Singapore — Should the Eighteen Chefs chain be renamed Seventeen Chefs now its loudest and proudest founder & head chef, Benny Se Teo, has left the kitchen, leaving it one short of the titular 18 chefs?
One somehow imagines the kitchens of the chain – now numbering 10 eateries, according to the listing online – momentarily hushed as Mr Benny Se Teo, 61, made his exit.
And then he dropped a bombshell on Facebook. It was done as casually and yet, as consequentially as he might drop, say, a Sous Vide Egg atop the Carbonara, in an Eighteen Chefs kitchen:
“At this stage, I’m just learning my way around this thing called retirement and enjoying the sensation of the very first ‘taste of freed’ I’ve worked so hard to earn.”
As for renaming the chain, that was just being literal.
The “Eighteen” in the name refers to the name of the gang to which his late father belonged. In Cantonese, the lingua franca of so many restaurant kitchens here, “eighteen” is also a sound-alike term for “surely prosper”. So Eighteen Chefs were not literally 18 chefs.
Mr. Benny Se Teo told the BBC in 2014 that he chose that name in the hope that it would inspire delinquents to change their lives as he had.
It is no idle boast when he speaks of retiring “after spending over a decade building” his brands into some “of the most respected names in the F&B industry in Singapore”.
However, he isn’t quite ready to hang up his apron and rest on his parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme quite yet.
Mr. Teo, who also co-founded The MeatHöuse, a halal steak restaurant in Tampines, says he plans to continue working as a “Chef-At-Large and a Serial Motivational Speaker”.
As for his speaking gigs, he wrote on Thursday (Nov 25) that his opening line is “When you want to destroy the life of your enemy, ask him/her to start a restaurant.”
His own inspirational story is well-known to many. After he left prison for the last time, he was turned down at interview after interview before he finally got hired.
Then, as the BBC tells it, his big break came in 2006 when he got a chance to intern at UK celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s London eatery Fifteen. It is known for taking on disadvantaged youths as apprentices.
It was there that Mr. Benny Se Teo learned how to run a kitchen and a social enterprise. When he came back to Singapore, he and two co-founders set up Eighteen Chefs. Yes, the business was founded by three, not 18 chefs. On the menu were steaks and fish & chips but also its own innovative dishes such as tom yam aglio olio pasta.
A one-time heroin addict who spent over a decade in and out of jail, Mr. Benny Se Teo offers a helping hand to other ex-convicts and at-risk youths, many of whom have remade their lives working in his restaurants. Over the years, the chain has produced more than 18 chefs and restaurant workers, helping people rebuild their lives.
As he explained his motivation to the BBC: “There is a gap where it is very difficult for ex-offenders to integrate back into society… I told myself, if one day, I am going to be a business owner, I want to hire this group of people.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwF-nu5GdQY
As he wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday, he’s “enjoying the sensation of the very first ‘Taste of Freedom’ I’ve worked so hard to earn”.
“Freedom to do whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it … for the first time in my life… Wow, that’s big !!! … and that in my mind is what the first week of retirement is really like … it’s a week where the rubber band of work that’s been constantly pulling you back into a world of obligation is finally severed.”
He decided to leave Eighteen Chefs and The MeatHöuse “a little over some weeks ago” and wrote that “At this stage, I’m just learning my way around this thing called retirement.”
He added that “he left the company on a good note” and wished Eighteen Chefs & The MeatHöuse continued success. He also thanked “colleagues friends customers suppliers landlords” for the support they’ve given him through the years.
Retirement for him doesn’t mean kicking back in a lounger. He is open to consulting and speaking and says people can reach out to him via direct message.
“I work with F&B businesses (hawkers to restaurants): creating new concepts food strategies … kitchen planning … marketing and menu development … mentoring entrepreneurs and their food development teams and driving operational excellence … Pre & Post opening onsite training and management support … PM me for your queries !!!”
/TISG