Striving to provide local culinary students with opportunities to widen their exposure, homegrown Les Amis Group joined hands with Singapore Tourism Board, Workforce Development Agency and Singapore Chef’s Association, to launch the annual LAwards - Culinary Challenge that first began in 2014 through the group’s career-grooming initiative, LEAPFROG. On top of that, the group does not strictly foll
ow conventional culinary competition guidelines. The environment in the competition arena is modelled after how chefs prepare their food in a restaurant. Winners of the annual Culinary Challenge will each be entitled to $3000 cash and an all-expenses paid ‘10 Michelin Stars’ trip to Europe to wine and dine in the most sought-after restaurants – not forgetting the chance to take selfies with famous chef-owners behind these revered kitchens. The Culinary Challenge will be an invaluable avenue for local students to network with key industry leaders and learn more about the food culture beyond our borders. WINNER OF 2014: Raphael Sim, CIA
WINNER OF 2015: Poh Zhe Kai, TP
List of judges for the Culinary Challenge 2015:
Qualifying Round
• Chef Sebastien Lepinoy (Les Amis Restaurant)
• Chef Julien Royer (Odette Restaurant)
• Chef Eric Teo (Singapore Chefs Association& ET Culinary Arts)
• Chef Lorenz Hoja (L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Singapour)
• Chef Nam Quoc Nguyen (Annam Pte Ltd)
Final Round
• Mr. Desmond Lim (Les Amis Group)
• Dr. Gog Soon Joo (WDA Singapore)
• Ms. Ranita Sundramoorthy (Singapore Tourism Board)
• Chef Rick Stephen (Singapore Chefs Association & SATS)
• Chef Andre Chiang (Restaurant ANDRE)
• Chef Joshua Brown (CUT by Wolfgang Puck)
• Chef Willin Low (Wild Rocket)
