Our Story
Get to know us cheek-to-cheek!
Pork jowl is a succulent, well marbled cut and yet, it is pretty much underrated when compared to the more familiar pork belly and pork shoulder. We hope to introduce more people to this delicious pork cut and let them enjoy it!
Our founder, Jacky Tan, aims to cook the best pork jowl in Singapore using a unique 5-steps preparation method. He started to host small lunch gatherings and one of the most frequently requested dishes has been his signature Cheeky Don® - smoky pork jowl on top of a satisfying bowl of bamboo rice. One day a friend suggested, 'Why not let more people know how good your Cheeky Don® is?' And it was also around that same time, Jacky was invited to be featured as one of the launch chefs with e-commerce site, BlockChef. Jacky hopes that through this site, more people can enjoy our food, especially the signature Cheeky Don®.
As an avid fan of KFC, Jacky hopes one day Cheeky Don® will become like KFC, where people from around the world will get to taste the original recipe of Cheeky Don® as well as its other donburis.
The 'Royal' Treatment
Greetings, your Royal Cheekiness
Each ingredient plays a vital role in creating a flavourful donburi. The pork jowl undergoes what we call the '5-steps royal treatment'. We brine it in our secret brining recipe solution. Next, we marinate it for at least 6 hours. This helps to improve the texture as well as enhance the flavour. It is then pan seared, and blowtorched for its natural smoky taste. To further enhance the flavour, we also smoke it with authentic fine green apple wood chips imported from Canada. The result - a pork jowl that is tender, smoky, and full of umami flavour.
Our Trademark
Cheeky Don®
Our brand logo and name, Cheeky Don®, is a registered trademark (TM Number: 40202326203V - Class 43), with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS).
Life is like a bowl of smoky pork cheeks.
WHO WE ARE
Jacky Tan, the founder of Cheeky Don®, loves to explore new ways to make good food even better. He is a self taught chef with a foundation in French and fusion cuisine.