In this week’s round-up of essential dining news: Extended leases for Singapore farmers, a new Asian culinary institute turns the spotlight on Asian cuisine, and tour-led shortcuts to the world's most exclusive restaurants
Singapore farm leases extended
Local farmers can now breathe easier, thanks to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA)’s announcement last week that it will be releasing for tender new agriculture plots with 20-year leases - double that of the current available leases. In addition, 62 farms in Lim Chu Kang that have tenures expiring in 2017 will also have them extended till the end of 2019.
The longer leases take into account the higher costs of productive technology that farms have to invest in - and the consequently longer payback periods these require - and to allow for sufficient transition time for the farmers, said the AVA in its release. It added that the AVA is committed to raise local food production to achieve the vision of a high-tech, innovative and sustainable agriculture sector that makes efficient use of limited farmland and labour resources.
Brand new Asian Culinary Institute to fete Asian cuisine
Gone are the days, perhaps, when young Singaporean chefs would flock in droves to Europe or the US to master the roots of French and Italian cooking.
To feed a growing interest among young culinary students in mastering flavours closer to home, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) have joined hands to launch the Asian Culinary Institute (ACI), a project aimed at preserving the traditions of Asian culinary culture, while nurturing and training employees within the food services industry.
Collaborating with hospitality and food services organizations such as Pan Pacific Hotel, Neo Group, the Restaurant Association of Singapore and the Indian Restaurant Association of Singapore, the ACI offers a variety of courses, include qualification courses and diplomas for aspiring chefs, and short courses on food safety and hygiene as well as masterclasses for existing industry professionals.
Shortcut to the world's best restaurants
Don’t have the time or energy to nudge your name onto month-long waitlists for the world’s most coveted restaurants? Here’s a shortcut to consider: book a tour to take you through them.
Several luxury tour companies such as Backroads, Zicasso and Cellar Tours, have rolled out food-focussed tours for the die-hard foodie, including hard-to-snag tables at three-Michelin-starred likes of Alinea in Chicago and Auberge de L'ill in the Alsace, among other high-end perks such as private castle visits and exclusive wine tastings.
One such tour operator, Backroads, started offering Michelin-related trips in 1988 and its vacations now take participants to a total of 27 Michelin restaurants globally. Over 20 of their itineraries in Europe and the United States that include at least one Michelin-starred restaurant as the focal point of the trip.
If that doesn’t quite satiate your appetite, you can also do a bucket list tour of all the three-Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, thanks to British luxury retail site VeryFirstTo. They’ve recently partnered with travel site HolidaysPlease to offer a six-month trip to every three-Michelin-starred restaurant around the world, along with 5-starred hotel stays along the way and a £1,500 (S$3,000) donation to The Prince's Trust charity. That's a total of 109 Michelin restaurants in 15 countries from The Fat Duck in England to Lung King Heen in Hong Kong and Per Se in the US.
The cost for these bragging rights? Oh, just a casual US$265,000 per person.
