FOOD PANEL
SANDY CHNG
A chef by training since 1996, Chng is a sommelier with Singapore Airlines and a wine educator with Wine & Spirit Education Trust of London. He is certified by the Society of Wine Educators and the Court of Master Sommeliers, and accredited as a Certified Wine Course Educator from WSET UK.
DR BERNARD CHEONG
Dr Cheong, a watch collector of international renown, is the only non-retailer or collector who is an official ambassador for Switzerland’s Foundation of Haute Horology. He recommends a combination of spirulina and six packets of Fybogel daily to balance the excesses of rich food.
EDWIN SOON
Trained as an economist and an oenologist, Soon is an international wine consultant. Author of several books on wine, tea and food, he now also nurtures sommeliers.
HE NANCY LYNN MCDONALD
Canada’s High Commissioner has lived in different corners of the world – from Switzerland to Hong Kong, and now Singapore. When not shaping trade policies, she likes exploring Singapore’s hawker food with her husband and two children.
DR CHNG CHAI KIAT
Dr Chng is the president of the Association of Orthodontists (Singapore). His love for skiing is second only to his passion for great food, whether it’s from a Michelinstar restaurant or a food-centre stall. The avid traveller also goes on Operation Smile mission trips.
PAUL LING
A man of simple but discerning tastes, Ling’s heart is in wines and he has nearly 300 bottles in his collection, including his favourites – Amarones by the late Giuseppe Quintarelli. He believes dishes should be designed around wines, not vice versa.
MICHAEL TAY
Tay is director of the Foundation for the Arts and Social Enterprise, and the founder of Sing Jazz, an international jazz festival.
HE JAMES SINCLAIR MANLEY
Ambassador for the Republic of Chile to Singapore since 2014, HE Sinclair was previously ambassador to Indonesia from 2000 to 2006. He enjoys fine quality Chilean wines and reading works by his home country’s poet, Pablo Neruda.
NICOLA LEE
A second-generation member of the Commanderie de Bordeaux Singapore, Lee is the Consul General of the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne in Singapore.
HE ZENON KOSINIAK– KAMYSZ
Ambassador for the Republic of Poland to Singapore since 2014, HE Kosiniak–Kamysz has held positions in Hungary, Germany, Slovakia and Canada. He enjoys spending his leisure hours birdwatching and savouring local delicacies.
KATHRYN YAP
When not hunting down talent, Yap, named one of Businessweek’s top 50 headhunters in the world, hunts down good food. Her motto, inspired by her obsession with otoro and wagyu, is this: “Fat is flavour, so the more the merrier.”
LESLIE YEO
Yeo is the principal director of Sterling Law Corporation. The lover of Japanese single malts occasionally hosts family and friends to an evening of food, wine and laughter, with the wide-ranging cuisine served spanning prawn dum biryani to Teochewstyle chye poh neng (omelette with preserved vegetables).