New cafe in SMU with ‘talking’ weighing scales and induction cookers

Calling all SMU students, a new cafe has recently opened on campus! Located at the School of Economics/Computing and Information Systems 2, Kunyah Cafe serves its signature sandwiches filled with crispy chicken patty, tempeh, or otah. These dishes are creations of the cafe’s visually impaired chefs, Alex Seow and Ernawati Fauzana Zakaria.

Aaron Yeoh, the cafe founder, wanted to provide a platform for people with disabilities who are passionate about cooking to showcase their skills and passion. From weighing scales that speak to light switches with dimmers, Yeoh customised the space to the chefs’ needs through consultations with an occupational therapist and sourced for assistive tools and technologies to help the chefs in food preparation.

Leading up to the cafe’s opening, Yeoh organised food tasting sessions for the crew to familiarise themselves with the operations. Although problems surfaced during the sessions, the crew promptly resolved them by improving their teamwork and streamlining their workflow.

The sandwiches received overwhelmingly positive reviews on the opening day. A customer rated the bento box a four out of five and another was ‘pleasantly surprised’ by the tempeh sandwich, both customers being unaware of the chefs’ disabilities. This is the essence of Yeoh’s initiative, to reduce prejudice against those with disabilities by letting the public taste the food before meeting the team behind it.

Do check out Kunyah Cafe during your meal times or class breaks!

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/visually-impaired-run-kitchen-cafe-3203596