Let’s Bring the Glory Home
by Rachel Lim
@ 19 Sep 2016
Right after the Summer Olympics in Rio, another Olympics takes place in Messe Erfurt, Weimar, Germany from 22 to 25 October 2016. The Olympiade Der Köche (IKA) also known as the Culinary Olympics will bring together national teams from all over, vying to take home gold medals and make their country proud. The Singapore National Culinary Team is no different, this year they hope to make history. I spoke with team manager Chef Louis Tay as he explains, “At the Culinary Olympics, we were the first runner-up in 2000, which was the last time we competed. If we win this time, it will be the history for Singapore Chef Association (SCA) culinary competition journey”.
The team is not new to competitions, as Chef Tay further elaborates, “Singapore has a reputation for winning international culinary competitions. As you know, during the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg two years ago, we hit a home run by winning three times in a row”. No matter how many times the Singapore National Culinary Team has brought success, competitions are always a hard and tedious process.
“Since February, we have been training for the hot kitchen segment of the competition with our SCA mentors. This segment is a three-course dinner prepared on the spot for 110 diners. After which we had a few dinners at Shatec’s Sapling restaurant. Then we organised a fundraising dinner, followed by a Singapore Airlines priority passenger service club dinner for 150 guests”. He continues, “We are still fine-tuning our dishes based on the comments our mentors gave. We have gone through the culinary art segment of the competition four times so far and we still have four more to go before we depart to Messe Erfurt”. Time is also an important essence in the coordination of training, Chef Tay emphasises, “Its can be tough to bring the team together during trainings as we are from different organisations. We often work on the culinary art segment training on weekends and some of the team members have to sacrifice their rest days. It’s not easy because they have their families to account for, so we are very grateful for the understanding of their family members as well”.
On 12 July 2016, SCA together with Peter Knipp Holdings Pte Ltd organised a fund-raising dinner where many supporters and sponsors came together to show their support for the team. When asked how much they raised that night, Chef Tay beamed, “Our original target was SG$35,000, and raising SG$48,000 really exceeded our expectations!” For such a successful event, the different groups of people worked hard to put things together.
Lastly, the Singapore National Culinary Team which consists of Louis Tay, team manager, Swissôtel Merchant Court; Teo Yeow Siang, team captain, Lavish; Alan Wong, team member, Lavish; Triston Fang, team member, RWS Ocean Restaurant; Roy Lim, team member, Unilever Food Solution; Alex Chong, team pastry, Regent Hotel would like to thank their SCA mentors for their time and commitment given during the training, the sponsors and partners for the fund raised, Peter Knipp Holdings Pte Ltd for co-organising the fund-raiser. The support from the families and bosses of the members of the Singapore National Culinary Team is crucial. Chef Tay highlights, “Our dream is to have the Singapore public understand and appreciate what we have achieved for the Singapore culinary scene when it comes to competitions. It is not fame that we want, but if Singapore appreciates athletic sportsmen, we hope they will also come to see what the chefs have accomplished in the last 30 years too”. Cuisine & Wine Asia would like to send our well wishes to the Singapore Culinary Team as they compete in the Culinary Olympics in October 2016.
The greatest challenge I’ve faced during this training period is time. Holding a key role at my current work place, I have to carefully plan out my manpower resource if I happen to be away from work for training or if the training schedule clashes with work projects. Fortunately, all chefs involved in this competition including my employer are understanding and supportive which then allows me to have the flexibility to work things out. - Alex Chong, Team Pastry, Regent Hotel
The Culinary Olympics is one of the most prestigious culinary competitions in the world. It is a real honour to represent Singapore and compete with other countries. I would like to thank Singapore Chefs Association for giving me the opportunity to represent Singapore, the training is tough but it is also a once in a life time experience. - Alan Wong, Team Member, Lavish
We would like to thank all the SCA mentors for their time, commitment and guidance given during the training. We raised our own funds, but it would not be possible without our sponsors and partners. Every bit of help is appreciated, and of course, Peter Knipp Holdings Pte Ltd for co-organising this fund-raiser for our Singapore National Culinary Team! Not forgetting the families and bosses of the members of the Singapore National Culinary Team, for supporting them and giving them time. Lastly, I would like to thank the team members themselves for their hard work! – Edmund Toh
The Singapore Chefs Association and Singapore National Culinary Team have won many awards over the years. However the Culinary Olympic gold medal has always eluded them and it would be amazing to see that the efforts of support the team gets would yield some results. They are a young and new team and have been training for many months and we are just very proud that Singapore continues to fly the culinary flag high. – Peter A Knipp
Our dream is to have the Singapore public understand and appreciate what we have achieved for the Singapore when it comes to international competitions. It is not fame that we want, but if Singapore appreciates athletic sportsmen, we hope they will also come to see what the chefs have accomplished in the last 30 years too. - Louis Tay, Team Manager,
Swissotel Merchant Court
I am very excited and proud to be part of the prestigious Culinary Olympics. I am also thankful for all the sponsors and Peter Knipp Holdings Pte Ltd for organising the fundraising dinner. - Triston Fang, Team Member, RWS Ocean Restaurant
It’s an honour to be the captain of the team as all of them are very passionate and positive bringing a great team spirit with them. It’s going to be tough, all eyes will be on Singapore as we are the reigning world cup winner. There is going to be high expectations and the team is working hard. - Teo Yeow Siang, Team Captain, Lavish
I am feeling good about the Culinary Olympics. The training is tough, though there are lots of laughter during the sessions and everyone’s role is very vital in the team. I am excited and proud to be in this prestigious competition. I would like to thank my team mates, the sponsors who supported us, the chef and managing director from my company and lastly my family. - Roy Lim, Team Member, Unilever Food Solution
Erratum
This article was published in Cuisine & Wine Asia September October 2016 under Chef + Go Segment. In our Print edition, we credited Chef Louis Tay’s company wrongly. In the article “Lavish” should be
Swissotel Merchant Court.
