MAYBE the true hero is the unsung hero who is humble, and is so secure he does not need to blow his own trumpet about his achievements. If this is the case, then MasterChef Ivan Yeo, the Corporate Chef of the dynamic Park Hotel Group is a true Singapore hero.

As Coach/”Captain”of the Singapore National Team he and his team have WON the Culinary World Cup in the Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup Competition from 20 to 24th November 2010 in Luxembourg. 

Against stiff and unrelenting competition against world class chefs on their home ground, facing a jury of European masterchefs, 10454.7km from the our little red dot in a foreign land, against all odds, they WON the Culinary World Cup for Singapore!!!

I ask you this, where are the big write-ups in the local press, the Straits Times, the New Paper, the Chinese press??? Why are they not trumpeted, feted, celebrated, congratulated??? Your guess is as good as mine.

Singaporeans, lend me your ears:

Look to our own World-Class Chefs and do not always ooh and aah at foreign chefs (who may be good too) who give their brand name to very expensive restaurants here, where dinner costs S$370++ per person, but they are never in Singapore. They are in their own country so who is cooking your S$370++ per person meal??? Is it not like a replica Louis Vuitton bag you bought in China for 300 Yuan? The China replica is NOT the genuine , authentic one at the Louis Vuitton shop near my favourite hotel, Four Seasons George V in Paris!

As the motto of the intrepid and ever daring Special Air Service regiment goes : Who Dares Wins!

Chef Ivan Yeo

 Chef Yeo has been fully engaged in the culinary scene for the past 25 years. During his tenure he has held various chefs’ position with Swissotel The Stamford, Singapore and Raffles The Plaza, Singapore. As part of his extensive portfolio, Chef Yeo has also represented Singapore in many International Culinary Competitions wining gold in events  for Food and  Hotel Asia’s ‘ 4 Main Course Plate Award ’ and multiple nominations for high profile awards including World Gourmet Summit Awards for “Chef of the Year” and “Executive Chef of the Year”.

Chef Yeo is currently working as a Corporate Chef with Park Hotel Group.

Chef Yen

 Chef Yen is currently the Executive Chef with Unilever Foodsolutions South East Asia and Singapore, where he specializes in the areas of culinary training, research and development, applications and customer development for the food service and food manufacturing, consumer goods industries.

 As a Team Captain and Member for the Singapore National Culinary Team, Chef Yen has helped to put Singapore on the world culinary map through Gold medals success in several high profile and prestigious competitive events like the Culinary Masters, Culinary Olympics and Food & Hotel Asia Culinary Challenge.

 Prior to joining Unilever Foodsolutions, Chef Yen began his career at the former Westin Stamford and Westin Plaza (Now Swissôtel the Stamford and Fairmont Singapore).  An interesting addition to his portfolio was gained through his tenure at Givaudan, the world leading flavours and fragrances MNC where he was trained in the research and development and flavours application. Chef Yen spent 4 years with the company in the Foodservice and Savoury department.

 An alumnus of the Singapore Hotel Association Tourism and Educational Centre (SHATEC), Chef Yen has also pursued postgraduate studies in continuing education programs for professional chefs jointly introduced by the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and Temasek Polytechnic.

Chef Nicole Wong

 Chef Nicole Wong has utilized her deep love for all things sweet and wonderful to carve out a niche in the world of pastry. Her efforts have certainly not gone unrecognized, sweeping gold in competitions since 2002, including the 13^th FHA Culinary Challenge In Individual Dress The Cake Singapore, Culinary Malaysia  Petit Fours 8 Praline Competition and  Ocean Australia Awards, 2009.

 Chef Wong has filled various positions in the previous Westin Hotel Singapore and currently works as the resident Pastry Chef in Fairmont Singapore.  Chef Wong believes that her 10 plus years experience in this industry has greatly enhanced her personal development, in areas such as change management and advanced organizational skills.

 Chef Eric Chuah

 Chef Eric Chuah started out as a trainee chef at Swissotel the Stamford in 2003 and worked his way up to become Chef de Partie at Equinox Restaurant before joining Unilever Foodsolutions.  Chef Chua has demonstrated his culinary prowess at many culinary competitions. His most recent achievement was as a participating member in the National Gourmet Team challenge at HOFEX 2009 and winning a silver medal at the WACS 2004 culinary challenge in Dublin.  Besides an innate drive and passion for food, Chef Chua is also an avid reader and traveler.

Chef Lee Boon Seng

Chef Lee’s culinary journey began in 2002, where he began as a trainee chef at Equinox Restaurant at Swissotel the Stanford. In Feb 2010, Chef Lee joined Osia Restaurant, launched by Scott Webster, at Resorts World Sentosa, occupying a Junior Sous Chef position. As a member of the Singapore National Culinary Team, Chef Lee has helped to put Singapore on the world culinary map by being part of the team that won a silver medal at the MLA Black Box Culinary Challenge in Dubai,  and were awarded the overall champions at the FHA 2010 Culinary Challenge in Singapore.

  Chef Yew Eng Tong

 As Sous Chef of The Cliff  , Yew Eng Tong has more than a decade of experience working in the kitchen. It was during his time at Aurum, where molecular master Paco Roncero was consultant chef, that he vastly improved his knowledge in the science of cooking. He has also gone on to compete in several culinary competitions, and was the winner for “BEST GOURMET TEAM” and “BEST CHEF” during Food&HotelAsia2008. He has also represented Singapore in the Culinary Olympics in 2008 and the Expogast in 2006. Another area where Chef Tong has shone, is when he represented Singapore in Food&HotelAsia 2010 and subsequently won the “BATTLE OF THE LION” competition.  On order to constantly keep himself current, Chef Tong as recently, completed 6 weeks of intensive training in Victor’s Gourmet Restaurant, a 3*** Restaurant in Schloss Berg, Germany under guidance of Chef Christian Bau.

 Chef Jasmine Ng

 Chef Jasmine has been a Chef for the past 21 years and has vast experience in both Hotels and Educational Institutions.  Jasmine has represented Singapore in many International Culinary Competitions, served as a judge, and is still an active member in the Singapore Chefs Association.  Presently, she is residing in Perth and is with Temasek Culinary Academy.

  By Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet