Kitchen Talks: Chef William Ang | OpenRice Singapore

Chef William Ang of Re!Fill Restaurant is one busy man. Aside from manning the restaurant's busy kitchen, he also takes care of the hotel's food-related events. However, he still takes the time off from his schedule to give us a preview of what made him the chef he is today.

How long have you been a chef? I’ve been in this industry for more than 35 years. The first hotel I worked for was in 1976 and it was Hotel Malaysia. After my stint there, I joined Goodwood Park Hotel and Boulevard Hotel. By the time I was 26, I was already the Executive Chef for the hotel. I also became part of Furama Hotel, which you now know as Furama City before moved to the Singapore Turf Club at Kranji. I stayed there for 5 years before I settled here. When you were a kid, how did you know that this is what you want to do? Ever since I can remember, this is what I’ve always wanted to do. And so, at the age of 18, I joined SHATEC to learn how to cook professionally. My mentor was Chef Flugger, he taught me the ropes in the kitchen. My first dish was the Braised Oxtail in Red Wine Sauce. We also cooked this Chicken Meringue and the Fish and Chips. Even though this was so many years ago, they’re still popular until now. At home, who was your inspiration? My mum was the one who cooked for us, and that was what made me curious about the whole cooking thing. With home cooking, it’s more of local Singaporean cuisine. When it comes to this industry, you have to learn a lot of cuisines like Western, Malay, international, etc. That’s what I learned at SHATEC. What are the things you need to work in the kitchen? You must have the passion. You must also have the creativity to whip up new dishes for your guests. As such, you always have to know the latest trends in the market so you can always stay on top. So far, what has been the biggest challenge working in the kitchen? Nowadays, it can get quite hard to get staff, so my team and I usually work longer hours to finish the job. Everyday here at Hotel Re!, we have functions so we always need more staff. How do you get through it? My staff is briefed before hand on what they have to do for these kinds of functions. We prepare weeks in advance so we are ready for the event. I’ve been in this line of work for so many years already, so I’m used to it. I know how to balance my time and I know how to assign tasks to my kitchen staff. When you do have time, what do you do to relax? I go to restaurants and take a look at their menu, food presentation, etc. I still eat a lot. Haha! Do you still try out hawker food? Yes, I do frequent Chomp Chomp at Serangoon Garden or the one at Newton. When I’m there, I always order something soupy such as Yong Tau Foo or Fishball noodle What is your advise to people who want to be chefs? I advise them to work hard, learn more things, so they have a brighter future. Explore more fine dining options here Never miss another good deal with OpenSnap