e2i and SCA collaborate to grow and develop Singapore’s culinary talents

Our Singapore’s National Culinary Team was crowned the overall champion of the IKA Culinary Olympics 2016, one of the most prestigious in the world, for the first time after tough training for over a year. Besides the passion and the right attitude, other key ingredients the winning team had were skills and knowledge that brought success home. During the year-long training process, e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) supported our National culinary team through various training classes to strengthen their skills techniques.

With the aim to raise competencies and professionalism of more culinary talents, e2i signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Singapore Chef Association (SCA) today for a period of three years. The partnership signifies e2i and SCA’s commitment to

• Attract, retain, and develop the workforce for the Retail and Food and Beverages industry so as to build a sustainable pool of qualified and competent local trade professionals;
• Enhance, broaden and deepen skills for trade professionals to advance their careers and competencies;
• Equip young culinary talents to hone their skills and be future ready.

New initiatives under the MOU include collaborations to develop and roll out platforms and master classes such as “Competition Training Masterclass for Young Inspiring Chefs” where renowned chef experts will share their knowledge of what to look out for at culinary competitions and how to prepare for it.
Mr Gilbert Tan, Chief Executive Officer of e2i said, “We need to instill the importance of continuous skills upgrading and hone our young pool of culinary talents on the art and science of cooking. There is a difference between good cooking and learning culinary skills that makes food great. It is imperative for a chef to continuously sharpen his skills to be a master of his profession. I welcome and value this partnership with SCA because we believe in nurturing and developing our local Singaporean core to be future-ready. Through our engagements, we hope more young culinary chefs will benefit from e2i’s extensive industry networks to gain more industry insights and build up their competencies.”
Chef Edmund Toh, President of SCA said, “In order to stay competitive amid a globalised marketplace, it is crucial to develop a job-ready workforce by providing our culinary talents with the right tools and opportunities to acquire foundational employment and employability knowledge. Developing our young chefs with the culinary skills goes beyond the classroom and the MOU will enhance, broaden and deepen skills for our trade professionals to advance their careers and competencies. With better skills and competencies, it will also make our culinary talents more valuable to the industry and employers.”
The Cold Display Mater Class cum MOU signing event was held at Sapling. It began with a Cold Display Master class conducted by Chef Anderson Ho and a live Cold Display Cooking Demo by Chef Teo Yeow Siang and Chef Alan Wong, IKA Culinary Olympic Core Team Member. This class was attended by 80 young aspiring Junior Chefs Club members, the strategic sub alliances under SCA, as well as students from Shatec and At-Sunrice. The event was graced by Ms. Low Yen Ling, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Trade and Industry.