Two notable names in the food and beverage scene have received the special personality awards that are part of the inaugural The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao Best Asian Restaurants Awards.
The Chef of the Year accolade goes to executive head chef Martin Foo, 50, of modern Chinese restaurant VLV at Clarke Quay, while Imperial Treasure Restaurant Group's founder, Mr Alfred Leung, 63, wins the Lifetime Achievement award.
Mr Leung's empire of restaurants in Singapore includes Super Peking Duck at Paragon, and Fine Chinese Cuisine at Marina Bay Sands, and there are also restaurants in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. His Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine at Ion Orchard is also one of the 30 bronze winners in the Best Asian Restaurants list. which celebrates the best in Asian dining in Singapore.
The bronze recipients were announced last week in both daily newspapers, in the lead up to the gala reception at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore on March 29. Winners in the silver and gold categories will be revealed at the event.
The awards, part of the year-long Asian Masters gourmet extravaganza, will be given out annually.
The judges for the awards are Straits Times Life editor Tan Hsueh Yun, Life deputy editor Wong Ah Yoke, Lianhe Zaobao food correspondent Marcus Yeo, and Ms Ng Yimin, a correspondent at the Chinese paper.
Asian Masters, which is in its fifth edition, features events such as whisky- and champagne-pairing dinners throughout this month. It continues with monthly dining promotions until February next year.
The event is organised by Sphere Exhibits, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings, and food and beverage consultancy Poulose Associates.
On the win, Mr Foo, a veteran chef with almost 30 years of culinary experience from Lei Garden and the TungLok Group, says in Mandarin: "After so many years, I'm very honoured to get this recognition. Cooking has always been my passion, if not I wouldn't stay in the industry for so long."
For more stories on Asian Masters, go to http://str.sg/4n39
