RWS: Michelin Star Chefs

The world’s most Michelin-star-decorated chef, Joel Robuchon, leads a team of celebrity chefs who will open restaurants at Resorts World Sentosa.

Robuchon, who has 25 Michelin stars, will make his debut in Singapore in May with three restaurants — Joel Robuchon Fine Dining, a high-end French restaurant, the more casual L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, known for its swanky red and black decor and bar counter dining, and The Pastry Shop and Lounge.

The other Michelin-starred chef to set up shop is Kunio Tokuoka, the chef-owner of three-Michelin-starred restaurant Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama and one-Michelin-starred Hana Kitcho in Kyoto, Japan.

This is the first time chef Kunio is venturing out of Japan. The kaiseki restaurant, called Kunio, is slated to open in April at Resorts World Sentosa’s all-suite hotel, Crockfords Tower. Kaiseki refers to a multi-course dinner where the dishes are made from the freshest seasonal ingredients.

The other two chefs are New York-based Susur Lee, known for starting up Club Chinois in the late 1990s, and Australian chef Scott Webster.

Lee has teamed up with Tung Lok Group to open Asian fusion restaurant Chinois in Hotel Michael, while Webster will be opening Osia, a modern Australian restaurant which used to be located in London’s Haymarket from 2003 to 2005.

Chinois and Osia will open at the end of this month.

Roger Lienhard, Resorts World’s vice-president of food and beverage and rooms, says the chefs were chosen to “balance” the cuisine and culture of the hotels, and to make each of their offerings unique.

On picking Robuchon over other French chefs, he says: “We wanted French cuisine. And in French cuisine, the discipline is very important.

“In the end, we felt that Robuchon was the man who was going to give us the commitment of what we want to do and what we want to strive for.”

All in, Resorts World Sentosa will boast more than 60 food and beverage outlets ranging from outlets offering hawker dishes to cafes to fine dining restaurants.

Last year, Marina Bay Sands announced that no fewer than six celebrity chefs will open restaurants at its resort.

This includes big names such as Wolfgang Puck of Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills, Daniel Boulud of three-Michelin-starred French restaurant Daniel in New York, Santi Santamaria of three-Michelin-starred Can Fabes in Spain, and Mario Batali of Italian restaurants Babbo and Lupa in New York. The resort has postponed its opening till April this year.

Resorts World Sentosa will open on Jan 20, with four hotels — Hotel Michael, Festive Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel and Crockfords Tower, and 10 food and beverage outlets, which includes Palio, a Tuscan restaurant in Hotel Michael.

The resort, which expects to attract 13 million visitors a year, has not announced the opening of its Universal Studios theme park and casino.

So, what do we do now? Taste the food first while we wait for the rides and the casino playoffs.