Earlier this year, a young Singaporean chef who's cut his teeth leading the kitchen at Le Bistrot du Sommelier won big at the SIRHA-Eurexpo biennial International Catering Cup. Chef Brandon Foo, along with his teammate chef Patrick Heuberger represented team Singapore to place third at this highly prestigious competition.
The duo spent a year training for the two-day affair held in Lyon, France. With a predetermined amount of ingredients, they had to prepare a four-course catering menu using produce like foie gras, trout and pork. The result? A stunning foie gras royale served with duck sausage and rillette, a beautifully layered trout and cod encased puff pastry, and pork served three ways.
For dessert, the chefs were tasked to use apple, pear and chocolate and they came up with two desserts – a pear tart and a chocolate mousse cake with an apple and pear centre. It was the latter that was the make or break dish of the competition. Having dropped the cake after taking it out of the freezer, Foo thought that both the cake and his team's chances of winning had slipped through his fingers. But instead of panicking, he started on the cake once more, impressing the judges with his determination and passion for cooking in the face of tremendous stress, ultimately bringing home the win for Singapore.