NEWS RELEASE

SINGAPORE CUISINE ENJOYS GROWING POPULARITY AROUND THE WORLD

 Growing exports of Singapore food; United States is Singapore’s fastest-growing market for food exports.  Singapore participates in world-famous culinary show, Worlds of Flavor 2009

MR No.: 067/09 Singapore, Wednesday, 11 November 2009

1. Consumers around the world, from Germany to Japan, and Middle East to New York, are increasingly drawn to Singapore cuisine, as evidenced by the growing food exports from Singapore, as well as the growing presence of Singapore food players in overseas markets.

2. Singapore’s domestic exports of food grew 24% from 2007, to reach S$3.8 billion in 2008. In particular, Singapore’s domestic food exports to the United States jumped over 90% from S$176 million in 2007, to S$338 million in 2008, making United States the fastest growing market for Singapore food exports. From January to September 2009, Singapore’s domestic food exports totaled S$2.6 billion. While Singapore food companies’ key markets remain in Asia, there is increasing interest in, and demand for Singapore food products from the United States, Europe and the Middle East.

3. Consumers are also able to satiate their cravings for in restaurants across the world, from Seafood Republic in Japan, BreadTalk and Crystal Jade in China, Yakun in Japan and Korea, as well as Singaporean celebrity chef Mohan Ismail’s RockSugar Pan Asian Restaurant in the United States.

4. The growing popularity of Singapore cuisine is in no small part due to International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) promotional efforts for Singapore food and F&B players. IE Singapore and STB are collaborating once again to showcase Singapore cuisine at the internationally-renowned Worlds of Flavor

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(WOF) International Conference and Festival in Napa Valley, California, from 12 – 14 November 2009.

Evolution of Singapore Hawker Food: From Street to Restaurant

5. With the slump in the global economy, the global F&B scene is under tight budgets and margins as customers rein in their spending on food. However, interests in global exotic cuisines remain high. Against this backdrop, the 12th WOF, titled ‘Frontiers of Flavor: World Street Food, World Comfort Food’, will showcase the best of street foods as well as foods which people consume for comfort, from all corners of the world.

6. Singapore, with its unique hawker dining culture, will present a diverse range of mouth- watering dishes such as Black Pepper Crab, and Yu Sheng in its third participation in WOF. The event will also be an excellent avenue to profile Singapore’s food manufacturing companies’ products, as top chefs demonstrate the ease of preparing Singapore’s iconic dishes with convenient, yet authentic tasting sauces and pre-mixes. The Singapore delegation will comprise food personalities and accomplished chefs such as K. F. Seetoh, Andi Ng from Straits Kitchen, as well as Mohan Ismail, executive chef of RockSugar Pan Asian Restaurant in Los Angeles.

7. Highlights from Singapore’s culinary team include:

i) General Session: Roti Prata Singapore food maestro K. F. Seetoh will present the history and evolution of roti prata, with Chef Mohan and Zulkifli bin Packeer Bawa from Tekka Market demonstrating prata flipping, with samplings of Singapore’s popular street dish with fish curry and kaya.

ii) Kitchen Workshop: Feasts of Singapore Chef Andi Ng from Grand Hyatt Singapore’s Straits Kitchen will conduct a hands-on preparation course of Singapore’s signature Black Pepper Crab, Mee Goreng and Claypot Braised Seafood, using sauces by Singapore manufacturing companies.

iii) Seminar Chef Mohan will be showcasing nyonya as served in RockSugar, as well as the traditional version from Katong. He will also share his experiences being in hawker kitchens in Singapore and his culinary career in the United States, which included cooking at New York’s famed Tabla and the Spice Market, before opening RockSugar with the owners of the restaurant chain Cheesecake Factory.

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8. Says Mr Tan Soon Kim, Deputy Director of Lifestyle and Business Services Divisions, IE Singapore, “As part of IE Singapore’s efforts to support the overseas growth of Singapore-based food manufacturers and F&B players, Worlds of Flavor has proven to be a strategic platform to generate greater global mindshare of Singapore cuisine under the Tasty Singapore brand. This event enables Singapore to showcase our authentic Singapore offerings to top-tier decision-makers from the American F&B scene as they network with Singapore chefs, and participate in cooking demonstrations using ingredients from Singapore food manufacturing companies. We note that the seminar sessions on Singapore food are completely sold out. We are confident that Singapore food will emerge as the flavor of choice at WOF, thereby raising our profile further amongst the trade professionals. We are hopeful that these would translate into business opportunities for our companies in future.

9. “Singaporeans are known to love their food with its multitude of smells and flavours reflecting Singapore’s rich cultural melting pot,” said Mr Andrew Phua, Director of Tourism Shopping and Dining at the Singapore Tourism Board. “Singapore’s local food is well-received and is increasingly being recognised worldwide. While leveraging international media opportunities to heighten interest, we have also taken the opportunity to showcase some local favourites at international events such as the Singapore Day event in Hampton Court Palace as well as the Singapore Tiger Beer Festival, both recently held in London. Upcoming showcases include the 2009 Singapore Food Roadshow at the bustling Raohe Night Market in Taiwan this November. Through our participation at the Worlds of Flavour 2009, we hope that diners will be introduced to dishes like Laksa, Black Pepper Crab and Mee Goreng and soon associate these rich and delectable flavours instantly with Singapore.”

Annex A: About Worlds of Flavor Conference Annex B: List of delegates for Worlds of Flavor Conference and biodata

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Note to Editor Please use ‘IE Singapore’ or ‘IE’ if an acronym for ‘International Enterprise Singapore’ is required. In addition, unless otherwise stated, the use of statistics cited in our media releases, website or Statlink, should be attributed to IE Singapore.

