A Culinary Adventure in Singapore

From the pages of Pauline�s Travel Journal

Late last year Joanne Purnell, my daughter and the Chef de Cuisine of Good Gracious and I were invited to Singapore as guests of Kriston Food & Beverage. There were interested in sharing catering trends, food ideas and business strategies with an American company and we were honored to be asked!

The trip was in late October and it�s taken until now for me to blog about because as soon as we returned, Good Gracious was knee-deep in holiday events. So, I apologize for the lag time but I really want to share this experience with you.

ARRIVAL

After 20 hours of flying, Joanne and I were greeted with fabulous smiles and flower leis from Annette and Guin from Kriston Food. They took us to our hotel located in the heart of downtown Singapore, very near the trendy Orchard Street which is similar to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Our suite was on the 21^st floor and as we looked out our window it reminded me of looking over Central Park in New York City -- masses of trees and beyond that a high-rise skyline.

Settling in at the Sheraton after a long flight. I'm still wearing the lei .. I loved it!

At an afternoon tea reception with Annette and Guin filled us in on details and what to anticipate for the week ahead of us. It started right away with a visit to the kitchens of Kriston where we met the entire team � from kitchen and sales to operations and of course, Jacquie Tan the CEO.

THE SINGAPORE FLYER

The first order of business was dinner at a restaurant managed by Kriston -- The Singapore Flyer. The Singapore Flyer is the world�s largest observation wheels and one of Asia�s biggest tourist attractions. Guests can dine in the individual capsules. But once you have seen the view, there is no reason for local guests to come back. To create a reason they invite visiting chefs to design a special menu that they can promote. It has been an effective marketing campaign for them. And so �The Purnell Menu Collection� was created for November and December.

The Singapore Flyer.Each capsule can host a meal for 12 people.Here Joanne is holding court with the media (more about that later).

Sharing ideas at the offices of Kriston Food & Beverage.

While Joanne was in the kitchen of The Singapore Flyer teaching the chefs how to execute her menu, I met with the sales team of Kriston Food and Beverage to discuss the overall event experience and sales process. In the afternoon, I conducted training sessions with the operations team. Between the two sessions we covered everything from first impressions to closing the deal.

A WRITER�S FESTIVAL

Happily, The Singapore Writer�s Festival coincided with our visit and out hosts arranged my book, Food, Fun, Love: Party Styles, and myself to take part in it. Kriston was catering the festival�s 300-person opening night party so we got to see them in action. Of course Joanne couldn�t help but be in the kitchen and prepare some food for it herself!

My book front cover was displayed on the huge giant book cover outside the venue, called The Art House. (See my book in the top row there?) The festival name this year was UNDERCOVERS: Find your Passion. Dive Under Covers. For those of you who know me, how perfect is the theme of passion for me and my book?

A WEDDING SHOW

Joanne and a chef from MEGU talking about food trends to bridal clientele

Kriston Food and Beverage is a multi-layered company and the premier division is MEGU Events which has a wedding venue. While we were there they held a bridal show with two sessions. In the first half of the day we served a buffet luncheon, the sales team gave tours of the property and I spoke to them about wedding trends. At the afternoon session Joanne prepared and served the �Purnell Wedding Menu Collection� and did a short presentation on stage with MEGU�s chef. I repeated the trends presentation. There were 125 couples in attendance and MEGU sold 32 weddings that day, with deposits, quite a success I�d say.

FOOD!

Our schedule was busy and between education and cooking, we toured the city with our hosts, learning more about the culture and its passion for food which was very good and very diverse. We had an Indian lunch one day, French bistro fare the next. We had Asian French, traditional Chinese food, dim sum (I�m not a big fan but this dim sum was the best) We ate duck tongue, went to a variety of markets such as the Tekka Market in Little India with all its aromas and spices and others that offered frogs and eels. We ate Jackfruit which was quite intriguing.

Then, in the middle of all this exotic food we went to a tourist attraction and restaurant called The Dempsey where we ate bbq ribs, nachos, guacamole and even Ben and Jerry�s Ice Cream! Jacquie was curious to see how it measured up to the real thing!

RECOUPING IN INDONESIA

The trip ended back at The Art House for a final �Meet the Author� session at the end of The Writers Festival.

Pauline at Meet The Authors

The next morning Joanne meting with media gathered at The Singapore Flyer to unveil her menu and then it was all hugs and goodbyes. But our journey was not over yet. We caught the ferry to take us to Indonesia and stayed at the Banyan Tree Resort which was two days of heaven.

Looking back on it, it�s hard to say if they were able to learn from us or us from them. I think the most important parts of these exchange trips between two companies from the same industry is the exposure to new a new culture and the fresh perspective it can bring when you return home.

Thank you to everyone at Kriston Food & Beverage for a delicious and memorable learning journey.