Art at Curate

Art at Curate Series 12:
An exclusive Four-Hands Dining Experience by
Chef Bee Santogun of
One-Michelin-Starred Paste in Bangkok
and Chef Benjamin Halat

2 - 8 November 2018

Thailand’s Chef Bee Satongun is a co-owner of Michelin-starred Paste Bangkok Thai Restaurant. Just one of her many accolades is the title of Best Female Chef, awarded by ‘Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018’.

The celebrated chef is known for her layering of flavours and textures, modern presentation, and deep grounding in heirloom Thai cuisine. She conducts constant research, scouring beautiful old cookbooks and journals to discover ingredients and techniques long forgotten.

Through her knowledge, old flavours are resurrected and refined to both bring back the past, and reinvent it.

Art at Curate Series 11:
An exclusive Four-Hands Dining Experience by
Chef Stephanie Le Quellec of One-Michelin-Starred La Scene, Paris
and Chef Benjamin Halat

3 - 9 August 2018

As one of the most promising talents in the French culinary world, Stéphanie Le Quellec grew up in the kitchen, making crêpes and biscuits with her grandmother after school. Her style of cooking was shaped during the early days of her career, when she worked alongside Paris’ Michelin-starred chefs, Philippe Legendre and Philippe Jourdin. Her training was in the purest French tradition and this has influenced her cooking, which is full of character and is fuelled by passion, hard work, discipline and generosity.

Her craftsmanship earned her the title of Executive Chef at a five-star hotel in Terre Blanche, Provence. She next became Executive Chef at the hotel Prince de Galles. Under her passionate supervision, the hotel’s restaurant, La Scène, earned the distinction of a Michelin star in 2014. La Scène continues to deliver a culinary experience that is focused on the quality of exceptional products and a seasonal menu with generous dishes.

Art at Curate Series 10
An exclusive Four-Hands Dining Experience by
Chef Tanja Grandits of
2-Michelin-Starred Stucki in Basel, Switzerland
and Chef Benjamin Halat

27 April – 3 May 2018

Chef Tanja Grandits almost become a chemist – she chose to study Chemistry after finishing school. Fortunately for gourmands the world over, she left her studies to embark on her journey to culinary greatness.

She started on an apprenticeship at Traube Tonbach, Baiersbronn and followed that up with stints at Claridge’s, London and Chateau de Montcaud, Bagnols-sur-Cèze. The experience refined her skills and shaped her eventual style – which focuses on delighting the sight with colours and flowers, and impressing the nose with a masterful command of aromas.

She would open her first restaurant in Switzerland – Thurtal in Eschikofen. In 2006, she took over Stucki in Basel with her husband. Her culinary excellence earned Stucki two Michelin stars. She has also been named Female Chef of the Year (2006) and Chef of the Year (2014) by the influential Gault Millau guide – which has awarded a stunning, near-perfect 18 out of 20 points to Stucki.

Without Wine Pairing
4-Course Lunch Menu at SGD88++
8-Course Dinner Menu at SGD155++

With Wine Pairing
4-Course Lunch Menu at SGD138++
8-Course Dinner Menu at SGD275++

RWS Invites Privilege:
Members enjoy 10% off lunch, plus 3% rebate

Art at Curate Series 9
An exclusive Four-Hands Dining Experience by
Chef Emma Bengtsson
2-Michelin-Starred Aquavit, New York City,
and Chef Benjamin Halat

12 – 18 January 2018

From a small Swedish town to one of the world’s greatest stages for culinary excellence – Emma Bengtsson’s gastronomic journey is as remarkable as her creations. She fell in love with cooking as a child thanks to her grandmother’s love for home cooking. Her talents grew with her and she enrolled in Stockholm’s Hotel and Restaurant School.

Following were stints in acclaimed restaurants - Edsbacka Krog, Restaurant Prinsen and Operakällaren. Her next move was to Aquavit, where she shone with her creative interpretations of classic Scandinavian desserts and helped the restaurant gain a Michelin Star. Chef Bengtsson eventually became Executive Chef and she led Aquavit to the rare distinction of a second star, making her the first-ever Swedish female chef to run a two-star kitchen.

Art at Curate Series 8
Chef Alexandre Dionisio
From Two-Michelin-Starred La Villa in the Sky, Brussels

5 - 12 October 2017

Alexandre Dionision started working at the age of 15, learning his basics from Rocky Renaud from 1997 to 2003, before becoming a commis de cuisine under Pierre Wynants at Comme chez Soi. In 2008, he was hired by Yves Matagne as a junior sous-chef at Sea Grill, and in 2010 he took part in the reality TV programme “Top Chef”, making it through to the semi-finals. That was also the year he established his own restaurant, for which he received his first Michelin star.

La Villa in the Sky is a collaboration with Serge Litvine of Villa Lorraine, which opened in 2014 to rave reviews.

Art at Curate Series 7
Kang Mingoo
From One-Michelin-Starred Mingles, Seoul

16 – 23 August 2017

After taking internships at Michelin-star restaurants in Spain from 2009 to 2010, the formally trained Kang Min Goo was hired to be Junior Sous Chef in Nobu Miami, moving on to head Nobu Atlantis in the Bahamas as the youngest Executive Chef de Cuisine in the highly-acclaimed Nobu chain in 2011.

In 2014, he opened Mingles, which has since won a host of awards, including the first prize in KOREAT, Korea’s most influential gourmet survey, for two consecutive years.

