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The Singapore
Chefs Association JUNIOR CHEFS CLUB
As introduced by Jasmine Ng at the 2004 WACS Asia-Pacific
Forum
The last few years have been very exciting years
for the Singapore culinary scene. Our daring young
Chefs have sparkled with their culinary innovations
and I dare say, made waves on the world platform.
At
last, we have placed Singapore on the world culinary
map.
However, this has not always been the case, there
was a time once when cooking was considered a
profession fit only for the failures in Singapore
society. People who worked in the food sector
were often
those who operated hawker stalls with poor education
or no education. Those who were chefs worked
their way up enduring grueling long hours over
the stove. It was no wonder then that even those
who
were cooks were discouraging their children from
following in their footsteps.
The tide has now changed. No longer receiving
scant recognition being a chef is now considered
highly
respectable. Restaurateurs courting promising
young chefs and the previously unheard of phenomenon
of chefs having a fan base are now witnessed as
restaurants are emptied when the resident chef
leaves
for greener pastures to another restaurant.
So what is the response on the educational scene
with respect to the growing enthusiasm amongst
Singaporeans in making a future for themselves
in the culinary arts?
Being a melting pot of cultures and at the crossroads
of east west, Singapore is in fact a great place
for
nurturing the culinary arts amongst the young.
With such a diverse spread of cuisines to draw
inspiration
from, it is only natural that the growth of culinary
institutions and schools takes only a matter of
time.
Yes, the time is right to develop the culinary
artists amongst our young. Indeed, in recent few
years,
Singapore has seen a proliferation of up market
culinary training centers and schools in Singapore.
Some
of you may already be aware of, “At Sunrice”
and the “Raffles Academy.”
Prominent amongst the established institutions,
is SHATEC a private school, which offers Diploma
programmes in Culinary Skills and Pastry and Baking.
The next institution of which I am proud to be
associated with is Temasek Polytechnic. It is
government -
owned and offers a Diploma in Hospitality and
Tourism Management. It has a fully equipped training
kitchen and restaurant although only 3% of the
curriculum is devoted to the Culinary Arts. Despite
this,
the students have admirably been able to come
up with a cookbook of 24 of their original recipes.
(SHOW
COOKBOOK HERE).
Temasek Polytechnic is now collaborating with
the Sentosa Leisure Group to build one of the
only resort
campuses in Asia if not the world. The Tourism
Academy will be catering to the need for more
culinary
courses. In fact some very prestigious tie-ups
are in the offing (which I have to keep mum at
this point in
time) that will help establish Singapore as one
of the World-class centers for culinary training.
While the educational institutions are gearing
up for this influx in demand for further training
by chefs,
what are you doing, you may ask, on the part of
the Singapore Chef’s Association to ensure
that the chef
aspirant s are nurtured?
I am proud to announce at this forum that we have
recently started the Singapore Junior Chef Club.
Under the umbrella of the Singapore Chefs’
Association, this club is aimed to build young
potential chef
leaders and be the gathering point for enthusiastic
young chefs below the age of 23 years.
The mission of the Junior Club is to nurture excellence
in the culinary field by allowing the young chefs
to
network with rising stars of their industry. We
aim to do this through:
· Collaborations,
· Competitions
· Culinary workshops
and
· Other activities.
Further, the close links this club has with the
Singapore Chefs’ Association will
definitely open doors to
the Junior Club members to engage in more joint
activities and specialist events, such as:
· Master classes
by visiting chefs
· Seminars and
· International
competitions.
I am extremely thrilled to be the driver for this
challenging project. There are indeed many more
possibilities, as there are ideas. However to
make all this happen, I am grateful that we are
getting
pledged support from the Singapore Chefs Association
in order that the talents of the young chefs can
be
nurtured.
I am confident that the SCA shares my conviction
that the Club will definitely help to provide
enthusiastic
and passionate younger culinarians with a means
to be able to follow in our footsteps and to surpass
the
established standards of excellence not only in
Singapore but internationally as well.
A new committee for the club was formed on 15
May 2004 and up to this date; we have a total
of 220
members. Definitely a vote of confidence for what
I am trying to achieve.
It is my sincere wish to see this club not only
grow but blossoming and this can only be possible
with
more and more young culinarians becoming members
of the club and with the support of everyone in
the
Singapore Chefs’ Association and the
World Association of Cooks Societies.
Jasmine Ng
Chairman of SJCC |
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