Keeping our food heritage alive

Mr Bruce Poh, Director & CEO of Institute of Technical Education

Mr KF Seetoh, Founder of Makansutra

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good afternoon.

Introduction

1. I am happy to be back at ITE College West this afternoon to witness the inaugural Singapore Signature Food Challenge. This is very important because as we all know, food is part of a Singaporean's DNA, and I am a big fan of our hawker food. We have been very inspired in the last hour or so, to see so many of our budding young chefs competing. I want to thank all of you for joining this competition, and we have been really overwhelmed by what you have done. 
   

2. Joining us today are also participants of the community cook-off! I'm glad that you have all come forward and used this opportunity to share and interact with each other through cooking, or through food tasting. I realise that for the community cook-off, every single dish was made possible by the recipes handed down from the grandparents. As mentioned earlier, this event is organised in conjunction with SG50, and we want to express our appreciation for a very special generation – the pioneer generation. 

3. Food is an integral part of our identity and cultural heritage. Whether it is home-cooked food, or good finds at hawker centres, I am sure you will all agree with me that when we are away from home after awhile, we'll miss our local food. Once we get home, we'll think of where we should first go to get our chicken rice fix, laksa, roti prata! So as we celebrate our nation's Golden Jubilee this year, we also want to celebrate our food heritage, a part of what makes us Singaporean. Why I used this example is because, when I was in the Economic Development Board, I travelled a lot. Other than making calls to your loved ones, what would really help with pangs of homesick-ness, would be a Singaporean dish.

Preserving our food heritage 

4. Our food is an expression of our multicultural and multi-racial identity. We ought to work together, everyone of us, even if we are not running a eatery, everyone of us has a part to play to treasure this wonderful heritage, by raising awareness, respect and appreciation for our Singaporean food. So, through this competition, organised by ITE and Makansutra, it is a big step in that direction, to heighten the awareness, respect and appreciation of Singaporean food. Through this, we hope our youth have gained a better understanding on the origins of the recipes that they have experimented with, uncovered the rich traditions behind them, and appreciated the uniqueness of Singapore's food culture.

5. I'm sure we all agree that we love our food and we love sharing it with the whole world. At MCCY, we have been actively promoting our food heritage through exhibitions at our national museums. As you know, it is free admissions. It is not just to see artefacts, but also soft culture like food heritage. We have been doing that through exhibitions at the national museum, our  heritage institutions, and travelling exhibitions. In addition, the National Heritage Board also supports food publications, including those which celebrate the culinary skills and resilience of our hawkers over the years. 

6. I am happy to note that in celebration of SG50, the National Heritage Board will be showcasing 50 signature Singaporean food dishes. This is developed in collaboration with Makansutra at the 2nd World Street Food Congress to be held in Singapore next month. 
   

7. I understand that the winning team of today's challenge will also get to showcase their dishes at the upcoming Food Congress. This is a wonderful opportunity to share our food and culture with people from all over the world. And this is a wonderful platform to allow them to demonstrate their culinary expertise in celebration of Singaporean food. The showcase will include a travelling exhibition on the history of Singapore's street food as well as pop-up cooking demonstrations by selected hawkers. So through actions like this, it shows the commitment by the Government to heighten awareness, respect and appreciation of our Singaporean hawker fare. It will subsequently be featured at major festivals including the upcoming Singapore Heritage Festival. So moving forward, when we talk about Festivals, it is not just about art, but also culture which comprises food. We will work hard to make sure that food is also featured as part of our Singaporean culture at the Heritage Festival. 

Conclusion

8. Many of the young chefs here today are passionate about food and cooking. We are very sure that their passion will fire up our local food culture, and further contribute to our food heritage. 

9. Finally, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the team at ITE and Makansutra Singapore for organising this wonderful event to celebrate Singapore's food culture. We ought to also put our hands together to appreciate judges. And to all the finalists, thank you for your passion and hard work. 

10. On this note, why did I talk about passion? I think as we press on to organise this inaugural food challenge, we would all agree that our thoughts and our prayers are with our founding prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and his family during this very difficult moment. As we know, Mr Lee he likes the no-fuss approach, and if anything he would want us to proceed business as usual. He has always talked about important attributes and values that makes us uniquely Singaporean. Passion is one of them, which is why I talked about it, and also hardwork. The best way we can support Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his family now, is to walk the talk, and make sure that in whatever we do, keep the fire burning. We want to wish him and continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayer, and wish everyone a good weekend. 

11. Thank you.