SINGAPORE, July 29 — The annual Singapore Food Festival that celebrates local cuisine and homegrown culinary talent is back, though virtually, in light of Covid-19 safe distancing regulations that prevent mass gatherings.
Despite being held online for the first time, foodies will still be able to enjoy selected dishes in their own homes and attend masterclasses, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said during a media preview for the event yesterday.
The announcement comes just a week after STB announced the launch of a S$45m (RM138.64 million) domestic tourism campaign to encourage Singaporeans to discover hidden gems around the island in a bid to prop up the lifestyle and tourism sectors that have been badly hit by the pandemic.
Held on the last two weekends of August, the 27th edition of the event will see more than 25 food-and-beverage (F&B) merchants taking part.
From August 14 to Sept ember13, foodies may also order meals from participating merchants from e-commerce platform Shopee.
STB said that the number of dishes available from each restaurant will differ depending on the restaurant’s daily operational capacity.
“This also enables each restaurant to ensure that the food bundles that are delivered will meet their standards of quality,” it said.
Options include set menus from the Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant Candlenut, sustainable dining restaurant Kausmo and pastry shop Tarte by Cheryl Koh, among others.
Some dishes, such as Damn Easy Hokkien Mee from Slake restaurant, will require consumers to put in some work.
Slake’s chef Tan Ming Huang said yesterday that the ingredients, which include pre-charred noodles, will be delivered in individual vacuum-sealed packs and can be put together by anyone “regardless of your cooking background or ability.”
Similar to previous years, there will be masterclasses held by top chefs for those looking to improve their culinary skills.
A total of 17 masterclasses will be available for participants and they are all free, unlike previous years.
Participants will have the option of buying ingredient kits beforehand so that they can cook “alongside” chefs such as Dave Pynt from the one-Michelin star restaurant Burnt Ends, or learn how to make Singaporean versions of popular cocktails from the Nutmeg & Clove speakeasy bar.
Selected masterclasses will also offer slots for in-person interaction at restaurants, though they will be subject to the Covid-19 safe management measures when they are held, STB said.
For those hoping to find out more about Singapore’s food heritage, they may join virtual food tours hosted by actor Chua Enlai.
STB said that there will be virtual tours of the Tanjong Pagar and Chinatown precincts, as well as Katong and Joo Chiat to “discover stories behind popular eats in the area, (and) tales behind its heritage food businesses.”
There will still be physical tours available but slots for these will be limited.
Festival-goers who enjoy collecting merchandise will be able to buy them this year. These include limited-edition T-shirts from Uniqlo and exclusive beer flavours from Singapore brewery Brewerkz.
Promoting Singapore food worldwide
Ranita Sundra, STB’s director of retail and dining, said that the virtual festival, which is part of STB’s nine-month-long domestic tourism recovery programme, is allowing them to reach out to a wider audience.
STB may now “promote Singapore through food across the world” without requiring people to fly into the country, she said.
“Many of our regional offices are very excited about this food festival because they are able to market it... and get people in those countries to participate.”
Responding to a question on STB’s efforts to engage hawkers to take part in this year’s festival, Sundra said that it was previously much easier to get hawkers on board when the festivals were held in a physical form.
“When we pivot to a virtual event, it takes time and not everybody's ready to go on to a virtual platform,” she said, adding that she hopes more hawkers and other industry players will come onboard if the event is successful.
Tan of Slake said that it might not have been possible to effectively organise a virtual food festival about five or 10 years ago due to insufficient delivery avenues and logistics partners.
Describing the ecosystem as much better now, he said that a “confluence of all these things” have allowed the festival to be held during this period.
Pastry chef Cheryl Koh said that the circuit breaker in April and May that curbed movement and activities has allowed F&B operators to fine-tune their dishes to make them suitable for delivery, too.
“I think it's changed the way people order and get food delivered, and I think this festival is a continuation of the last few months of what we've come to (see as) quite a new normal.” — TODAY
