In honour of International Women’s Day, Luna Mews will host The Table of Seven on 7 March, a one-night dining experience created in partnership with Chef Derrick Kwa. The dinner pays tribute to seven Sri Lankan women whose work has shaped fields as varied as fashion, mountaineering, human rights, film, art, community, and storytelling. Rather than retelling their biographies, the evening seeks to interpret their impact through flavour, technique, and carefully chosen ingredients.
Chef Derrick has designed a dish for each woman. Not one that merely describes her story, but one that enacts it. Each element on the plate has been selected with intent – ingredients that mirror her work, techniques that echo her influence. When diners learn what each component signifies, the reasoning becomes clear: this is food as narrative.
A Singaporean digital marketer turned chef, Derrick trained at Michelin-starred and internationally recognised kitchens across three continents before serving as Group Executive Chef for a collection of boutique luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. His approach is conceptual and research-driven, rooted in local produce and built to engage as much as it satisfies.
The Daily Morning Brunch chatted with Kwa ahead of his takeover at Luna Mews on 7 March and how philosophy takes centre stage in an intimate setting designed for reflection, conversation, and connection.
Following are excerpts of the interview:
The Table of Seven brings together seven dishes inspired by seven women. How did this concept first take shape between you and Luna Mews, and what drew you to anchor a menu around this idea?
The menu concept was something that’s been on my mind for a while. This country has so many inspiring stories of trailblazing women, and it’s really great to see how strongly Women’s Day is celebrated here (and deservedly so). As a chef, my first instinct/thought was to tell those stories through food. I had come to Luna Mews with a friend (and fellow chef), and we were discussing future projects with the Luna Mews team. As we discussed those future projects, this just felt like a really good fit for this menu concept I was thinking about. Just the vibe and energy of the place, and the beauty of the location, was a great fit.
When designing a menu rooted in tribute rather than trend, what is your creative process? How did you translate personal narratives into flavours without making the dishes feel literal?
I try to make sure everything is grounded in strong research. I spent time diving into interviews the individuals have given, to try to get an understanding of their beliefs and what they stand for, in their own words. Translating the narratives into food from there; I typically take an ingredient-driven approach. I look for ingredients (fruits, plants, flowers, etc) that can symbolise or represent the message. For example, Jayanthi, who was the first Sri Lankan to summit Everest. One of her core messages is that girls and women can be strong too; that femininity and strength don’t have to be at odds. So for her dish, we have a coffee-braised beef, to symbolise strength, paired with elements of rose and pomegranate symbolising femininity.
The ingredient pairings – from hibiscus and crab to coffee and beef – feel both local and unexpected. How did you approach balancing familiarity with experimentation for this one-night experience?
In general I always lean towards experimentation. I typically say: if a dish exists anywhere else, I wouldn’t want to do it on my menu. I always want to create new things, dishes that haven’t been done before, and to push the boundaries.
Luna Mews has built a reputation for intimate, design-led dining experiences. How did the venue influence the way you structured the menu and the pacing of the evening?
Luna Mews has been a great partner to work with. We wanted to make sure we did the space justice, so we’ve also created space in the evening for people to explore the venue, experience the art around, etc.
With limited seating and a single-night format, there’s an added sense of urgency and exclusivity. How does cooking for an intimate room differ from executing a larger-scale event?
I generally prefer more intimate settings, where there’s more connection with the room. And also you get to be more creative in terms of what you can do on a dish. On a larger-scale, if you’re doing a 100+ person wedding, for example, you have to be a lot more aware of logistics; sometimes you have to do a dish in a way that’s easy to plate for 100+ plates at the same time, which might not be the best way you envision. At a smaller scale, more intimate room, those limitations don’t exist as much.
This dinner centres women’s stories while being led from your culinary perspective. What responsibility do you feel as a chef when crafting a menu that honours lived experiences beyond your own?
It’s definitely a big responsibility, and one that makes me a bit nervous. I think when you’re trying to honour a person, it’s really important to make sure the dish reflects them well, in a way that resonates and doesn’t just feel gimmicky or too surface - or worse, inaccurate. I’ve tried to make sure every dish I crafted was based on actual quotes they gave, to make sure it’s fully rooted in their actual words.
Looking ahead, do you see The Table of Seven as a standalone celebration, or could this collaboration with Luna Mews signal a new direction in how you approach storytelling through food?
It’s not really a new direction per se; I’ve always believed in storytelling through food. And I am definitely looking to do more events like this in the coming year, both with Luna Mews as well as with other partners.