French Wine and Dine

Dear culinarians,

Please see attached poster for the French Wine and Dine event that would be coming up. Hurry and send your answers to your respective Liaison Officers, to stand a chance to win yourself a seat.
 
The event is jointly brought to you by SOPEXA and the Singapore Junior Chefs Club.
 

2009 DnD

Please RSVP with your respective Institution LOs by 17 December 2009

Shatec Institutes: Chef Adrain Fun

TP Baking & Culinary Science: Chef Gary

Temasek Culinary Academy: Chef Lilian

ITE: Chef Edwin

Had enough of your Tabasco Fix?

"Who ever gets enough of Tabasco?"



Dear fellow culinarian,
Its been a few months since the Tabasco HotChef Competition, and still a long while before the next.


Well, I came across this little article, and thought I should share it with you and work on it on my next available off day... (:

If you are keen in doing your own little Tabasco terrarium, please visit: http://www.stormthecastle.com/terrarium/tabasco-bottle-terrarium.htm
Disclaimer: Please note that the link and contents of the website does not belong to SJCC and it is not an official or recognised site of SJCC.

Have fun, and till next time! If any of you would like to share with us what you have done, please feel free to contact or email us.

D&D'09 teaser

"Killer, Diller, Chiller,Thriller here tonight..."

Something BIG is coming to you soon this 21 December 2009

International Chef Day 2009 and SCA Family Day

The International Chefs Day has been marked as a special occasion by culinarians to salute the profession and create awareness of the profession of being a chef.

It has been a tradition since 2004, of which the Singapore Chefs would get together to do something meaningful. This year, it was exceptionally meaningful that The International Chefs Day was held in conjuncture with the SCA Family Day, at Vanilla Pod Restaurant and Bar. It was a fun-filled evening with food and activities lined up for the young and old alike.

Allowing the chefs and their families to get together, bonding them closer within their families, and in appreciation of the family’s support to their profession.

There were games for the children, stage activities to involve the families, and food for all. But as all this was taking place, two other teams of chefs were keeping themselves just as busy.

The Singapore Chefs’ Association, National Team was waiting to serve diners, from the public for the first time to raise funds for ChildAid, a charity concert that supports the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and the Business Times Budding Artists Fund. The team (which came in fourth position out of 22 countries at the Culinary Olympics in Germany last year) will be whipping up an exclusive 5-course dinner*, paired with exquisite wines, thanks to the various sponsors from food and wine distributors.

We would also like to applaud the team of young chefs from various institutions and their mentors, who kindly came forward to assist with the 200kg Steer roasting. Working around the clock for 2 full days in an open space outside the restaurant, the teams came in shifts to ensure that everyone could enjoy their meal throughout the night. The experiences learnt during the steer roasting provided LIVE lessons for the mentor and the students such as learning about different parts of the beef and of temperature control etc….

INAUGURAL SUCCESS FOR SINGAPORE YOUNG CHEF GAMES 2009

INAUGURAL SUCCESS FOR SINGAPORE YOUNG CHEF GAMES 2009
BY NORWEGIAN SEAFOOD EXPORT COUNCIL

The grand final of the Singapore Young Chef Games 2009 by Norwegian Seafood Export Council came to a successful end on Saturday, 3 October at the Temasek Culinary Academy. The event provided a platform for the young aspiring chefs in Singapore to showcase their budding talent and skill as eight teams (each comprising of two students) from various institutions including Institute of Technical Education Singapore, Temasek Culinary Academy and Shatec Institutes came up with innovative and nutritious dishes using Norwegian salmon as the main ingredient and incorporating elements of the different continental cuisine allocated to them, such as African, Asian and Australasian cuisine – inspired by the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Singapore next year.

The competition rounded up a series of seminars on Norwegian salmon conducted at the three culinary institutes aiming to deepen the product knowledge about Norwegian salmon along with its proper handling techniques among the students as well as its nutritional value and versatility.

