A Silent Dinner at Spanish Restaurant ESQUINA to Support The Hearing Impaired
by Darinee Durai
@ 13 Oct 2017
A Silent Dining Experience by ESQUINA (Available on 18 October 2017, over two dinner settings at 6pm and 8:30pm
As part of the integration exercise, guests will also learn simple sign languages that will aid them in communicating with the servers and guest chefs. Part of the proceeds from the dinner will be donated to ExtraOrdinary Horizons - a social enterprise promoting Deaf awareness.
ESQUINA is located at 16 Jiak Chuan Rd, Singapore 089267.
Bookings for the Silent Dinner can be made at (65) 6222 1616 or email info@esquina.com.sg.
About Chef Jimmy Chua, Junior Sous Chef of ESQUINA (36 years old)
Chef Jimmy has close to two decades of experience working in the kitchens of renowned establishments such as Restaurant Andre, Pollen Restaurant, Ding Dong and Maggie Joan's. The Malaysian-born chef applied for a culinary course after taking interest from watching his mother lovingly prepare meals for the family. After graduation, he applied for jobs in various hotels and restaurants, but was met with several rejections as a result of his hearing impairment. Despite this, the resilient chef pressed on, and worked his way to becoming the Junior Sous Chef at ESQUINA.
At ESQUINA, Chef Jimmy communicates with the team through careful observation, simple gestures and writing on paper. With the Silent Dinner and through his personal story, he hopes to advocate that a hearing disability does not represent an inability to pursue a career. He wishes for the industry to be welcoming of integrating the hearing impaired community into the workforce, and encourages other friends to step forward, and embrace their passion with tenacity.
