7 hours ago
Tastemakers: Three-Michelin-starred Benu in San Francisco has new Singaporean head chef
Singaporean chef Sebastian Wong is the new chef de cuisine of Benu in San Francisco. PHOTO: COREY LEE
SINGAPORE – Chef Sebastian Wong has just joined a very small fraternity: Singaporean chefs who are heading three-Michelin-starred restaurants.
The 34-year-old was recently promoted to chef de cuisine at Benu, Korean-American chef Corey Lee's three-Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco.
He joins Yeo Sheng Xiong of Odette in Singapore; Jimmy Lim, chef-owner of JL Studio in Taichung, Taiwan; Kenneth Foong of Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark; and Mathew Leong of Re-naa in Stavanger, Norway.
Chef Wong, who was part of the opening teams at modern French restaurant Odette and Japanese fine-dining restaurant Esora in Singapore, tells The Straits Times he took time to think about it, when he was offered the post in February 2025 .
He was due back in Singapore to attend a friend's wedding, and was expected to give an answer on his return.
'I never thought in my life or career that I would be in this position,' he says over Zoom from San Francisco. 'For most of my life, I never thought I was really good. So, when chef Corey offered me this, I was surprised.'
He told his parents, whom he says were supportive, and his friends.
'A lot of my peers in the industry told me, 'Oh yeah, it's about time.' It was comforting to hear it from them, that maybe I have what it takes for this role.'
Odette's chef Yeo, 34, says of his friend and former colleague: 'He deserves it 100 per cent. He is someone who strives for perfection and consistency. One of the most passionate and focused individuals I have worked with.'
Chef Wong first worked at Benu for a month in 2020, after leaving Esora in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic cut short his time there and he returned to Singapore. During the pandemic, he returned to Odette and later put in a year at La Dame de Pic before returning to Benu in March 2022.
It took three years to rise from sous chef to chef de cuisine at the 40-seat establishment, a destination restaurant that has held its three Michelin stars since 2014.
Benu serves Korean and Cantonese-inflected tasting menus priced at US$390 (S$500) a person. Before he opened it in 2010, chef Lee was chef de cuisine at The French Laundry, the storied restaurant in Napa Valley.
Chef Lee, 47, says: 'Chef de cuisine appointments are as much about character and potential as they are about experience. I like chefs who are immensely talented and immensely humble.
'Three years are not that short. I myself spent only two years as a sous chef before becoming chef de cuisine of The French Laundry. Promotions in my kitchen are based on merit, not seniority.'
Fancy instant noodles
Chef Sebastian Wong was part of the opening teams at modern French restaurant Odette and Japanese fine-dining restaurant Esora in Singapore.
PHOTO: COREY LEE
And yet, chef Wong grew up sporty rather than cheffy. He went to school at St Joseph's Institution and Anglo-Chinese Junior College, and was into track and field and ultimate frisbee.
Both his parents worked and he learnt to cook for himself in secondary school, making instant noodles and such.
'I realised I could not just cook instant noodles,' he says. 'I'd always put something in it. Vegetables or an egg.'
On weekend trips to the market and supermarket with his mother, he would sneak spices, seasonings and other ingredients into the shopping.
'It could be sansho pepper, shichimi togarashi or Chinese olive vegetables,' says the chef, who has an elder sister. 'And when I cooked rice or noodles, I'd add these things and I realised they tasted good. When my friends came over to play street soccer, I would cook them noodles and they liked what I made.'
He would also watch shows by British chef Gordon Ramsay and American author and TV personality Anthony Bourdain while eating dinner in front of the television. And in junior college, when he had his own computer, he began to watch cooking videos on YouTube and a world of fine dining opened up.
Knowing his grades were not good enough to become a doctor or a pilot like his parents wanted him to be, he broached the subject of becoming a chef with his mother, who works in human resource. She suggested that he get a job in a restaurant during the nine-month window he had before starting national service.
In 2009, with zero experience, he got a job in a now-defunct restaurant, The French Kitchen, in Magazine Road. The chef-owner, Jean-Charles Dubois, now culinary director of Marina Bay Sands, took him under his wing. He ended up staying for about seven months.
Chef Wong says: 'He was very nurturing and he always gave me small pieces of advice, like how to hold a knife a certain way so I can cut shallots or garlic faster. Then one day, he told me, 'Starting today, you learn from me how to cook all the hot things.'
'I told my mum that I really liked the job and I could see myself doing this as a career. I made up my mind and I've never looked back.'
After NS, he enrolled in ITE College West for a 2½-year course in culinary arts and restaurant management that the college offers in partnership with Institut Lyfe, formerly known as the Institut Paul Bocuse. He graduated in 2014.
He says: 'They taught us all the classical French dishes and mother sauces, all these things that are kind of irrelevant in today's world of cooking. But I think this helped me learn the techniques behind the classic dishes, like making a sabayon.'
Growth spurt
Those skills would stand him in good stead when he joined the opening team for Odette in 2015, starting out in the pastry department and then rotating through the different stations.
He says: 'Suddenly going to a fine-dining restaurant and doing high-level pastry was a huge learning curve. You really have to respect the recipes in pastry. It's like chemistry.'