Rosella from Shatec Institutes emerged as the proud champions of the competition, with members Creasperson A Carlos and Melissa Liew Sau Mei successfully pulling off ambitious dishes that reflected their maturity in executing sophisticated techniques such as sous vide, home-smoking and charcoal-grilling, etc. The crowd was visibly moved by the winning team’s achievements as many were caught wiping a tear away as the all-female team collected their well-deserved award – an all expense paid 5D4N trip to World Expo 2010 Shanghai China. When asked about her thoughts on winning, Carlos shared “I’m truly shocked and happy. I couldn’t hold back my tears because to be honest, we didn’t think we’ll win. We were given one of the hardest continents and we had to get some of our ingredients from Africa to make sure that our dishes were authentic”.

First runner-up Temasek Torques, consisting of members Sean Lim Xin Hong and Aletheia Heah Shu Qing and second runner-up Temasek Commis, consisting of members Calvin Tan Qian Heng and Piak Jia Ying from Temasek Culinary Academy performed commendably as well. They won cash prize of S$500 and S$300 respectively.

Chief Judge Chef Rick Stephen, Executive Chef of Singapore Airport Terminal Services and member of Singapore Chefs Association, was happy with the performance of all the teams in the competition. He did, however, mention that it would be beneficial for the young chefs to have more practice working with a delicate ingredient like Norwegian salmon. The filleting class held prior to the competition by Chef Karl Dobler, campaign ambassador for ‘Norwegian Salmon – Mega Tasty’ and one of the judges, proved to be extremely important as the students learnt invaluable skills on how to handle delicate fish such as Norwegian salmon which will be useful in their future culinary careers.

 
The other judges, namely Chef Jimmy Chok, Executive Chef of The Academy Bistro, Mr Todd Farr, Assistant Director of Projects from Peter Knipp Holdings Pte Ltd, Leow Sooi Mee, dietician and nutrition consultant and Mika Tomiyama, Regional Manager South East Asia of Norwegian Seafood Export Council were all impressed by the overall performance of the young chefs. In particular, Farr shared that he found the passion displayed by the young chefs during the competition especially inspiring.

Other distinguished guests that graced the event include Norwegian Ambassador Her Excellency Janne Julsrud and Chef John Sloane, Continental Director Asia of the World Association of Chefs Societies.

Overall, the competition proved to be a tremendous success and it was indeed inspiring to witness the passion and dedication of the young chefs at the competition.

http://www.asiacuisine.com/

Junior Team Competition in Dubai

Junior Team Competition in Dubai

An Invite from the UAE Culinary Guild for

The Emirates Salon Culinaire 2010 (Junior Culinary Teams)

From the desk of Alen Thong

Coordinator - The Emirates Culinary Guild
Director - The Emirates Salon Culinaire

Please accept this as our invitation for your junior culinary team to participate in our Golden Coffee Pot Junior Challenge at our 2010 salon culinaire.

We are expecting c. 1,500 entries to the salon and we have engaged the services of 20 international judges to take care of all adjudication matters.

Entry to the Junior Challenge - the details of which are attached - is by invitation only.

As we are restricted to inviting just eight teams we would be most grateful for your soonest indication of your initial reaction to our invitation.

For details, please download the document

Teams that are interested to join, please contact Jasper at sjcc_jasperjek@yahoo.com

http://www.asiacuisine.com.sg/singchefs/

SJCC Forum 2009 writeup

Need advice on your career path? Is being a Chef what you really want to be? What better way than to attend a forum by renowned guest speakers Chef Eric Teo, President of SCA, and Chef Sam Leong, Director of Kitchens of Tung Lok Group.

On 29 August, 60 SJCC members were privileged to have the opportunity to attend such a forum at Shatec Institutes organised by Singapore Junior Chefs Club. Chef Eric Teo started the forum with a presentation entitled “Are you sure you want to be a CHEF”. Members were inspired and entertained by the ever humorous Chef. Chef Eric Teo shared about his journey from a young boy into what he is today now, and the little steps young chefs should take to become an established Chef.
In the second half of the forum, Chef Sam Leong whipped up 3 of his signature dishes whilst sharing his experiences in his culinary work life. Members got to taste signature Coffee Pork Ribs, Black Pepper Crabs and Slow Cook Red Garoupa in Porridge-Barley. Throughout the demonstration, members were ready to ask questions about his food and his work. Chef Sam Leong was also happy to give away 8 of his cookbooks to a few lucky members.

