Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs

Dear Confrerie

I am pleased to announce that 62 members attended our recent Annual General Meeting & Dinner held on 18 March 2016. I am also pleased to report that all the resolutions contained in the Notice of AGM 2016 were unanimously approved by our members. I attach a copy of my Bailli Delegue’s Annual Report highlighting key aspects and activities of the Bailliage in the last year for your reference and information.

Elections were also held for the Conseil National (“Council”) and Honorary Auditors, and I am pleased to attach a full list of our office holders for the coming year. A calendar with projected events for the rest of the year is also attached. Further updates can be found on our new website which will shortly go live at http://www.chaine-des-rotisseurs.org.sg/

During the AGM, Council also presented plans for a Grand Chapitre in Singapore from 20 to 23 October 2016. This will be the first Grand Chapitre to be held in Singapore in almost 15 years, and Council felt that the time was right given our recent Singapore Jubilee 50^th year Celebrations and our Bailliage’s 40^th anniversary in 2015. We have grown both as a Nation and as a Bailliage with a proud tradition of Multi-Cultural Diversity and Culinary Excellence that we can share with our friends from Bailliages around the world. A programme which showcases the rich Cultural and Culinary Heritage of Singapore has been put together in some of Singapore’s iconic and historical landmarks, details of which are attached for your reference.

The proposal for the Grand Chapitre was unanimously approved by members, and indeed we have been encouraged by the strong expressions of support, including sponsorships and offers to help with the organization of the event. This is an event which showcases not only some of our signature events, but is also a celebration of Singapore’s rich and diverse cultural and culinary heritage. We look forward to your support, not only as sponsors and working group members, but especially to your participation at the various events as we extend our warm hospitality and welcome to our friends from around the world.

Best Wishes & Viva La Chaine !

Mervyn Fong

Bailli Delegue

Bailliage de Singapour

AGM 2016 - Bailli Delegue’s Report for 2015

Confrerie, it is my pleasure to present the report of the Bailliage de Singapour for the year ending 31 December 2015.

2015 was a year of celebration as our Bailliage commemorated the 40th anniversary of our inception. In 1975, approval was granted by the Chaine Headquarters in Paris for the formation of the Singapore Bailliage, and the first interim Council was formed under Fil Juntereal who later became the first Bailli Delegue of Singapore. It was a wonderful year of celebration as a record 13 events were organized for members (14 events if you include the French Voilah Dinner which was a collaboration of all the French Culinary and Wine Societies in Singapore). Fil Juntereal himself was present as our Special Guest at the 40^th Anniversary Chapitre in October, and I recall how happy and proud he was to see how our Baillage had grown in the years since then. The Chapitre, which was held at the Resorts World Sentosa was a fitting climax to our anniversary celebrations with the Induction Ceremony taking place against the stunning backdrop of Admiral Cheng Ho’s replica junk in the Maritime Experiential Museum. Members and Guests were then ushered through the Museum’s Undersea Aquarium eventually leading to the magnificent Ocean Gallery where dinner was served. This was of course not the first time our Chapitre had been held at this venue, but Council felt that there could be no better venue than this to stage our 40^th Anniversary Chapitre.

Functions/Events

The year of celebration began exactly a year ago with the Annual General Meeting on 15 March 2015 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where our Maitre Rotisseur and Executive Chef Toni Robertson prepared an exquisite dinner for the occasion. In celebration of the 40^th anniversary, 2 wines from the 1975 vintage, the Chateau Palmer and ex-Chateau magnums of Lafon Rochet were also served for the occasion. Commemorative Riedel Decanters with the Chaine Logo were also presented to all members as a momento of the occasion.

The focus of the Conseil National has always been to arrange events which not only highlight the rich culinary heritage and diversity that we enjoy, but also as a platform for our professional members to show off the best that their establishments have to offer. The uniqueness of the Chaine was no more evident than when we were approached by the French Ambassador to help arrange their French Voilah celebration in May. Unlike the other societies which were focused primarily on wines, we are a society with a strong culinary heritage with Professional members spread across most of the top hotels and many of the leading culinary establishments in Singapore. Added to that, we also have a wine collection that is at least comparable to the wine societies.

