Chef Tokuoka has opened kunio tokuoka in May 2010 in Resorts World Sentosa’s all-suite Hotel, Crockfords Tower.
Indisputably a leading culinary maestro in Japan, four-Michelin-starred Chef-Owner Kunio Tokuoka is passionate about showcasing the traditional haute Kaiseki cuisine to the world. Chef Tokuoka started his apprenticeship at Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama at age 15 and trained at Kitcho Osaka and Kitcho Tokyo before rising to the title of executive chef of the former in 1995. Since inheriting the family business (his grandfather Teiichi Yuki started the restaurant in 1930), Chef Tokuoka has captured the essence of centuries-old Japanese haute cuisine and blended it with innovative modern nuances to showcase the innate flavours of the freshest Japanese produce.
In 2008, he was the first Japanese chef, handpicked to showcase his culinary prowess at the Masterpiece Dining series, an event organised by the James Beard Foundation in New York and in the same year, he catered for the main dining of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit in Japan; while professionally, he was honoured to be on the panel of Japanese masterchefs invited to The World Summit of Gastronomy in Tokyo in 2009 and being the first representative of Japanese cuisine to be invited to the 2005 International Summit of Gastronomy in Madrid. Also highly lauded at the Salone del Gusto food and wine fair in Turin, Italy in 2004 and 2006, Chef Tokuoka is truly making waves on a global scale. He authored his first book entitled, 四季の食卓 in 2007 which features seasonal ingredients, and his second book which is about Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama and his cooking philosophy is due for release out of Japan in autumn 2010.
Joël Robuchon
Legendary Chef/Owner of 20 Joël Robuchon dining establishments worldwide Paris, France
Joël Robuchon will be opening three outlets, La Table de Joël Robuchon, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and The Pastry Shop & Lounge in the second half of 2010 at Resorts World Sentosa.
The first and only chef to be titled ‘Chef of the Century’ by the Gault Millau guide in 1990, Joël Robuchon is legendary in the culinary world. He currently lays claim to 20 dining establishments in Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Macao, Monaco, New York, Paris and Tokyo, garnering 26 Michelin-stars between them. In a time when nouvelle cuisine took centrestage in the 1980s, Chef Robuchon revolutionised the global culinary scene with his almost bourgeois French haute cuisine where he pursued absolute perfection and focused on using only the best cooking equipment to flesh out the original flavours of the freshest, highest quality produce.
Chef Robuchon was first recognised for his culinary brilliance at age 28 when he received the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Outstanding French Craftsman) award (he was bestowed the same award three years later) and like they say, the rest is history. He was inundated with international tributes ever since, including being the youngest chef ever to own a three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Jamin, in 1984; Bon Appetit magazine naming him ‘Chef of the Year’ (2006); permanently sitting on the panel of Académie Culinaire de France; receiving The Laurent Perrier 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award at The S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants; chairing the committee of the current edition of Le Grand Larousse Gastronomique (the French authoritative encyclopedia of gastronomy) and the list runs on. He started his own cooking show, called Bon Appétit, Bien Sûr (2000-2009) and the first ever cooking cable channel called Gourmet TV with producer Guy Job in 1996.
Susur Lee
Chef/Owner of Zentan, Washington, USA; Madeline’s, Toronto, Canada; Lee, Toronto, Canada; and Shang, New York, USA Toronto, Canada
Susur Lee has teamed up with the Tung Lok Group to open Chinois by Susur Lee in Resorts World’s Hotel Michael in January 2010.
Heralded as one of the ‘Ten Chefs of the Millennium’ by Food & Wine magazine in 1999, Susur Lee is regarded by food critics and gourmands around the world as ‘a culinary genius’, quoting the famous Zagat guide. Rising to fame with his bold interpretation of juxtaposing classical Chinese cooking with the classic techniques of French cuisine which is dubbed nouvelle chinoise, Chef Lee owns and manages Lee (opened in 2004); Madeline’s (opened in 2008) also in Toronto, Canada; Shang (opened in 2008) in New York; and Zentan (opened in 2009) in Washington, USA. He made waves as the Executive Culinary Consultant for the Tung Lok group in Singapore during the late nineties and in particular, expanded the culinary repertoire of Club Chinois to one of world-class standards.
Other than being feted by the Gault Millau guide, Art Culinare, Gourmet, and the list runs on, Chef Lee’s widely acclaimed Madeline’s (previously known as Susur) was named one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants by Restaurant magazine in 1998. In addition, Chef Lee was also awarded a host of accolades, including the ‘At-Sunrice GlobalChef© Award 2006’; ‘American Academy of Hospitality Services, Five-Star Diamond Award’ in 1998 where he was selected as one of the World’s Best Chefs; the ‘James Beard Foundation Award’ in 1997; and the ‘CAA Diamond Awards/Four Diamond Award’ for seven consecutive years from 2002 to 2008.
Scott Webster
Chef/Co-Owner of Carrington Place New South Wales, Australia
Scott Webster has opened the re-birth of his famous London restaurant OSIA in March 2010 at Resorts World Sentosa’s FestiveWalk.
Epitomising the face of eclectic Australian cuisine is celebrity chef and successful entrepreneur, Scott Webster. He is the main powerhouse behind Australian Culinary Consultants (ACC), which has planned and developed dining concepts for some of the world’s major hospitality projects including Hyde Park Corner in London for the InterContinental group and the Westin Hotel in Sydney on the former GPO site. Through hotel and airline food promotions, assisted menu planning, trade exhibitions, seminars and lectures abroad as well as through educational tours throughout Australia for executive chefs and importers, ACC has assisted in placing Australia at the forefront of many a chef’s preferred supplier list.
Chef Webster’s latest accomplishment was opening the highly-anticipated Carrington Place in New South Wales, Australia, in April 2009 with his wife, Jennifer. A beautifully restored and modern guesthouse, the dining room serves contemporary cuisine using superb primary products with indigenous flavours from Australia and wines from the renowned Hunter Valley region. As a chef, he had the privilege of working at the legendary Savoy Hotel in London, UK, and in Leysin, Switzerland at the Grand Hotel on top of his impressive career track throughout Europe, the USA, Canada and Asia. In 1998, he was the coordinating chef for the athletes’ village at the Winter Olympic Games in Alberta, Canada. Together with Jennifer, the couple launched ‘The Young Outback Chef Scholarship’ in 2006, creating career opportunities for promising young chefs from around regional Australia bi-annually. Also known as the founder behind ‘The Masters of Australian Food and Wine’, a leading bi-annual gastronomic event held at Crown Casino Melbourne, Chef Webster is continually changing the landscape of the Australian culinary scene.
