From Different Roots to One Shared Dream

Sophina and Renga at The Meatery

Renga Vellasamy, 45, and Sophina Smith, 44, are a married couple who founded The Meatery in 2019. At their Muslim-owned gourmet butchery, meat lovers will find a curated variety of halal-certified premium cuts, artisanal sausages, and products.

Renga is Indian and Sophina is of Javanese and Eurasian heritage. Together, they navigate raising their three kids, running a multi-cultural household, and working. It’s no small feat, but their enduring partnership built on their ability to draw strength from their differences has paved the way.

How they met and blended into each other's families

Sophina and Renga on their wedding day. (Photo credit: Sophina)

Sophina and Renga met at their first jobs in advertising. While Sophina fell for Renga’s grounded presence, he was drawn by her kind, sincere, and down-to-earth personality. She shares that while they came from different cultural backgrounds, race was never a defining factor in choosing a partner.

“For us, it was always about two people coming together. I was more concerned about having chemistry with the person I dated.”

Their openness to learning about each other’s backgrounds and traditions made it easier to integrate into their new families. They also found that they shared many common values, such as placing great importance on family and enjoying meals together, which strengthened their bond.

A family photo with Sophina’s Eurasian side of her family (Photo credit: Sophina)

But one surprising thing that Renga found he struggled with was finding a halal steak that was up to his liking.

Starting The Meatery: all for the love of steak

A butcher working on customers’ orders.

“Back in the 2010s, whenever I ate out and ordered a halal steak, I would get really frustrated. What was usually served was a generic ribeye, and it would be smothered in a black pepper sauce. For steak lovers, that’s a big ‘no-no’,” Renga explains.

Recognising this gap in the market, the couple began toying with the idea of setting up a shop selling premium steak and meat cuts. As fate would have it, they chanced upon a prime corner unit along Sunset Way and quickly snapped it up. Renga took up a course on knife skills and interned with several butchers to learn how to handle meat. Sophina brushed up her knowledge of food science and cuisines, and threw herself into marketing the brand.

Right from the start, the couple recognised that running a halal gourmet butchery meant they had to educate a market that was unfamiliar with their concept. As a result, they saw it as an opportunity to encourage conversations and create greater understanding between people from different backgrounds.

This spirit of openness and inclusivity became part of The Meatery’s DNA from day one – a space where customers could learn, exchange stories and connect through food.

Learning more about different races and cultures in Singapore

Beef Masterclass, hosted by Renga. (credits: The Meatery)

They aimed to build an open community where people feel comfortable opening up to one another. That’s why, instead of a retail counter, they chose to place a large table at the front of their original Sunset Way location, encouraging conversations with customers and creating a welcoming space for people to connect while waiting.

When customers approached the counter, Renga and the other staff would ask about their preferences, learn how their purchases would be used, and provide recommendations. Renga soon realised they were gaining as much knowledge from their customers as they were from him.

“We learned about their cultures and adjusted our offerings and recipes to their tastes. For example, we have Moroccan customers, so that’s why we have a lamb merguez sausage and we added marinades like harissa. We also brought in specific cuts like the halal picanha, after learning about it from our South American customers to introduce it to the Muslim community,” Renga shares.

A slab of meat being prepared for a customer’s order.

On the marketing front, Sophina was intentional about shaping The Meatery as a space that welcomed people from all walks of life. While the butchery is 100% Muslim-owned, she wanted its story to focus on the shared joy of food, conversations, and community.

“It was a deliberate decision for us to build a team with diverse backgrounds because we wanted to draw inspiration from different perspectives. For example, our butchers are chef-trained from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Our signature beef ‘guanciale’ was created by one of our former Executive Chef and Meat Wizard, Destin Tay, when he asked, ‘How can we recreate a product that is traditionally made from pork cheek using our understanding of beef?’”

Their openness and willingness to experiment with food extends to their collaborations with other local F&B businesses. They’ve created a Maple Gelato with Candied Beef Guanciale, Miso Caramel and Chocolate Malt Fudge with Big Mouth BakeHouse (formerly known as Fluff Bakery); a Jeya Spices' Lamb Briyani sausage; and even a halal lamb Ba Kut Teh with Anthony The Spice Maker, marrying flavours from the various communities in Singapore. From locally inspired creations to halal-friendly offerings, their innovations reflected a commitment to creating flavours that could be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of backgrounds.

‘Baaa Kut Teh’ Collaboration with Anthony The Spice Maker, using lamb spare ribs. (Photo credit: The Meatery's Instagram)

Through The Meatery, Sophina and Renga have learnt much about the local culture in Singapore and the numerous nationalities who are living here. Since then, The Meatery has grown into a larger group, expanding its offerings with Deli by The Meatery, a café concept; Grilled, its event catering arm; and The Butcher’s Table, a steakhouse.

Where differences become strengths

Renga and Sophina, building a home, a family, and a business — together. (Photo credit: Sophina)

At home, the couple hopes to nurture the same openness and curiosity that guides their business. They encourage their children to view differences not as barriers but as opportunities to learn from one another.

“Being in a multicultural family is fun. When raising our kids, we try to strike a balance. Like, for example, our youngest boy calls our eldest son anneh, which means elder brother in Tamil, and he calls our second son abang. Culturally, they understand they have the best of both worlds,” Renga says.

Having grown up with multiple cultural influences herself, Sophina sees Singapore’s diversity as something that continues to shape how people understand one another.

"There are so many different cultures that make up Singapore. While my IC states that I'm Eurasian, my identity is shaped by many different experiences and influences." Sophina shares.

From the family they built to the communal table at The Meatery, Sophina and Renga’s journey reflects how shared experiences can bring people closer. By embracing cultures, traditions and perspectives outside their own, they show how Singapore’s diversity can continue to be a source of strength and connection, regardless of race, language or religion.

Today, Sophina has since embarked on a new chapter as a freelancer, drawing on her years of experience to support other SMEs. She is one of the profiles featured in MCCY’s #Pledge60 campaign, where she had the chance to sit down with a fellow Singaporean and chat about what the words of the National Pledge mean to them and for Singapore. The films can be viewed here.