The Forum ended with a coffee break reception courtesy of Shatec Institutes. SJCC would like to thank Chef Eric Teo, Chef Sam Leong, and Shatec Institutes for making the forum a success.

Programme Schedule for Bill Gallagher Junior Chefs Forum 2010

Programme Schedule for
Bill Gallagher Junior Chefs Forum 2010

Click here to download Programme Schedule

Singapore Young Chef Games Poster

For more details, please download registration form with details:

http://www.asiacuisine.com.sg/singchefs/main/documents/Sing-Young-Chef-Games-09.pdf

Singapore Junior Chefs Forum 2009

Singapore Junior Chefs Forum 2009

Singapore Junior Chefs Forum will be a fun and spontaneous educational forum which allows members to gain in depth knowledge of subjects pertaining to their culinary career. Members can expect to interact and listen to Chefs and their culinary journeys, be amazed by culinary demonstrations, whilst getting to know more likeminded young aspiring budding chefs.

* Registration with respective institution's Liaison Officers strictly required. We regret to inform that members who fail to register with their LOs may be turned away.

TCA: Chef Lilian Lim TAS: Derrick Lau SHA: Chef Matthew Yim ITE: Chef Edwin Tan BCS: Chef Gary Lim at-sunrice: email sjcc_jasperjek@yahoo.com

Tabasco AsiaCuisine writeup

AsiaCuisine Feature Story

A Really Hot Experience!


While attending this year’s SJCC Tabasco HoTChef Team Challenge 2009 which was held at ITE College West’s Clementi Campus last Saturday, I found a handful of similarities throughout the whole event. But before I go into any details about these similarities, I shall begin with all the formalities with regards to this year’s competition. Jointly organised annually by Tabasco and the Singapore Junior Chefs Club (SJCC), this culinary competition is meant for the members of the club who are also the current students of a culinary institution. This year, eight teams of three members each competed to be the victor and also the chance to travel to Hong Kong to represent Singapore in the Battle of the Hottest Chefs competition to be held in the later part of this year. Students from three institutions took part – Shatec Institutes, Temasek Polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE).

To judge this year’s competition, the organisers brought in a panel of esteemed adjudicators comprising the who’s who of the culinary scene of Singapore. Chef Otto Weibel, president mentor of Singapore Chefs Association (SCA) acted as the head judge and he was joined in the judging panel by the vice president of SCA, Chef Edmund Toh, Mr Kan Cheong (regional director of Tabasco), Chef David Box (director of culinary operations and food & beverage of Resorts World Sentosa) and Chef Randy Chow (executive chef of Mount Elizabeth Hospital). When asked to comment on this year’s competition, Chef Weibel said before giving out the prizes to the winners, “The quality of the winners this year is very high and I’m glad to say that we’re able to see improvements every year. Obviously, they are also the not-so-good ones but I believe the efforts put in by these students today are commendable.” Cheong, speaking on behalf of Tabasco, told the audience who attended the event, “Tabasco is always happy to sponsor such event because we want to give the students an opportunity to shine, to give them the exposure needed.”

Now back to the similarities that I mentioned earlier on, well, the obvious would be the fact that all dishes created by the students for the competition must include Tabasco as an ingredient. It does not matter which variety of Tabasco the students use for each dish; what’s more important is the fact that the Tabasco flavour is an accompaniment to the dish, not overpowering the other elements of the dishes. The students had to prepare six amuse bouche (2 meats, 2 seafood, 1 vegetarian and 1 dessert) for the competition. In total, they were told to create ten items from each category – five for the judges to taste while another five to be displayed. Marks were given for their mise-en-place, hygiene, composition, creativity, presentation, practicality, taste and table display. Besides the top three winners, teams who were adjudged the best in hygiene and presentation were also awarded accordingly.

