Hannah Swee: The Accidental Culinary Artist Behind Ugli Sabi
The chef and unofficial creative force behind the cult home-based food business gives us her first-ever media interview.
Hannah Swee enjoys injecting a good dollop of whimsy into everything she does. The camera‐shy 31‐year‐old is the mastermind behind the home‐based food business Ugli Sabi who has up till now remained largely anonymous – prior to this, she has never revealed her name or herself to anyone besides family, friends and customers who meet her in person at the pop‐ups she participates in. After all, all she had intended to do when she started the Instagram account @uglisabi four years ago was to document her creative adventures in her then‐new (and ultra‐tasteful) apartment for those who know her – including those in her kitchen.
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Today, that platform, which has a current following of more than 5,000, has evolved into a cult name in both the culinary and design circles here for its playful yet elegant take on comfort food. Think a breakfast version of mapo tofu that’s a cross between the popular Sichuan dish and cilbir – Turkish poached eggs that are served over yoghurt – or tuna toasties made with baharat, a fragrant Middle Eastern spice blend. All this grub is most often presented through colourful, retro‐inflected photographs that would fit right in a Wes Anderson movie. Seeing them conjures up feelings of comfort, nostalgia and a strong desire to smack one’s lips all at once.
Hannah Swee, the whimsical founder and chef behind Ugli Sabi, can cook up a pretty picture as well as she can refined and utterly scrumptious comfort food. Here, she wanted to conjure up an image of a bountiful harvest, incorporating an assortment of vegetables that evoke a charming earthiness (think bitter gourd, asparagus and watermelon radishes), a basket she had fashioned out of bread, and Moschino’s celery‐shaped clutch from its Fall Winter 2024 collection – can you spot it?
Accessories from left: Sedano leather and PU‐blend clutch (partly hidden), Moschino. Metal clip earrings with crystals (one side clipped on the bread basket and the other, resting on the turnip), and metal bracelet with crystals (wrapped around the asparagus), Swarovski. Metal and enamel drop earring with crystals (attached to the wedge of pumpkin and sold in a pair), Roger Vivier
To think that Swee has never undergone any formal education in the culinary arts – or art of any sort. She has, however, been baking since she was 10, she lets on, and has worked in the kitchen across a range of popular F&B establishments in Singapore. (She prefers to keep their identities under wraps.) Since launching Ugli Sabi officially as a food business in 2020 though, the names she has teamed up with have the distinction of being among the most in‐demand and well‐loved in various cuisines as well as the coffee, cocktail and culture scenes here. This year alone, they include Maxi Coffee Bar, Sago House, the natural wine bar and bistro Wildcard, and the annual architecture festival Archifest, of which closing party she catered for.
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A key factor to her success is likely her impeccable aesthetic fingerprint for her brand. With the Singapore‐based designer Jeremy Tan (aka Jeremy the Snork) as a close collaborator, she has crafted a design identity that feels distinctively fun yet polished, and timeless. Besides its trademark food photography, Ugli Sabi’s communication collateral includes quirky illustrations that bring to mind The Adventures of Tintin, and pop‐hued packaging and menus bold on typography and colour blocking that are perfect for both design zines and the ’gram.
Consider Swee a Japanophile – the name of her popular food business is a play on the Japanese term wabi‐sabi and she can never say no to ingredients from the country. Here’s her platter that pays homage to the culture, featuring delicacies that are both exquisite (that box bursting with uni) and everyday (clock the onigiri and tamago sando).
Accessories, clockwise from bottom right corner: Kellyfestival calfskin bag charm; aluminium earrings (one side on the table in the foreground and the other, resting against the onigiri) and matching cuff; metal cuff with feathers; Faubourg Surprise brass and leather pendant; and Vulcanium leather dice (sold in a set of three), Hermes
That the company’s name is a play on the term wabi‐sabi, which refers to the Japanese philosophy of finding beauty in imperfections, reveals a cheekiness and wit that makes what Swee cooks up all the more inviting. “My maxim is ‘Everything and nothing goes, uglies welcomed!’” she says.
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While Swee never studied design (her original aspiration, she shares, was to go into child development, but “life got in the way”), she attributes her appreciation for and sensitivity towards it to her father, who exposed her to art and music when she was growing up. It’s a trait that runs in the family: Her older sister is Hosanna Swee, the famed photographer and creative director who’s likewise known for her good taste.
The charms from Bimba Y Lola’s collaboration with Palomo Spain gave Swee “tea party” vibes, inspiring her to whip up a retro‐style cake with said accessories and nasturtium – those tiny, circular leaves you see – as embellishments.
Bimba Y Palomo thermoplastic bag charm (on the cake), and brass and resin charm (on the table in the foreground), Bimba Y Lola
The relationship between food and design will keep on brewing, muses the Ugli Sabi founder. “With the way things are going, I feel that it will be inevitable that brands increasingly collaborate with food content creators such as the food artist Gong Hua,” says Swee. “I saw that she recently did some work for Beyond The Vines and it was just marvellous.”
Breakfast plates are one of Ugli Sabi’s signature offerings. Here, Swee has recreated a hearty morning meal featuring bread – both real and fake (that’s Moschino’s baguette‐shaped clutch on the left) – and an assortment of complementary sides, including cheese, cold cuts, eggs and salted butter. For a dash of sweetness? Some of this season’s girliest jewellery and hair accessories.
Accessories, clockwise from top left: Baguette PU‐blend clutch,Moschino.Metal hair clip with crystals (resting on the burrata),RogerVivier.Tribales metal earrings with resin pearls and crystals, Cabinet de Curiosites metal earrings with resin pearl (on the tin can), and Tribales metal drop earring with resin pearl and satin ribbon (displayed on the egg and sold in a pair), Dior
That said, aesthetics should not be the be‐all and end‐all in the culinary arts, she stresses. “The tone and narration of Ugli Sabi, and the distinctive design of our collateral have helped us to create a strong voice, but style can only get you so far,” she says. “I prefer to build a strong foundation by working with good ingredients. For example, if I’m using, say, sourdough bread for a recipe, I’ll order some from Poilane (the artisanal bakery in Paris famous for its sourdough) whenever possible.”
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Her advice for budding chefs and F&B entrepreneurs? Focus on doing good work and people will notice. “Be deliberate with the footprints you leave behind and try to block out external noises, or you might get caught in an internal loop of flitting from one new trend to another,” she says. “It’s okay to be a little different. The ones who resonate with your work are your people.”
This article first appeared in the December 2024 Food Edition of FEMALE