Singapore's Celebrity Chef – The Great Sam Leong

Admittedly, Singapore’s celebrity chef scene isn’t very developed. Very few are well known beyond our shores and even fewer have achieved an almost Hollywood-like status worldwide… that is, until Sam Leong exploded onto the scene. With more than 26 years of culinary experience under his belt, Chef Leong has come a long way since his father, a skilled chef himself, taught him the art of food. Chef Leong first entered the industry as executive chef of Jiang Nan Chun at Four Seasons Hotel as a 28-year-old. After that the talented chef went on to become the director of kitchens/corporate chef for the Tung Lok Group and when he left in 2010 he set his sights on becoming a culinary educator at his cooking school – Sam.Leong@Forest. As an icon and trendsetter in the world of modern Chinese cuisine, Singapore’s very own celebrity chef has represented Singapore at a number of prestigious culinary events and boasts an impressive list of accolades, including Chef of the Year at the Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards in 2006 and 2007, and being recognised as one of the finest chefs worldwide in the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences – just to name a few. Also, did you know that Chef Leong has served up some of his finest creations to public figures such as Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush, and even Queen Elizabeth II of England? If you’re not entirely familiar with Chef Leong but feel like you’ve seen him around before, your instincts are right. Chef Leong has made several appearances on local television, mostly as a chef-mentor for cooking competitions like Star Chefs 1 in 2006, Star Chefs 2 in 2007 and Good Food Fun Cook in 2008. To top all that off, Chef Leong has also published three cookbooks: A Wok Through Time, Sensations, and A Taste of Home. Chef Leong, now a father of two, currently runs Forest Restaurant in Resorts World Sentosa, which serves Chinese cuisine with a slight Western twist. Driven by his passion to teach (something he picked up from his wife, Forest), Chef Leong hopes to influence all novices and trained chefs in a good way by teaching them the importance of culinary creativity and promising top-notch food and hospitality to make it in the F&B industry. Wanna learn to cook with Chef Sam Leong? Don't miss the very first session of this celebrity chef's new Chinese-Thai cuisine demo series! Click here to sign up for this special cooking class at ToTT today! See Also: Use OpenSnap to find out the best places to dine nearby Never miss another good deal in Singapore