The pioneering Kita Food Festival aims to foster camaraderie and community in the local F&B industry

Expect to see some of Malaysia's most exciting chefs at the Kita Food Festival, a first-of-its-kind chef-driven event. Pictured here is Kim Hock Su of the famed Au Jardin in Penang. — AU JARDIN

A few years ago, a man got to talking with two other people. That man was Darren Teoh, the acclaimed local chef behind Dewakan, the first restaurant in Malaysia to be on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

The other two people were Leisa Tyler, an Australian food journalist and former board member of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants who now owns Weeds & More, a series of farms in Cameron Highlands, Pahang that grow Western-style vegetables; and Julian Teoh, a Singapore-based food writer and wine enthusiast.