WHAT S COOKING 2015 / Issue 7
HIGHLIGHT Star Chef Competition 2015 The annual Star Chef Competition returns for the fifth year with a mystery box! This year, we are pleased to have Fassler Gourmet, Kendo Trading, Lee Say Poultry and Unilever sponsoring mystery ingredients that were revealed to the 15 participating teams of fours only an hour prior to the competition. The chefs were challenged to alter and plan their menu according to the mystery ingredients, which were Knorr Rock Sugar Honey Sauce, two whole ducks and two whole chickens for the Asian category and Knorr Pronto Tomato Sauce and salmon fillet for the Western category. Jointly organised by RAS and the Singapore Chefs Association (SCA), the competition, serving as a platform for Singapore s professional and aspiring culinary talents to display the best of their skills and innovative creations, were held on 26 and 27 August at the Asian Culinary Institute (ACI). Alongside the competition, RAS signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ACI that aims to attract and support new entrants into the F&B industry in Singapore. RAS will work closely with ACI to upgrade existing staff capability through training and attachment programmes and support the improvement of productivity in the F&B industry through consultancy work and applied research & development. Results of the Star Chef Competition will be announced at the RAS Epicurean Star Award Gala Dinner on 18 November 2015! 2
The Inaugural Singapore Restaurant Month This year, the nation saw the first-ever Singapore Restaurant Month (SRM) taking place from 1 July to 10 August 2015! RAS organised this inaugural festival, with support from the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), Singapore Tourism Board (STB), UnionPay and Kuhlbarra, to offer the public a unique opportunity to savour local produce (eggs, fish and vegetables) that were featured in 50 newly-created dishes from 50 restaurant brands. This number was selected in celebration of Singapore s golden jubilee this year. Among the 50 restaurant brands who offered diverse cuisines were also 12 heritage restaurants who have graced the Singapore s culinary scene for decades. RAS is honoured to have the participation of the below 50 restaurant brands for SRM 2015! General Brewerkz Café Iguana Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine First Culinary Restaurant Forest Hard Rock Café Sentosa JPOT - Hotpot Singapore Style JUMBO Seafood Lao Beijing LingZhi Vegetarian Restaurant Malcolm Bistro Mamanda Osia Palm Beach Seafood Restaurant Peach Garden Chinese Restaurant Portico PUTIEN RedDot BrewHouse Restaurant HOME Saha Signature Indian Restaurant & Terrace Bar Seoul Garden Seoul Garden Hotpot Seoul Yummy Korean Casual Dining Shin Yeh Restaurant Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant SUFOOD Swensen s Syun The Flying Squirrel The Scholar Chinese Restaurant The Soup Spoon Union Tim Palace Timbre TungLok Seafood TungLok Signatures TungLok Teahouse Yam s Kitchen Yum Cha Restaurant at Chinatown Heritage Bee Heong Palace Restaurant Beng Thin Hoon Kee Restaurant Chin Lee Restaurant Fatty Weng Restaurant Gim Tim Hua Yu Wee Seafood Restaurant Islamic Restaurant Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant Red Star Restaurant Spring Court Westlake Zi Yean Restaurant 3
LEARNING Visit to the National Restaurant Association Show! This year, RAS led 26 delegates from 19 companies to the annual National Restaurant Association (NRA) show in Chicago, USA. After a 2-day exploration at the showground, the group proceeded to visit established food service companies such as Eli s Cheesecake Factory, NEXT and Aviary in Chicago and also Boston College, Union Oyster House and Café ArtScience in Boston. Participants not only established contacts with suppliers in the USA, but also took away applicable key learnings relevant to productivity after the 9-day trip. With Nick Kokonas at the super-exclusive 14-seats bar, The Office Touring Boston College While waiting for lunch at Union Oyster House Visit to the Anuga Food Fair! RAS visited the Anuga Food Fair 2015 with 34 delegates from 23 companies from 5 to 12 October. Before heading to one of the largest food fair for the food service and catering market that took place in Cologne, Germany, the group visited Barcelona, Spain and visited well-known food companies such as Nostrum, Reimagine Food and Tragaluz. At Reimagine Food Visits to the companies proved useful as the best practices sharing sessions sought to address issues faced by the Singapore F&B industry such as low productivity and high reliance on manpower. Visiting Nostrum s central production plant Touring Flax & Kale 4
The Service Stars of the F&B Industry The F&B industry saw even more service stars at this year s Excellent Service Award (EXSA)! 2,200 recipients were honoured at this year s EXSA ceremony held on 1 October at the NTUC Auditorium with Senior Minister of State for Health, Environment and Water Resources, Dr Amy Khor gracing the event as the Guest-of-Honour. This year, RAS received 13 nominations for the coveted SuperStar Award, out of which five were shortlisted as the finalists. They are: Mr Jayachandran Nair A/L Janardanan Nair, Assistant Restaurant Manager, Swensen s (under ABR Holdings) Mr Vedamuthu Rex Kulandairaj, Restaurant Manager, Jack s Place (under JP Pepperdine) Ms Josephine Lee, Store Activities Representative, McDonald s Restaurants Ms Cherry S. Sampang, Restaurant Manager, Manhattan Fish Market Ms Dok Pei Chin, Waitress, Breeks (under Zingrill Holdings) HIGHLIGHT Of these nominees, Ms Cherry S. Sampang from Manhattan Fish Market won the hearts of the judging panel with her extraordinary dedication and excellent service, and walked away with the prestigious EXSA Superstar Award for 2015. RAS congratulates all the award recipients and look forward to even more service champions next year!