The next similarity, (gasp!), all the top three winning teams for this year’s competition came from one culinary institution – Temasek Polytechnic. The 2nd runner-up of the competition was S.A.Y. Temasek (Tay Yu Wei, Yeo Yong Wei and Nur Shahidah Abdul Samad), the 1st runner-up was The Junior Legend (Edmund Lim Kai Wai, Jeremy Chang Chi Lin and Corinne Chung Ke Wen) and the culinary crown for this year went to the trio of Aletheia Heah, Ong Hui Xin and Sean Lim Xin Hong who made up Temasek Torques. The three of them will fly off to Hong Kong sometime this year to compete at the Battle of the Hottest Chefs competition against the winning team from Hong Kong. And here at Asiacuisine.com, we’re wishing them the very best and do bring back the trophy!

And one final similarity before I end this week’s feature story; but before I mention what it is, Chef Weibel had this to say, “Some of the competitors this year could give some professional chefs a run for their money. The level of culinary knowledge and techniques they’ve shown is just spectacular. I’m amazed by the amount of passion, dedication and creativity they’re showing.” Well, just how amazing the top three winners are? Ladies and gentlemen, even though these students are still pursuing their education in their respective culinary competition, they’re already so adept in molecular gastronomy. All three winning teams incorporated elements of avant garde cuisine in their creations. From spherification to espuma to sous vide, the three teams never failed to impress and this is what set them apart from their fellow competitors. And as Cheong said, this competition really has enabled the students to shine indeed!

http://www.asiacuisine.com.sg/

Facebook

SJCC is now on Facebook

Join us now: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=95979262167

SJCC HoTchef Team Challenge 2009 results

SJCC HoTchef Team Challenge 2009

proudly sponspored by Tabasco

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I'm pleased to announce the results of the competition:

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Champion: Temasek Torques (Temasek Culinary Academy)

Aletheia Hia, Ong Hui Xin, Sean Lim

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1st Runner Up: The Junior Legend (Temasek Applied Science School)

Edmund Lim, Jeremy Chang, Corinne Chung

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2nd Runner Up: S.A.Y Temasek (Temasek Applied Science School)

Tay Yu Wei, Yeo Yong Wei, Nur Shahidah Binte Abdul Samad

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Best Display: Temasek Torques (Temasek Culinary Academy)

Aletheia Hia, Ong Hui Xin, Sean Lim

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Best Hygiene: Tpasco (Temasek Culinary Academy)

Sam Yi Lin, Benedict Yong, Heng Wei Lai

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Congratulations to all the winners!

WOTM: Itsmakantime blog

Website of the Month: Its Makan Times Blog

Being a Chef isn't just pursuing cuisines that is eurocentric. A Singapore chef should also be knowledgeable of the local cuisine here. When abroad, he wouldn't feel apprehensive to share with other Chefs about the culture and food of where he is from.

Itsmakantime blog shares with you writeups from various newspaper sources all under one roof. You can find the Strait Times, Business Times and even Times UK food articles here. You need not have to flip the papers to read food articles anymore! You can find a wide range of articles varying from interviews with local and foreign established chefs, introduction to food blogs, reviews of the local restaurant scene, the latest food trend here and even the best wholesaler bargins. Although not all the articles are chef related, all are food related. Check out this infomative blog and you'll be immersed in the knowledge of food.

The Miele Guide Culinary Scholarship Programme 2009/2010

The Miele Guide Culinary Scholarship Programme 2009/2010

In conjunction with the launch of The Miele Guide 2009/2010, two culinary scholarships—jointly sponsored by Miele and At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy—will be awarded to two deserving young talents from Asia through The Miele Guide Culinary Scholarship Programme. One will be awarded to a citizen or permanent resident of one of the Asian countries evaluated in the guide (with the exception of Singapore) and the other will be awarded to a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore. These culinary scholarships will help two young people from Asia reach their dreams of becoming world-class chefs. The Miele Guide Culinary Scholarship Programme was established last year to promote formal culinary education and encourage the continual growth and development of the F&B industry in Asia.

Organised and administered by Ate Media, The Miele Guide Culinary Scholarship Programme is jointly sponsored by Miele, At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy (At-Sunrice) and supported by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) this year. Applications for the two scholarships open on 1 July 2009 and will close on 31 August 2009. The results will be revealed at the official launch of The Miele Guide 2009/2010 on 30 September 2009. Scholarship recipients will attend the WSQ Diploma course in Culinary Arts (WSQ DCA) at At-Sunrice.