Ms Daphne LYE Assistant Manager, Corporate Communications Group International Enterprise Singapore DID : + 65 6433 4476 Mobile : + 65 9436 1227 Fax : + 65 6337 8136 Email : [email protected]

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Mr Jason Ho Manager, Destination Communications Singapore Tourism Board Tel: + 65 6831 3763 Fax: +65 6736 9423 Email: [email protected]

About International Enterprise Singapore

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry spearheading the development of Singapore’s external economic wing.

Our mission is to promote the overseas growth of Singapore-based enterprises and international trade. With a global network in over 30 locations and our “3C” framework of assistance – Connections, Competency, Capital, we offer services to help enterprises export, develop business capabilities, find overseas partners and enter new markets. At the same time, we work to position Singapore as a base for foreign businesses to expand into the region in partnership with Singapore-based companies.

About the Singapore Tourism Board The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is an economic development agency for one of Singapore’s key service sectors – tourism. The mission of the Board is to develop and champion tourism, so as to build the sector into a key driver of economic growth for Singapore. The STB aims to differentiate and market Singapore as a memorable destination through the proliferation of the destination brand Uniquely Singapore.

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Annex A

About Worlds of Flavor Conference

The Worlds of Flavors Conference is organised by the Culinary Institute of America, and the 12th edition themed “Frontiers of Flavor: World Street Food, World Comfort Food,” will gather top culinary talent from the Mediterranean, Asia, Latin America and the United States. Presenters include more than 60 street food vendors, hawker chefs, tapas and meze specialists, barbecue masters, fine dining chefs who have been inspired by world street foods and comfort foods, mothers of chefs, legends of live fire and claypot cooking, as well as cookbook authors, street food chroniclers, and more.

Highlighted regions and food cultures include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, India, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Persia, Mexico, the Caribbean, Peru, Brazil and culinary hotspots across the United States.

Conference Format

Following its regular format, the 12th Worlds of Flavor Conference will be divided into four key sections:

• General sessions (for all attendees, with a state-of-theart culinary stage);

• Seminars and kitchen workshops (held concurrently throughout the CIA’s Napa Valley campus);

• The World Marketplace (a dazzling walk-around event with both culinary and beverage tastings, demonstrations and cultural performances, and sponsor exhibits that occurs on Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday lunch); and

• The Friday outdoor tented lunch including tastes from the World Live Fire Kitchen.

Attendance & Registration

Total attendance for the Worlds of Flavor Conference is limited to 700 senior-level chefs, independent and chain restaurant operators, university and contract foodservice managers, hotel food & beverage directors, leading foodservice manufacturers and marketing experts, wine and other beverage producers and distributors, supermarket foodservice operators, educators, world cuisine experts, and other influential foodservice industry professionals from the United States and around the world.

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Annex A

List of delegates for Worlds of Flavor Conference and biodata

K.F. Seetoh, a former photojournalist, is the founder of Makansutra, a company dedicated to the celebration of Asian food, culture, and lifestyles. The company publishes its own Makansutra Asian food guides, operates and owns specialised Makansutra food courts in Asia, delivers mobile content, and consults on food business.

Seetoh’s works have been featured by numerous international media like CNN, BBC, CNBC, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. In 2008, he was awarded by the Singapore Tourism Board, through the country's President, a Special Recognition Award for his work in promoting Asian food and culture. The late Johnny Apple of The New York Times called him “the food maven,” and the Asian Wall Street Journal says, “the best way to eat in Singapore is to buy Makansutra.”

Mohan Ismail is the executive chef of RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen of Los Angeles, drawing influences from his youth in Singapore and his experience at some of the best Southeast Asian and acclaimed restaurants in New York.

The upscale-casual RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen reflects a unique partnership between Ismail and restaurateur David Overton spotlighting the cuisines of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and India. After having been “dragged around” outdoor multicultural markets in Singapore at a young age by his mother, Ismail moved to New York in the early 1990s and took classes at the French Culinary Institute.

In his first professional job he progressed quickly, from line cook to pastry chef to sous chef. Five years at Danny Meyer’s Tabla on Madison Avenue paved his way to join the original kitchen team at Spice Market. A six-month post at Dan Barber’s upscale American establishment Blue Hill in Westchester schooled Ismail on the “clean flavors” of sustainably farmed seasonal cooking. Kalustyan’s, the renowned spice store on Lexington Avenue, sought an “eager young chef,” to which Ismail brought his knowledge of spices and regional cooking. In early 2005 he took a sabbatical, visiting his family in Singapore and traveling around Asia before he began his journey at RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen.

Chef Andi Ng is a sous chef at the Grand Hyatt Singapore. Chef Ng began working at the Grand Hyatt in 1994. He has worked his way up from commis chef to sous chef by completing many training and certification courses, including courses in using fresh herbs and spices in Asian cuisine.

Zulkifli Bin Packeer Bawa is a Singapore food hawker specialising in roti prata. He comes from a family that has been running a food business since his late grandfather’s days. He has been in the roti prata business for 45 years and started his Singapore hawker career by cooking and roti prata at the age of 12. His late grandfather started a hawker food stall at the famous Rex Theatre in Singapore. His father, Packeer Bawa Bin Abu Bakar, took over the stall and moved to Tekka Market, a famous wet market in Singapore, which now specialises in roti prata and .

Mr. Zulkifli the Vice-Chairman of the Tekka Market Stallholder’s Association and he is also the Assistant Secretary of Malay Activities Executive Committee at Feng Shan Community Club at Bedok North, Singapore. His stall is called Prata Saga Sambal Berlada, Stall No. #01-258.

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