Of the 14 events (including the French Voilah dinner at the Fullerton), 13 were held at the establishments of our members. We continued to add diversity to our events, and this came in the form of an Indian Dinner held at the Tandoor Restaurant, a sunset Rotisserie on Mt Faber, a fusion-Asian Christmas Dinner at Karl Dobler’s Table at 7, and even a roadtrip to Malacca where a special event was planned in conjunction with the Malacca Bailliage.

Our signature events were once again in high demand with the Caviar Brunch and Non-Professionals Dinner attracting strong support. Plans are underway to add capacity to some events with the Caviar Brunch set to move to the Grand Hyatt this year where the capacity is 200 guests. However Council is always conscious that with added capacity, there could be strains on certain establishments and quality remains the highest priority and will not be compromised. Of the 14 events, 10 events were sellouts and we unfortunately had to turn away some members. In order to ensure that members will have priority over guests, Council has now decided that members and their spouses will be given a one week priority booking window at all our exclusive and signature events. Guests will be placed on a waitlist queue and confirmed after the one week priority period, subject to availability.

In a year in which many of our Professional Chef Members gave their all to making our 40^th Anniversary a special celebration, it was a close contest to determine the Best Dish of the year. We had numerous contenders including the Slow Braised Angus Beef short-rib, red wine jus, caraway spiced carrot puree, roast Jerusalem artichokes prepared by Chef Lucas Glanville of the Grand Hyatt which won 1^st Runner Up, and the Pigeon, Fresh Cherries with Savoury Cabbage prepared by Chef Kong Kok Kiang of the One Farrer Hotel which won the 2^nd Runner Up award. Ultimately however, the honours went to Chef Toni Robertson of the Mandarin Oriental for her exquisite Soy Risotto with Oyster and Truffle dish which was acclaimed the Best Dish of the year by our members. It was a well deserved tribute to what was also a wonderful evening of celebration for members at last year’s AGM. The Best Event honours went to the Parkroyal on Pickering for the Caviar Brunch, not surprisingly as this has become one of our most eagerly anticipated events each year.

While 2015 was a year of celebration within the Bailliage, our Council has decided that 2016 will be a year in which we celebrate our wonderful heritage with the rest of the world. It has been almost 15 years since our Bailliage last celebrated a Grand Chapitre in Singapore, and so we have proposed a 4 day/3 Night Grand Chapitre from the 20 to 23 October 2016. We will later be presenting outline details of the Grand Chapitre and we hope that Members will support this event, which seeks to celebrate our wonderful culinary heritage with the rest of the world.

Finances

For the year ended 31 December 2015, the Bailliage recorded an Operating Surplus of $26,995 against $37,336 in the previous year. Our Argentier will later go through the specific details, but this can be entirely attributed to increased expenses from our 40^th anniversary celebrations, and a policy to subsidise substantially all our “members only” events, such as the event we are all attending this evening. Of the events held last year, surpluses were recorded in 9 events. However there were large deficits in 3 events, of which the AGM and Chefs Table were members-only events, while the Chapitre was a special 40th anniversary celebration event.

There were certain adjustments to our wine stock last year that resulted in our net surplus reducing to $19,679. Our Balance Sheet remains in a very healthy position with Total Equity rising to $731,913, of which $174,933 is in cash.

Membership

Membership has remained stable with a marginal increase at 163 members as at this AGM date. During the course of the year, 8 members left our Bailliage, some relocating while others have chosen not to renew their membership. In turn we welcomed 9 new members, including 2 new Professional members. We now have 106 Non-Professional Members and 57 Professional Members or 35% of membership. Of this, 29 are Professional Chef Members and 1 Sommelier. The compositions are marginally changed since last year, but we are delighted that we now have 1 Sommelier member. While there has been a steady stream of Non-Professionals joining our ranks and in our waiting list, this has not been the case with the Professionals, and our plan is to continue to focus on this in the coming year. The Professionals and especially the Rotisseur members are at the very heart of our society and we must ensure that their presence and influence within our Society remains strong.

