WHAT IS JUNIPER?

It's inevitable to talk to a chef about cuisine or cooking, but what if the topics ranged farther and wider? The city-killing asteroid supposedly headed for Earth in 2032, for one. The work of cinematographer Roger Deakins (1917, Blade Runner 2049, and No Country for Old Men, among others). Or such stuff as golf, food photography, Lego and astronauts?

- IGAN D'BAYAN

It's inevitable to talk to a chef about cuisine or cooking, but what if the topics ranged farther and wider? The city-killing asteroid supposedly headed for Earth in 2032, for one. The work of cinematographer Roger Deakins (1917, Blade Runner 2049, and No Country for Old Men, among others). Or such stuff as golf, food photography, Lego and astronauts? Such is the usual experience in sitting down with Chef Josh Boutwood, The Bistro Group's corporate chef who has established elite restaurants such as Savage ("extremely primal"), Ember ("takes a lot of concentration"), Helm ("extremely theatrical"), The Test Kitchen and the recently opened Juniper in Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

Boutwood's previous restaurants carry an undeniable masculinity in their names. "Even Helm sounds very masculine," he points out. Juniper, however, is different. "It's quite a feminine word," he says, signaling a shift. So drawn was he to the word that if he were to name another child, he'd call her "Juniper." "Having something a little bit more on the delicate side is kind of where I wanted to go with this restaurant."

It also underscores how the concept is steeped in layers of meaning, much like the complex distillation of gin. "Also, it's one of the key ingredients in making gins. And I'm a big fan of gin, as a spirit. I like the nuances, the complexities. The amount of aromatics and barks of wood, herbs, spices—it's a great representation of our cuisine as well."