Application forms can be downloaded here. All applications must be submitted by 31 August 2009.

new background

SJCC Tabasco HoTchef Team Challenge 2009

SJCC Tabasco HoTchef Team Challenge 2009

You can now download the Competition Briefing Pack at the following link:

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/12/1/2208157/HoTchef%20Team%20Challenge%202009%20Briefing%20Pack.zip

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The following files can be found within the Briefing Pack:

1. SJCC Tabasco HoTchef Team Challenge 2009 Rulebook

2. Application & Indemnity Form

3. Official Recipe Sheet

4. List of equipment provided by ITE College West (Clementi Campus) Training Kitchen

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Application Requirements:
> Application & Indemnity Form must be Submitted together with Official Recipe Sheets.

> Please include your SJCC membership number beside your names in Application & Indemnity Form

> Recipes only to be Submitted on Official Recipe Sheets

> "Name of Team" must be filled with team name in the Header section of Official Recipe Sheets

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Please check if you have fulfilled the above Application Requirements before submitting.

Applications that are incomplete may not be considered.

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Please Email your applications to sjcc_xutianmu@yahoo.com

before 3 July 2009

Tabasco 2009 Teaser

Are you ready for

coming your way in July 2009...

Winning team goes to Hongkong to compete in the

Battle of the Hottest Chef

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Tabasco is a registered trademark; the Tabasco bottle design

and label designs are exclusive property of McIlhenny Company,

Avery Island, Louisiana, USA 70513. http://www.tabasco.com/

The History of Ice-Cream Revealed

The History of Ice-Cream Revealed

I have always been curious about how food actually came about. I figured, all of you would have been curious the same way too, since we have all vowed to be in the Food and Beverage industry. Therefore, I have decided to do us all a favour and researched on one of the food items that no one can resist, Ice-Cream! So here we go.

According to legend, Marco Polo brought the secrets of ice cream with him from the Orient, together with other sundry savouries. Although there is some evidence that the Chinese indulged in iced drinks and desserts, which gives some weight to the Marco Polo theory, there isn’t any prove Chinese made Ice-Cream.

The Chinese did, however, teach Arab traders how to combine syrups and snow, to make an early version of the sherbet. Arab traders proceeded to show Venetians, then Romans, how to make this frozen delight. The Emperor Nero was quite fond of pureed fruit, sweetened with honey, and then mixed with snow--so much so that he had special cold rooms built underneath the imperial residence in order to store snow. In the 1500s, Catherine de Medici brought the concept of the sorbet to the French, who were soon to make a great improvement on it.

As you will have noted, the above are frozen desserts, not ice cream. That invention awaited the development of the custard, then the discovery that freezing it would create a delectable dessert. This notable event occurred in 1775 in France, and was shortly followed by the invention of an ice cream machine, which did a much better job of creating light and fluffy frozen custard than beating by hand could do.

Thomas Jefferson, who imitated Nero in having a special cold room for storing snow, provides us with the first recipe for ice cream found in the United States. Not to be outdone, George Washington invested in one of the ice cream machines.
Until 1851, ice cream (or, more frequently, cream ice) was solely made at home. But an intrepid man from Baltimore, named Jacob Fussell changed all that by opening the first ice cream factory.

Near the turn of the century, the ice cream soda was created, although by who seems to be in question--either James W. Tuff or Robert Green. It does seem to have been done by accident, however--a scoop of ice cream falling in a glass of flavoured soda water. At any rate, the drink became a national craze, and many a girl and boy went courting over an ice cream soda. So many, in fact, that many municipalities pass laws forbidding the sale of soda water on Sunday. Quickly afterwards, the 'sundae' was invented--it contained the ice cream, syrup, and whipped cream of the soda, but without the evil influence of soda water. Numerous variations existed.

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The next ice cream craze was with the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis. Charles Menches was doing a lively business selling scoops of ice cream in dishes, all the way up to the point that he ran out of dishes. Frustrated, but determined to still find a way to make a profit, he lighted upon his friend Ernest Hamwi, who was selling a wafer-like cookie called Zalabia (a Syrian treat). The combination proved irresistible.

That is all I could share with all of you. And thanks to the people mentioned above, we now could simply enjoy Ben & Jerry’s and Gelare Waffles with Ice-Cream.

