Huen Su San On The Joy Of Providing A Platform For F&B Proprietors To Grow And Flourish

Huen Su San is commonly, and correctly, known as a serial entrepreneur, but a casual conversation with her reveals an equally significant character trait: she is a problem solver.

Huen graduated from Singapore Management University with a double degree in business management and marketing, and worked in the Little Red Dot for a while in commercial real estate. When she returned to Malaysia, she started Designer Finish, a cement flooring specialist. With the notoriously long project timelines in construction, she realised having a cash-centric business would be a good complement, so she embarked on F&B and events businesses with the Beyond Korea group of Korean restaurants, as well as Glasshouse at Seputeh, a perennially popular events space in Kuala Lumpur.

Growing a business, what more an F&B enterprise, always has its fair share of challenges, and it is these learnings and experiences that inspired Huen to start Cookhouse in 2020, a shared kitchen with three locations across the Klang Valley (with more coming soon). Its concept is simple: they create professional-level, halal-certified commercial kitchens, and build the infrastructure necessary for all F&B operators to run it—regardless if they’re amateur home cooks or multinational brands, whether they rent for a day or as long as they need the space and cutting-edge equipment. Its tenants range from video shoots and central kitchens, to export production and pre-opening training. So, instead of stressing out about building costs or maintaining a kitchen, all a budding or established F&B operator has to do is call up Cookhouse and rent something that suits their needs.

“The biggest advantage that Cookhouse provides for F&B operators is that they can mitigate their risk when it comes to capital investment. They have a lot less they need to worry about, and they can focus on the growth of their business. Also, the equipment we provide gives a leg up to our tenants because our equipment ranges from blast freezers to dough sheeters or combi ovens. These are normally not available for small operators. But, in Cookhouse, they don’t need to pay the initial investment costs for this kind of equipment.

“Large, international brands have conducted their training in our kitchens for several months before they officially open in Malaysia. Before this, they’d have to wait until their kitchen is ready—and then start. So, there’s a lot of savings and it just helps with operations. And when they launch or the outlet opens, they can hit the ground running.

“Many have asked, ‘where did the concept of Cookhouse come from? Which country?’. A lot of people think it’s from Japan. But I’ve never been to any shared kitchen before or visited any kitchens overseas. So, the Cookhouse concept was really built from experiences running and growing F&B operations in Malaysia. And I have to say that it’s very tailored for the Malaysian market too.

“From construction to event spaces and now with Cookhouse, I really gravitate towards unique concepts. I have a firm belief that, when we build something new from the ground up, it allows us to have the freedom to incorporate competitive advantages into that. Whether it’s a venue, a system, or the infrastructure, it creates sustainable competitive advantages, and brings new value to the industry. So, I firmly believe in creating something new, not just something that has been done before. I have a lot of passion for building a new concept and bringing it to fruition. I believe the backbone of every business should be the value it’s able to unlock for industry players and for the industry itself. That should be the core reason for the existence of a business.

“Passion is essential in running a business because it’s literally 24-7. But processes and systems are the real backbone of F&B. Yes, in F&B, there’s creativity, talent, and hospitality, as well as lots of human elements. But, at the end of the day, it’s about consistency and reliable execution in creating a successful business. I believe that, without systems and infrastructure, you can’t really go very far.

“Food and eating something delicious bring so much joy to many. We don’t consume just to stay alive. We have so many choices so that people have a joyful experience when they eat. When it comes to these stories of joy and coming together, whether it’s a wedding at Glasshouse at Seputeh, or a success story of someone who went from an at-home passion project to building up their business with Cookhouse as a stepping stone, I’m just so happy to be part of their joy and success story.”

Cookhouse

Photography by Anna Rina

This story is part of Robb Report Malaysia’s special series on Women in F&B.