Art at Curate Series 6
Richard van Oostenbrugge
From Two-Michelin-Starred Bord’eau Restaurant Gastronomique, Amsterdam

5 – 13 May 2017

Born in Leiden, the Netherlands, Richard van Oostenbrugge started as a chef in Gstaad, Switzerland and over an illustrious 16-year career, has worked in kitchens across the United Kingdom and Spain, alongside the culinary elite, mastering the French technique while refining his unmistakable style and sensibility.

Today, Richard van Oostenbrugge is the Executive Chef at the five-star De L’Europe in Amsterdam, and counts himself as one of the few who managed the rare feat of earning two Michelin stars in two years.

Art at Curate Series 5
Masayasu Yonemura
From One-Michelin-Starred Restaurant Yonemura, Japan

4 – 11 February 2017

Born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, Masayasu Yonemura began working at French restaurant Seiyougosho Okumura in Kyoto, which inspired him to synthesize different culinary techniques into a style distinctively his own.

In 1993, he opened Restaurant Yonemura, and his flair for putting Japanese accents on French cuisine quickly put him in the spotlight of the gourmet world. The success of Restaurant Yonemura led to the opening of a second outlet in Tokyo, and both have been featured in the Michelin Guide Book for Japan since then, each earning a well-deserved one Michelin star.

Chef Masayasu Yonemura is also the author of an award-winning cookbook named after his restaurant.

Art at Curate Series 4
Ramón Freixa
From Two-Michelin-Starred Ramón Freixa Madrid, Spain

4 - 11 November 2016

Ramón Freixa is born in 1971 in a small village near Barcelona to a family in the restaurant business, and grew up surrounded by the sights, smells and sounds of the kitchen. After his studies, Ramón continued learning the trade in Belgium and France before returning to work in the family restaurant, taking over at the helm in 1998, which was also the year he published his first cookbook.

A second cookbook followed in 2004, along with his stint at Ávalon in Barcelona’s Grand Hotel Central. In 2009, he relocated to head the eponymous restaurant Ramón Freixa Madrid in Hotel Único, where he was given free rein, which paid off with two Michelin stars awarded in 2010, which he has maintained till today.

In 2016, Ramón made Spanish history as the first chef to be conferred the prestigious Prize of Culture from the Community of Madrid.

Art at Curate Series 3
Esben Holmboe Bang
From Three-Michelin-Starred Maaemo, Norway

16 - 25 September 2016

Esben Holmboe Bang is the head chef, co-owner and creative force behind Maaemo, the ground-breaking restaurant from Oslo, Norway, that was awarded three Michelin stars in 2016. He was born in Copenhagen but it was in Oslo that his culinary career took off for the stratosphere.

Growing up in a family where there was a great deal of emphasis on sustainability and agriculture, it is little wonder the chef’s inspiration comes from nature. His cuisine is rooted in the natural flavours and quality of the raw ingredients, stripping them back to their bare essentials before recomposing them into entirely new narratives, bringing the tastes of Norway to life on a plate.

Chef Ebsen’s bold style of cooking has won the him legions of fans from the cognoscenti, and a listing in Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential Chefs in the World”. He was also named by Elite Traveler Magazine as the “2016 Young Chef of the Year”.

Art at Curate Series 2
Guy Martin
From Two-Michelin-Starred Le Grand Véfour, France

8 – 15 July 2016

Born in 1957 in Bourg Saint Maurice, Guy Martin started working at a local pizzeria in 1976. He chanced upon the classic cookbook “Gastronomie Pratique” and went on to try out the 500 recipes on his own. The rest is culinary history.

In 1981, Chef Martin joined Relais & Châteaux, worked for three years as Chef de Cuisine at Château de Coudrée on Lake Geneva, then in Château de Divonne where he became Executive Chef at age 26. In 1985, he earned his first Michelin star. In 1989, his second. In 1991, he made his move to the historic Le Grand Véfour.

Chef Martin’s style is modern, sensuous and bold, with an emphasis on high-quality produce from the various regions of France. An art and music aficionado, he cites Jacques Offenbach, Mozart and Glenn Gould as the inspiration to explore culinary boundaries, conceiving new colours, flavours and presentations for his creations.

The acclaimed chef has authored more than 20 cookbooks throughout his career and also hosted a television programme. In 2012, he was decorated an “Officer” of the Ordre de La Légion d’Honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honour) by the French Government.

Art at Curate Series 1
Massimiliano Alajmo
From Three-Michelin-Starred La Calandre, Italy

29 Apr - 6 May 2016

Massimiliano Alajmo was just 28 when the Michelin Guide bestowed his family’s Italian restaurant La Calandre its three star status in 2002, making him one of the youngest executive chefs to earn that coveted distinction.

Today, the 42-year-old is an accomplished multi-hyphenate in and outside of the kitchen. Together with his brother Raffaele and sister Laura, he is a part of the fifth generation of the Alajmo family of chefs and restaurateurs, and oversees the kitchens of La Calandre and the family’s other two restaurants Ristorante Quadri and La Montecchi, with a total of five Michelin stars among them; as well as a network of bistros, Il Calandrino, abc Quadri, abc Montecchia, and Caffè Stern in Paris.

Besides sitting on the board of directors and regularly lecturing at Italian culinary school, the Master della Cucina Italiana, chef Alajmo has also published an award-winning cookbook entitled “In.gredienti” and owns Le Essenze, a line of pure essential oil sprays, and alajmo.design, a collection of tableware designed by the Alajmo brothers and produced by renowned Italian craftsmen.

Known for his multi-sensory approach to cooking and penchant for exploring ingredients in depth in order to bring out their true essence, chef Alajmo is excited to bring his culinary creations to Singapore. He says: “Singapore is home to one of the world’s most dynamic food scenes. I am thrilled to share with the people of the city both classic dishes from Le Calandre, as well as the fruit of our latest research."