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Yanti

Activities

Singapore Junior Chefs Club

Singapore Junior Chefs Take 2nd place at the First Asian Junior Chef Challenge

Singapore Junior Chefs Take 2nd place at the

First Asian Junior Chef Challenge

At the recently concluded inaugural Junior Chefs Challenge which is part of the Indonesian Salon Culinaire held in Jakarta, a young junior team of aspiring chefs from Singapore emerge as first runners up, losing out only to the Malaysian team who took first place. Our boys, Elvin Chew, Xu Tian Mu and Terrence Chuah had been training under the watchful eyes of coach mentor Chef Tong Khoo, whom by himself is also an accolade laden competition veteran.

The team has been rehearsing for the last 3 months and being young means requiring a lot of energy on learning to be able to put everything together like a seasoned pro in order to be able to stand out as a top contender. The team was expected to crack a 3 course menu from a mystery box of ingredients within 2 hours. The suspense and time restrictions add on to the challenge of the event and it takes all the past rehearsals prior to the actual competition to see the boys through. While they have given their best shot during the competition, Chef Tony feels the team can still go much further with better team work and going through a few round more of such intense competitions to make them battle hardened to take on the pros in a few years time from now.

All over the experience gained for the juniors during this formative time of their career is invaluable and it helps them to prepare for the future challenges ahead. The team would like to express their appreciation to the organizing committee of the Salaon Culinaire Indonesia, the Association of Culinary Professionals for logistic assistance and hosting establishments for their hospitality.

Appetiser

Main Course

Dessert

Eric Low

Mushroom Farm

MyCo Farm Visit

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Shitake! Enoki! Shimeji! Oyster!

Much more mushrooms are appearing in the market these days. Are mushrooms here imported or grown locally? If they are grown here, how many farms does Singapore have and where are they located?

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Recently, the Singapore Junior Chefs Club had the privilege to visit MyCo Farm, a mushroom farm which houses more than 10 varieties of mushrooms.

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17 members from SJCC were excited to have a tour at the mushroom farm near Jalan kayu. "When I first saw the farm, I thought to myself it doesn't look huge, but when we went inside I saw around 12 wooden houses for individual mushroom species and each wooden house could be used for a bedroom plus a living room enough to put up a television and sofa!", commented a member.

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We were briefed that mushrooms require a certain temperature in order to grow well, mostly 18 degrees celsius and below.

The mushrooms there are well taken care of and professionally groomed. Never in my life have I ate mushrooms raw but I did it. Fresh mushrooms have health benefits and they have an even better quality than imported mushrooms.

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Towards the end of the tour, we were given a mushroom cooking demo by the friendly staff there. The taste is just so pure when it is only sauteed with olive oil, garlic and seasoned with pinch of salt. Simply delicious! MyCo Farm also produces their own brand of frozen mushroom soup, a variety of mushroom products (eg. cookbooks and mushroom guidebooks) and fresh mushrooms for sale. The trip gave me a clearer understanding on how mushrooms are grown.

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With Culinary Spirits

Athejo Chia

Memberships

SJCC Committee

WA OceanaFest Experience

WA OceanaFest Experience

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Hi, all Culinarians

I’m Tianmu. Previously a Shatec student, now I’m part of the SJCC committee under Memberships.

About a month ago, Elvin Chew and I managed to win the Nestle Professional Junior Chef of the Year Competition 2009. For the winners, we were given the opportunity to assist the National Team for their WA Oceanfest culinary competition in Perth.

For this trip, it was a very good learning experience. The National Team consists of Captain Douglas Tay (Sous Chef, Equinox Complex, Fairmont Hotel Singapore), and members Jeffery Siew (Executive Sous Chef, Marina Mandarin Singapore), Kong Kok Kiang (Senior Sous Chef, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel), Nicole Wong (Pastry Chef, Swissotel The Stamford, Fairmont Hotel Singapore) and Yew Eng Tong (Sous Chef, The Cannery).

During the preparation, I was allocated to assist Chef Nicole with the Desserts. Working with her, I came to understand how tough it is to prepare dessert for competition. Her chocolate is really fine and unique.

