CHEFS in restaurant kitchens of the future will not have to do mechanical work like cut vegetables or chop meat - instead, they will focus on preparing specialty dishes.

In a bid to raise productivity in the food and beverage sector, food outlets here are being encouraged to outsource the preparation and production of certain food items to food manufacturers.

The "call for collaboration" in the food services sector was announced by Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang at the annual Local Enterprise and Association Development (Lead) Forum, held on Wednesday at Raffles Town Club.

The effort will be led by three trade associations - the Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS), Singapore Food Manufacturers' Association (SFMA), and Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF).

The project is among the first to be launched under the Collaborative Industry Projects (CIP) scheme, unveiled during the Budget debate in February.

The scheme funds groups of companies or trade associations getting together to solve productivity problems.