Dominic Tan of Ajumma's and Odem traded sheet music for kitchen prep

Mr Dominic Tan, 33, once dreamt of becoming a concert pianist. These days, the co-founder and chief executive of fast-casual Korean chain Ajumma's composes dishes instead of music, to the tune of $15 million in annual revenue.

- Hedy Khoo

At just four years old, he began studying music. Sharing a birthday with classical great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart cemented the notion that he was made for a life of music. He used to hog the only piano at Rosyth Primary School, practicing for hours.

"I loved it. I had the aptitude for it," he says. "I wanted to learn music composition to express myself, to create something from nothing."

His father, a senior manager at a real estate company, and his mother, a human resource executive, envisaged a different career path for him. They nudged him towards business, law or medicine.

At National Junior College, he took A-level music, alongside chemistry, mathematics and geography. He aced everything but chemistry and Chinese, for which he obtained Bs. He set his sights on auditioning for a conservatory in Europe, but an old injury struck a jarring note.

At 14, during a gymnastics session, he vaulted and landed badly. What was misdiagnosed as a sprain turned out years later to be a fractured lumbar spine.

He endured the sharp pain until after his A levels and underwent surgery in January 2011.

It was an excruciating road to recovery for the sports enthusiast who used to run at least twice a week. Doctors told him to refrain from sports for a year to allow his spine to heal.

He used that downtime to obtain a diploma in music performance awarded by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in Britain, taking the examination as a private candidate in Singapore.