For the results, Singapore was awarded Gold. The Overall Champion went to Hong Kong.

Elvin and I would like to thank the sponsor: Nestle Professional for creating this opportunity for us learn from the National Team

Best Culinary Spirits

Xu Tianmu

Chairman's Message

Chairman’s Message

Welcome to the Singapore Junior Chefs’ Club website! To those who are visiting this site for the first time, a very warm welcome to our family of fine young chefs.

Another year has passed and a new one has already begun. Let us all work together to make this year of the Ox even better!

The Club is celebrating its 5th Anniversary and the committee has planned out many interesting events for its members this year. Spearheading the year would be the Nestle Challenge which was a success in February. There’ll be edu-trips, culinary workshops and forums just to name a few.

Yes, the year of the Ox is destined to be a tough and challenging year for us all. Worry will not get us anywhere nor solve any problems. We must provide the solutions ourselves.

I am proud to be born in the year of the Ox. . The Oxen has a gentle yet steadfast character. Like the ox, we must emulate its steadfast and gentle personality: We must be steadfast in our goals, take on any challenges set before us head-on, and yet be gentle to the people and environment around us.

In this volatile economy, nothing is certain, except for one thing: Life must go on.
It’s not going to be easy, we’re all in for a rough ride. Hang on. Mooooooo! (Cheers!)

Your fellow culinary conductor in the kitchen

CHEF IGNATIUS LEONG
Chairman 2009
Singapore Junior Chefs Club

SCA -Nestle Professional Junior Chef of the Year Competition 2009

SCA -Nestle Professional Junior Chef of the Year Competition 2009

The first SCA-Nestle Professional Junior Chefs of the Year Competition, jointly organised by Singapore Chefs Association and Singapore Junior Chefs Club was held on 18th February 2009 at the Temasek Culinary Academy. The event that was proudly sponsored by Nestle Professional brought many young budding chefs, aged 25 and below, from various culinary institutes and even from the industry together.

The sole purpose of the competition is to develop a creative menu using the newly launched concentrated seasonings from Nestle, which are the Chef’s Secret and MAGGI Mild Salsa Sauce. Chef’s Secret is created with the passion from some of the world’s best chefs along with the latest development in sensorial technology. The result— an all-purpose seasoning powder that is balanced, versatile and concentrated. Versatile and convenient to use, Chef’s Secret can be applied to most cooking methods including frying, steaming, boiling, stewing and marinating. It can also be applied to vegetarian dishes. What was most challenging, yet exciting for the competitors is that seasonings with sodium content such as salt and soy sauce are strictly not allowed to be used for the competition.

The competition that lasted for hours, with each team given 2 hours to prepare their dishes, was filled with so much passion and adrenaline rush. Each team had portrayed their own unique cooking technique and style for their own creations. Even though the chefs were busy at work, the whole kitchen was relatively clean as almost all the teams were vying to get the Best Hygiene Award.

Finally, the prize presentation ceremony came. Best Hygiene Award was awarded to Team Tulashi from At-Sunrice Global Chef Academy. The 2nd Runner Up Award was awarded to Simply B.ales from Temasek Polytechnic and the 1st Runner Up Award was awarded to SATS Junior Team. Lastly, came the presentation of the Award for the Champion of SCA-Nestle Professional Junior Chefs of the Year Competition and the award went to Team SJCC. Team SJCC was awarded the Champion trophy, together with paid air ticket and 5 nights free accommodation for 2, to participate in the Oceanafest Salon Olympia Culinaire 2009, Perth with the Singapore Culinary National Team.
SCA-Nestle Professional Junior Chefs of the Year Competition 2009 was a great success! Congratulations to all and Good Job!

Winning team Team SJCC together with WA Oceanafest National Culinary Team

The Origins of Yu Sheng

The Origins of Yu Sheng

Yu Sheng is the first thing that comes to mind for many Singaporeans & it is a must have for every Chinese New Year. Traditionally, raw mackerel was used in Yu Sheng, but as salmon became popular, salmon was used as a replacement. Customarily, Yu Sheng is consumed on the 7th day of the Lunar New Year, however nowadays; many people eat it during any of the days during the festival.

