in 2018, and for companies such as Nespresso and Hyundai. Leisa co-owns Weeds&More, a Singapore-based company growing heirloom herbs, vegetables and edible flowers in Malaysia’s temperate highlands for restaurants and hotels in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Adrian Yap

Malaysian-born Adrian Yap wears many hats. As the founder of event and brand marketing company Freeform, he runs Malaysia’s longest-running creative arts festival, Urbanscapes, and Tiffin, a culinary platform for multi-layered dining experiences inspired by the world’s love affair with food.

Under the Tiffin brand, Freeform organises and manages a food hall (Tiffin Food Court) and F&B-centric pop-up events. Additionally, Tiffin offers culinary consultancy services to brands wanting to tap into the growing trend of culinary-focused activations to engage their target markets.