Meet 6 young and talented sommeliers from Singapore’s top wine bars and restaurants

Odette

Having been a trainee intern at a wine store and starting his career in the kitchen, Reuben Khew cannot help but enjoy the connection between food and wine. “The most creative wine‑pairing dish I came up with was the beautiful walnut‑crusted Scottish scallop with celeriac, crosnes and a lovely sauce of boudin noir. I had a taste and immediately thought of the 1998 Chateau Musar,” he shares, explaining that “the wine was not too heavy but had the acidity to cut through the heaviness of the sauce and garnish”. Undaunted at the prospect of pairing the three‑Michelin‑starred Odette’s signature Kampot pepper pigeon, he introduced The New Black Wine from Clos Triguedina, a 100 per cent malbec from Cahors in France, which has its grapes gently heated—a winemaking process that has not been used for centuries.

Confident and ambitious, Khew is up for every challenge. He is a Certified Sommelier accredited by the Court of Master Sommeliers and holds a Level 1 certificate from the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale. In 2021, he emerged as the second runner‑up in the Singapore National Sommelier Competition and the third runner‑up in Sopexa’s Best Sommelier in French Wines Singapore competition.

He is grateful to have mentors such as Praelum co‑founder Gerald Lu, a former Singapore National Sommelier champion, to look up to. “We have two Master Sommeliers and three Masters of Wine based here [in Singapore], many companies conducting Wine & Spirit Education Trust courses, the Court of Master Sommeliers conducting exams, and varying wine bars. This widens our perspective and encourages us to discover new wines at a faster pace,” he expounds.

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67 Pall Mall Singapore

Howard Chang, 28
Tasting wine for the first time during his hospitality studies in the US, Howard Chang’s interest in the sommelier profession was piqued by the documentary Somm, which depicted the journey of four Master Sommelier candidates taking on the most difficult wine exam in the world.

Always one for a challenge, Chang grabbed a book and studied. “From knowing nothing, I passed my Introductory Sommelier Certificate three months later,” shares the Sopexa Best Sommelier in French Wines Singapore 2022 champion. He landed an assistant sommelier job at Taïrroir in his native Taiwan, where he picked up the basics of the trade. He later moved to Japan to work at Signature in Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo, before joining 67 Pall Mall Singapore’s opening team in 2022.

“Singapore’s wine market is more mature than Taiwan’s, and you can find almost any wine,” he says. Working in a competitive environment suits Chang, who enjoys the keen spirit as his team members would quiz and test one another weekly.

Shiva Chaurasiya, 22
Serving and tasting a rare Chateau Angelus vertical flight on the penthouse floor of Shaw Centre in Singapore would once have seemed out of reach to Shiva Chaurasiya. “In Mumbai, where I’m from, there’s much more of a whisky and beer culture,” he says. “I challenged myself to do something about it; perhaps I can help grow a wine culture in India.”

In 2020, Chaurasiya won the inaugural Young Sommeliers’ Olympiad, India’s first nationwide industry competition for hospitality students, before topping his cohort for the Court of Master Sommeliers introductory examination. Master Sommelier Ronan Sayburn personally recommended him to 67 Pall Mall Singapore, which he joined in 2022, travelling out of India for the first time and living on his own. “My work pass was approved and one month later, I was in Singapore,” he says, sensing that the opportunity to join the opening team would not knock twice.

Working at a private members’ club brings even more challenges. “It’s not just about having good knowledge and how to serve different kinds of wine, but also building rapport with the members, touching their hearts with our service and giving them reason to come back,” he says.

Freelance consultant

Liko Kheh remembers being fascinated by wine from a young age, having furtive sips at weddings and from his businessman father’s bordeaux and champagne collection. “It intrigued me that the vintages of the same wine would have such stark differences. Wine is a subject you never stop learning about,” says the youngest sommelier in this feature.

While pursuing a diploma in maritime business at Singapore Polytechnic, his curiosity about wine and love for gastronomy continued to grow. In 2022, he slid into the DMs of Master Sommelier Mathias Camilleri at Como Group and was taken under his wing. Kheh honed his skills part‑time until he graduated and could take on the role of head sommelier at Mandala Masters for two high‑profile residencies— Narisawa and Indian Accent—in 2023. It was intense but fun, he reminisces of the 14‑ to 16‑hour shifts he pulled.

One of his strengths is his innate sense of reading the room—noticing if the diners are newly dating and may prefer to have more alone time, for instance. “These are skills that can be taught, but generally, in fine dining, sommeliers require awareness. If the customer coughs, we’ll bring over a napkin. It’s all about attention to detail,” he affirms. One of his favourite memories at Narisawa was matching a squid tempura with an albarino from Galicia. “I could engage the guest by explaining the history of tempura in Japan and how it originated from the Iberian Peninsula, where this wine is also from,” he enthuses.

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Praelum

Jerry Teng never considered a career in wine, much less coming in first runner‑up in the Singapore National Sommelier Competition 2022. “I doubted myself in the first few rounds, but once I got into the semi‑finals, I realised I had a chance and gave it 100 per cent,” he recalls. He was also preparing for his Certified Sommelier exam at the time, which boosted his confidence in theory and tasting.

“Wine is definitely more accessible now than seven years ago, when I first started out,” the Food & Beverage Business diploma graduate says. For his first job, he chose to be a cook at Nox – Dine in the Dark, as food felt more familiar and interesting at the time. “What connects food and wine is the understanding of flavour and pairings. I had a lot of good superiors who often could not come up with a wine pairing as they didn’t know enough about [either] aspect, be it the cuisine or beverage,” he shares.

After two years as a junior sommelier at Akira Back, where the clientele was more geared to beer, sake and cocktails, Teng joined Praelum wine bistro and immersed himself fully in wine. “Wine can be a channel to ‘collect’ people from different walks of life; it’s a universal language that connects us regardless of profession or background,” he raves. “At Praelum, it’s important to tailor the experience to the customer so that they have a good time and return to learn more. If it’s your first visit, we’ll find out how adventurous you are and recommend classics or new styles depending on your liking. Come and find out which you prefer!”

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