It was created in 1964 by by master chef Than Mui Kai, who was named along with Lau Yoke Pui, Hooi Kok Wai and Sin Leong as one of the Four Heavenly Culinary Kings of Singapore. Yu Sheng we know today originated from a raw fish dish served with porridge in China, but Chef Than Mui Kai made it a dish that has spread throughout Asia and is now a tradition practiced by many in Singapore and Malaysia. Yu Sheng’s unique taste comes from a mix that uses plum sauce, rice vinegar, kumquat paste and sesame oil, which is then drizzled on raw fish, shredded carrots, chilli, turnips, limes, jellyfish, red pickled ginger, sun-dried oranges, crackers and other ingredients, which may reach an outstanding total of 27 ingredients. While adding the ingredients, one is to say positive statements, which match the flavour of the ingredient used.

In Mandarin, Yu Sheng directly translates to"raw fish" but since "fish (鱼)" has the same tone as “abundance (余)”, Yúshēng (鱼生) is interpreted as (余升) meaning to increase in abundance. Hence, it is a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigour.

The act of tossing the Yu Sheng salad is called Lo Hei, meaning to toss in Cantonese. While tossing the salad, one is to say auspicious sentences or their wishes for the New Year. It is believed the higher the toss, the more luck one will obtain.

With Culinary Spirits,
Sam Yilin

SCA - Nestle Professional Junior Chefs of the Year Competition

SCA - Nestle Professional Junior Chefs of the Year Competition

Please note that the date has been changed to 18 Feb 2009, Wednesday and will be held at Temasek Culinary Academy.

Deadline for applications remains on 1 Feb 2009

SCA Lo-Hei 2009

Invitation to Annual AGM cum "Lo Hei" Dinner

Dear Member,

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It is with great pleasure and anticipation that the Singapore Chefs Association extends its Invitation to you, for our Annual AGM cum Lo Hei Dinner!

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$10.00 registration fee for the dinner will be waived to the first 160 members that attend the annual general meeting and on top of it all, each attendee will also receive a customize unique personal pair of chopstick to ensure a year of abundance ahead! Refreshments will be served at the same time.

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For members who attend the dinner only, are required to pay a registration fee of $10.

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Venue: Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

Date: Sunday 1 February 2009

Time: 4pm AGM thereafter followed by Dinner (Galleria Ballroom)

Attire: Traditional Auspicious Colour

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RSVP* with your respective Institution's L.O. now
Temaksek Culinary Academy - Chef Eileen Phua

SHATEC Institutes - Chef Matthew Yim

ITE - Chef Edwin Phua

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Members from At-Sunrice Globalchefs Academy or who are currently not in their Institutions may email their Name and Membership No. to sjcc_ngbelinda@yahoo.com to RSVP*

Closing date of registration is 28 January 2009

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We regret to inform that members who fail to RSVP will be turned away

Nestle Challenge Folder

Nestle Professional Challenge 2009

You can now download the Nestle Professional Challenge 2009 Folder at the following link:
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/12/1/2208157/Nestle%20Professional%20Challenge.zip

The following files can be found within the folder:
1. Nestle Professional Challenge 2009 Rulebook
2. Nestle Professional Challenge 2009 Application and Indemnity Form
3. Nestle Professional Challenge 2009 Official Recipe Sheets
4. List of equipments supplied by ITE College West (Clementi) Training Kitchen
5. Photos of equipment supplied

Application Requirements:
> Application & Indemnity Form must be submitted together with Official Recipe Sheets.
> Please include SJCC membership number beside your names in Application & Indemnity Form
> Recipes are ONLY to be submitted on Official Recipes Sheets
> “Name of Team” must be filled with team name in the Header section of Official Recipe Sheets

Please check if you have fulfilled the above Application Requirements before submitting. Applications that are incomplete may not be considered.

Applications can be submitted to the following Liaison Officers:
ITE - Chef Edwin Phua
Temasek Culinary Academy- Chef Eileen Phua
SHATEC Institutes - Chef Ong Peh Ti

Members from At-Sunrice Global Chefs Academy or who are currently not in their Institutions may email their application submissions to Chef Edwin Phua at Edwin_Phua@ite.edu.sg

Deadline for submission is 1 February 2009