'One day we will all have to retire, so it's important to pass on skills unselfishly to nurture the next generation and bring up the industry standards,' said Chef Yong Bing Ngen (left). -- ST PHOTO: TERENCE TAN
CHEF Yong Bing Ngen was one busy man on Saturday.
No, he was not cooking but was called - three times - to come up on stage at the World Gourmet Summit Awards.
The owner-chef of Majestic Restaurant, Majestic Bar and Jing Restaurant bagged three prizes - Chef of the Year, Citibank Asian Chef of the Year and the Workforce Development Agency's WSQ Most Supportive Mentor Culinary Chef Award.
The Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) award is one of four awards introduced by the WDA this year.
They recognise chefs committed to grooming the next generation and apprentices who show passion and potential in acquiring skills.
The Most Supportive Mentor Pastry Chef award went to Ms Jane Chan of Win Sin Pte Ltd while the Outstanding Pastry Apprentice and Outstanding Culinary Apprentice prizes went to Ms Lin Mei Yu of Blue Magnolia and Ms Toh Li Si of Select Catering respectively.
Said Ms Chan: 'Today's apprentices are so different from the days when I was one myself. Now, they want to have more say in their learning process, and as a result I have to keep improving myself and get to learn from them too.'
Added Mr Yong: 'One day we will all have to retire, so it's important to pass on skills unselfishly to nurture the next generation and bring up the industry standards.'
A Lifetime Achievement Award - the first of its kind - was also handed out to Christophe Megel, 39, chief executive of At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy.
'At his young age, Christophe has accomplished so much. He lives life to the fullest and he has done truly amazing work for this industry. By starting this award, we hope that more people will be inspired by and learn from him,' said summit organiser Peter Knipp.