The restaurant's chef-owner Julien Royer, 42, says: 'I knew he'd go far. He really stood out from other young chefs with his discipline and focus. He never took shortcuts. He understood early on that he needed to make sacrifices to climb and learn. I'm glad he did. I'm very proud of him.'
At the Odette kitchen, he got to know chef Shigeru Koizumi, who was working there before setting up Esora, his fine-dining restaurant in Mohamed Sultan Road. Both are part of the Lo & Behold restaurant group.
Chef Wong left the French restaurant to join the opening team for Esora in 2018 and added Japanese techniques to his skill set.
After 18 months, however, he thought it was time to move on and broaden his repertoire.
A chef he knew when he did a stage at Hibiscus in London had done a stint at Benu in San Francisco, and chef Wong asked for help getting a foot in.
'I was always intrigued by what chef Corey was doing at Benu,' chef Wong says. 'He was the first Asian chef to take Asian food to a three-star level. He is able to execute Asian food at such a high level.'
On his return to Benu in 2022 after the pandemic cut short his time there in 2020, he says he struggled for the first year. The restaurant runs a tough kitchen.
Chef Wong says: 'Things are very thorough at Benu. Everything has a reason for being. There is pretty much nothing that hasn't been thought about before it is put in place and, because of that, there's a lot of responsibility to be shared by everyone.
'There's also consistent effort and attention to tiny details, the drive for continuous improvement and progress, all of which I think is integral to the longevity of a restaurant and when it comes to nurturing people.'
He describes chef Lee as someone who demands a lot of everybody. 'He never settles for anything less. He's at work every day, without fail, unless he's not in town. He's always there for the guests, always there for the team.
'His work ethic is very inspirational for the team, it sets the tone in the kitchen for everybody. When you step into the kitchen, you see everyone working. Chef Corey is working, the executive chef is working, the chef de cuisine is working, everybody is working. '
That first year, he says he had to get used to the way the kitchen did things. How chefs would have to plan the mise en place, which involves organising and preparing ingredients and equipment so that things go smoothly when the orders come in.
'A lot of times, I would miss the checkpoints,' he says, referring to the checks chefs need to make on whether portions of protein and other ingredients are properly prepared. 'We go to service and you realise the fish is cut wrong. So, I got into a lot of trouble. But it's through failure that you learn.'
He says what got him through that year was the desire to want to improve and be better.
'I don't live far from the restaurant, so I walk to and from work,' he says. 'On nights when I've had a really rough day, I'd think about it on the walk home. Today, I made this stupid mistake, what can I do tomorrow and in the future to prevent all these mistakes?'
Together with chef Lee, he makes Benu's signature xiao long bao, the only two people in the kitchen who do it. They split the task in half, with each making 50 dumplings.
To master the pleating, chef Wong says he practised before and after work for a year before he could make a dumpling good enough to serve.
He is still refining his technique. He can make 28 to 30 pleats on each dumpling, although chef Lee thinks 21 to 24 is sufficient. A xiao long bao at Din Tai Fung has 18 folds.
The best is yet to be
Asked how he celebrated his promotion, chef Wong says: 'I feel I shouldn't be celebrating yet.'
After all, there is work to be done. New dishes to create. A team of 18 to 20 to manage now.
He adds: 'I prefer to lead by example. I think it's important for the team to know that the chef is not worried about getting his hands dirty if he has to and that he has everyone's back.'
Chef Lee adds: 'He has been a great example for staff to calibrate their work ethic, organisational skills and commitment. But I feel his greatest impact is yet to come.'
If chef Wong had not left Singapore, where would he be right now? 'Perhaps I might be the head chef of some restaurant,' he says. 'But I also think I most probably would have left Singapore in time to come.'
So, does a Singaporean chef need to leave the country to come into his own?
Chef Wong says: 'I think Singapore as a society needs to look inwards and realise the intrinsic value of the things we have. Things like our local hawker food should really be more appreciated and perceived the same way as a bowl of ramen or a plate of pasta.
'Why is it that we demand that our local food be dirt cheap when it is more labour-intensive to make, but we are willing to fork out more for a plate of pasta that comes from a plastic package? I think everyone should try cooking a bowl of laksa at home from scratch and see what it takes to make that humble bowl of noodles with broth and toppings.
'If Singapore society is able to change that mindset and be more like the Japanese, who value their own culture and heritage, then Singaporean chefs and food will be more valued and appreciated.'
He cites restaurants such as Belimbing by chef Marcus Leow and Mustard Seed by chefs Gan Ming Kiat, Wu Shin Yin and Desmond Shen as those doing a 'good job of progressing what we have in Singapore'.
Eventually, he might join them in taking Singapore food to a new level. He sees himself working at Benu for three to four years, and he would like to come back to Singapore.
'Singapore is home,' he says. 'I see and feel the difference between home and over here. Family and friends are very important. They bring me joy and keep me going in life.'
If he does open a restaurant in Singapore, it is likely to be an Asian one. In fact, he is looking at working in a Chinese restaurant kitchen to broaden his skills.
The chef, whose father is Hainanese and mother is Hokkien, says: 'At the end of the day, it's important to cook your own cuisine. When I was young, I went to learn how to cook French cuisine.
'It was only when I got a bit older that I realised it's more important to learn your own cuisine. You don't want to be a yellow person cooking white man food.'
Tan Hsueh Yun is senior food correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers all aspects of the food and beverage scene in Singapore.
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