INITIATIVE Partnership with SCORE RAS signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) to intensify the collaboration to help ex-offenders enter Singapore s F&B industry. Under the MoU, which signing ceremony took place on 4 August at Hope Café (F&B training facility within Changi Prison Complex), at least 100 ex-offenders per year can look forward to securing jobs in the F&B industry. At the same time, the industry can also welcome another pool of skilled and trained workers to help address the current manpower crunch issue. Mr Vincent Tan, Vice President of RAS (left) and Mr Stanley Tang, CEO of SCORE signed the MOU at Hope Café. Prison inmates who are found suitable for the service industry will receive relevant training before securing a job. RAS Annual General Meeting 2015 with Pleasures@RAS The Annual General Meeting (AGM) brings together RAS members to review the contributions and involvement of the Association to its members and the industry for the past year. This year s AGM, held on 31 August, saw RAS members gathering to discuss on RAS performance as well as share and discuss business challenges, successes and opportunities. The AGM was followed by RAS quarterly networking session, Pleasures@RAS, which had over 100 members attending the informative sharing sessions by Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), IE Singapore and SingTel. 6
F&B 101: Look Out and Get Real! It is a dream of many to own an F&B business. Starting a business is easy, but sustainability should be the key. Noting this demand in the market, RAS invited Mr Ali Potia, Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company s Singapore office, to conduct a seminar that talks about the F&B business landscape in Singapore and how to start a business right. INITIATIVE Joining the 62 attendees from all walks of life at the seminar were also Mr Benedict Leow, Co-founder of The Soup Spoon and Ms Sarah Khaw, Founder of Maple and Market, to share about their business concepts and model as well as the real-life challenges. Leadership for Success in the F&B Industry RAS is pleased to have Dr Wee Chow Hou, Professor of Strategy & Marketing at Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, to conduct a two-day workshop for the leaders of the F&B industry on 4 and 5 August. 31 F&B business owners and C-level representatives from 18 companies attended the workshop to learn from Dr Wee strategic thinking and behavior for the company s growth and sustainability. 7
Join Us @ Our Upcoming Trips and Events! March 2016 : Pleasures@RAS March 2016 : Futsal Tournament April 2016 : HR Learning Trip to UK/Europe June 2016 : Start of EXSA Workshop June 2016 : Pleasures@RAS June 2016 : Productivity Learning Trip to Japan Interested? Please visit www.ras.org.sg for more details! *Dates and event programmes are tentative and subjected to changes. RAS warmly welcomes some of our new members Alma Contract (Singapore) Pte Ltd Aston Food & Beverage Specialities Pte Ltd Blue Lotus Restaurant Pte Ltd Corporate Business Network Pte Ltd Dinggo Pte Ltd Eatigo Singapore Pte Ltd Epoint Systems Pte Ltd Far Ocean Sea Products Pte Ltd Guan Chee Hong Kong Roasted Duck Pte Ltd HJ Maimunah Restaurant & Catering Pte Ltd Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre Hygieia Warewashing Pte Ltd Infinito Group Pte Ltd Jamtown Pte Ltd Little Jars Pte Ltd Livio Frozen Food Pte Ltd Logistics Security Solutions Pte Ltd Nara Cuisine Pte Ltd Network For Electronic Transfers (Singapore) Pte Ltd Newstead Technologies Pte Ltd NOAMS International Pte Ltd Oregano Trading Pte Ltd Orient Xpress Pte Ltd Pezzo Singapore Pte Ltd Project Dignity Pte Ltd Red Brick Road Pte Ltd Scottish Development International SF Consulting Pte Ltd SDH Institute Pte Ltd Singapore Productivity Centre Pte Ltd Singapore Telecommunications Limited Slake Pte Ltd Startaster Technology Pte Ltd Sugar Daddy Group Pte Ltd The Entertainer Asia The Lo & Behold Group Pte Ltd Tough Egg Pte Ltd Tower Investment Pte Ltd Unlisted Collection (Bincho Restaurant Pte Ltd) 2985 Jalan Bukit Merah, Singapore 159457 Tel: (65) 64797723 Fax: (65) 6479 8108 Email: enquiry@ras.org.sg www.ras.org.sg 8