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Singapore - Louis Tay

Bailliage of Singapore
February 26, 2021

Executive Chef at Swissôtel Merchant Court
" Louis has gained numerous awards, culinary medals and recognition "

It is the dedication of Maître Rôtisseur Chef Louis Tay, his talent in composing flavours and his attention to detail that make him stand out as he continues to improve his skill and creativity in the culinary world.

Louis has gained numerous awards, culinary medals and recognition from both local and international competitions and has led the Singapore team in the Culinary Olympics (including to victory in 2016 in Erfurt, Germany). He was awarded World Gourmet Summit Award of Excellence 2018 Halton Executive Chef of the Year.

In his 36-year culinary career, Louis has gained a wealth of exposure, knowledge and experience from establishments including the Westin Stamford and Westin Plaza, Raffles Hotel, The Fullerton Hotel, The Tanglin Club and the Swissôtel Merchant Court Singapore.

The Swissôtel Merchant Court is a luxury hotel ideally located by Clarke Quay, within walking distance of the Central Business District and close to major places of interest including Chinatown and the numerous bars and restaurants on the famous Clarke Quay and Boat Quay.

Louis believes in using different tastes and textures to achieve balance in a dish. He told the Revue: “My favourite approach is to make use of different cooking methods to cook an ingredient in one dish. For example, take a pigeon. One breast can be roasted and other parts made into a roulade stuffed with foie gras and mushroom. Sous vide, the legs can be confit. In this way, my guests will be able to enjoy a variety of tastes and texture in one single dish.”

Drawing inspiration from anywhere and anyone, Louis believes in keeping an open mind. Having been exposed to many different cultures, cooking techniques, tastes and ingredients, he incorporates new ideas into his existing knowledge and from there constructs new and creative dishes and flavours.

When approaching the development of a new dish Louis first seeks a balance of vegetables, protein and starch. Thereafter it’s down to choosing suitable ingredients and the final element is the overall taste and texture of the dish to ensure cooking methods, sauces and flavours complement each other. Quality, fresh produce is the most important factor - with that even simple techniques will bring out the very best flavours for guests to enjoy.

Louis joined the Chaîne in 2010. His sponsors were Otto Weibel (dubbed the ‘Godfather’ of Singapore’s culinary fraternity) and Eric Teo, the iconic Singaporean celebrity chef formerly at the Mandarin Oriental Singapore.

Amanda Roberts
Editor, Revue internationale de la Chaîne

Ed. This article was first published in the 2020 edition of the Revue internationale de la Chaîne

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