Culinary adventures with Loaded Gun Kitchen

Since its establishment in 2020, Loaded Gun Kitchen has garnered a dedicated following thanks to their bold and flavourful plant-based dips. Fondly called flavour bombs by founder, Lynn, these dips have cemented their position as versatile pantry must-haves, adaptable to any culinary whim.

I currently geek out over adding a spoonful of Umami Bomb into Indomie noodles, [but] some unorthodox pairings involve fruit and dip. A customer once shared she loved having the BBQ flavour with watermelon.

These dips have always been a labour of love — as a solo entrepreneur, Lynn would spend 3-4 days a week producing her 4 signature dips.

But even then, Lynn had a stronger desire to connect with nourishing people directly. After all, as she tells us, the heart of Loaded Gun Kitchen is her playful curiosity within the kitchen, and the vibrant community she has nurtured over the years.

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Lynn shares her 'why' on healthy eating.

Earlier this year, she took a bold step by expanding into private dining, despite being a self-taught chef. This experience provided her a fresh perspective on how her dips can simplify cooking for busy women. Inspired by this, she’s now in the process of organising her next Loaded Gun endeavour: a cosy and intimate cooking class that will be launching later this year.

Loaded Gun’s vision is very much tied to building a community of home cooks. This is at the foundation of my creative process. My only goal is to help and show people how effortless being in the kitchen can be if you dedicate time for meal prep.

This means having a well-stocked pantry, having the right equipment, and understanding basic cooking techniques that can help you assemble simple, fuss-free meals.

And what a delightful feast for the senses this experience is. We invited Sarah and Yann Huoy, members of the Loaded Gun Kitchen and KRA Sanctuary community to join us on an exclusive preview of a class with Lynn as we made our own coconut milk from scratch, not-so-deftly rolled sushi rolls, and sat down for lunch together.

Below, Lynn shares more about how she hopes to grow with Loaded Gun Kitchen.

All eyes on Lynn as she demonstrates how to cut a sushi roll. Her secret? Applying a touch of sesame oil to the knife to ensure a clean cut.

At this point, I would love to teach people how to make some of our regular dips. [My upcoming cooking class] gives insight into how much effort goes behind a Loaded Gun dip. Honestly, it involves a lot of plucking herbs and vegetables because Lynn is tired of doing it. *crying laughing face* But jokes aside, I really want people to get into the process and have them understand that yes, it takes some work, but it’s doable.

The class opens with a dip section and there will be experimental flavours and components that we’ll make together. Students will also learn how to meal prep efficiently, with a focus on making plant-based “proteins” like vegan tuna using roma tomatoes. We might also explore making more plant-based patties using lentils, beans, or more protein-heavy options, which I feel is highly overlooked in the plant-based scene.

(Left) Sarah assembling the ingredients for the vegan tzatziki dip featuring homemade toasted coconut milk. (Right) Students get to bring home dips created during class in a takeaway jar.

Cooking has taught me many valuable life lessons. Discipline, routine, focus, how to live with awareness — things I wished I learned when I was younger. I was not always [that adventurous], but time in the kitchen and other habits moulded me into someone with a little more intuition and imagination.

Cooking then and now have very different meanings for me. Back then, it was for sustenance. In fact, a lot of my cooking when I started involved instant sauces, because I am a lazy cook. I just needed to get food in my stomach.

Now, it’s about peace, finding joy, and savouring every part of the creative process. Yes, this includes washing the dishes. My cooking style and what I cook and eat evolves as my mindset shifts and changes. I allow for, and embrace that freedom by being in touch with food — tuning inwards and listening to [my] body for what it needs for the day.

Lynn’s advice to those who want to be more experimental or involved in cooking? “Just do it lah. Everyone starts somewhere. If you are serious about your health, then your first step is to cook at home. With that, it shouldn’t be hard to start.”

I hope that the [upcoming] cooking classes fit into a bigger picture of what Loaded Gun can embody: To teach women the invaluable lessons of making their own food from scratch and to make a habit of cooking for yourself. In doing so, one can learn an aspect of self-care.

I feel it’s important, especially since there is science proving that spending time making your own food in the kitchen, cooking whole, unprocessed foods, practising gratitude, and being happy.

I’ll say this: It’s important to adopt a playful mindset when cooking because you are going to fail a lot. Some recipes are going to turn out to be a total disaster. Having a light heart and an open mind when it comes to cooking takes away the stress of achieving a “picture-perfect” meal. Home cooked plates are not meant to look like they came from a Michelin-starred restaurant. They can be messy, ugly-delicious, heart-on-a-plate, sometimes disastrous, food from the heart type of meals.

Our collaborative creations: Barbie sushi rolls made with Loaded Gun Kitchen’s latest High Voltage Curry Beet Zinger dip and toasted coconut tzatziki served with focaccia.

This approach has made me more mindful about my food choices. I've learnt that it’s your mindset that matters. It’s a lifestyle, not just about diet. Once you shift your mindset from “losing fat” to wanting better things for your body, you naturally want to reduce what's bad for you and for the environment, i.e reducing meat and processed foods, or even excessive screen time.

A big thank you to Sarah, Lynn, and Yann Huoy for spending an afternoon of cooking with us.

To order Loaded Gun's range of plant-based flavour bombs, head over to Loaded Gun Kitchen. Deliveries happen twice monthly and pickup from Marine Terrace is free of charge.