Amendments to the Constitution

This year we are proposing certain amendments to update our Constitution so that it is aligned with the Statutes of the Global Chaine des Rotisseurs. The amendments relate to the inclusion of several titles, ranks and awards, which have thus far not been included in our Constitution. The title of Echanson and Sommelier will be added so as to bring our titles in line with the Global titles, while the awards of “Officier Grand Commandeur” and “Haut Commandeur” are for members who have achieved 50 and 60 years of uninterrupted Chaine membership. This is our forward planning for at least the next 10 years. The title of Sommelier has been added as we have also decided to include Professional Sommeliers into our Bailliage membership. Our new member Mr Yeo Xi Yang currently holds the more general title of Professional de la Table, but will hold the Sommelier title subject to the approval of this meeting to amend the Constitution.

I hope that this meeting will support our proposal for these amendments to our constitution, the details of which were circulated earlier with the Notice of AGM.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to pay a tribute and thank each one of my dedicated team of co-workers on the Council for their commitment and tireless dedication. Organising events each month, particularly given the high standards we have set ourselves can be challenging, and I know that each Council member is doing so not just because we share a common passion for gastronomy, but because of the camaraderie and friendships that we all share, and the pleasure that comes when we share great experiences with our friends.

To Ted and Otto, our Honorary Conseillers….you are the very foundation pillars of the Singapore Bailliage, full of passion and a wealth of knowledge and experience. To our Culinary Professionals Terence and Georg, who together with Otto are really at the centre of every event being planned, working closely with the culinary teams at each of the venues to bring the best out of each dining establishment. To Kin my Chancelier, and able deputy who does so much behind the scenes and is ever willing to step into any gap when certain council members are travelling, To Wai Phang, our most able Argentier, whose dedication and meticulous attention to detail has been a revelation to us these last 2 years. To Leroy….. our efficient Archiviste, who has redefined what is known as remote follow up, keeping tabs and following up on matters while enjoying his passion for driving in remote parts of the world. To Shek Wei, our very dedicated and most creative Charge de Presse who continues to excite and sometimes tease us all with his EDMs. To Tok Hong, Our Charge de Mission (Wines) for coming up with some wonderful wine pairings for our dinners, and whose knowledge and passion for wines ensures that we have a wine collection that is the envy of many of our peers. To Fookie, our Charge de Mission (Protocol), brought back from retirement to offer that extra panache that only he can conspire to produce. To See Kiat, our Charge de Mission Events, so dedicated in following up each month on ratings and helping with the organization of events each month. Last but not least to Tze Wee, our Charge de Mission Finance, full of enthusiasm and ever willing to help not only with Finance matters but also at events. We have a unique team and I feel so blessed to be working with such an amazing group of persons.

We also have a dedicated team of Sub Committees, helmed mainly by our Council members, but also including several members. On the Culinary Committee, our thanks to Eric Neo and Ivan Yeo. On the Wine Committee, our appreciation to Wee Ge Soon, Marc Lau and Jeff Low.

My special thanks also to our 2 faithful Honorary Auditors, Mr Andrew Lau and Mr Lim Wee Hann. Since last year, our 2 Honorary Auditors no longer attend Council meetings to ensure their complete independence and impartiality in the audit of the Bailliage. As stipulated under our constitution, they will also not be eligible for re-election as Honorary Auditors, and so they retire with our gratitude and appreciation.

And finally to all of you, our Confrerie, thank you for your support and encouragement, and also your constructive feedback. I know that we all come with different tastes, experiences and expectations, but that is the beauty of the art of gastronomy. We are in the hands of the artists, and while we may not always agree with their work, we appreciate their passion, dedication to their craft, and ultimately their pursuit of bringing pleasure to us all.

We are one in Spirit !

Thank you & Viva La Chaine !