How top chefs in Singapore are keeping their love alive this Valentine’s Day

How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day?
Lee: We celebrate Valentine's Day by sharing our desires, often exchanging our favourite shoe brands as gifts. My preference leans towards Jimmy Choo, while Sebastien favours Dior, aligning with our shared passion for quality footwear. We believe that good shoes pave the way for memorable journeys together. Although my husband is currently on a business trip abroad, I understand the demands of his role as a chef, given my own culinary background.

Upon his return, we plan to have a romantic dinner to make up for the distance. This year marks our tenth anniversary, and while our Valentine’s Day plans are relatively simple this year, we’re eagerly anticipating a trip to Napa Valley in September. Quality time is our love language, and we express our love by exploring new places together.

We have a tradition of planning trips, embarking on food adventures, and seeking out Michelin-starred restaurants. These shared interests were the foundation of our early days in love. Our bond strengthens as we continue to explore new things together, fostering a deep understanding of each other. Our tenth-anniversary celebration promises to be extra special, with plans for many memorable moments throughout the year.

Rishi Naleendra (chef-owner of Cloudstreet, Kotuwa and Fool) and Manuela Toniolo (co-owner of Cloudstreet, Kotuwa and Fool)

How did you meet?
Naleendra: We met in a small family-run restaurant in Victoria, Australia, in 2004. Manuela was there full-time as a supervisor, and I was still schooling at that time, so I joined as a part-time pizza chef. At first, we didn’t like each other very much—we were very different and didn’t have much in common at that time—but we became friends six months after we joined the restaurant. 

How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day?
Naleendra: We have always been working on Valentine’s Day. However, this will be the first year both of us will not be at work because we’ll be travelling to Sri Lanka.

Francisco Araya and Fernanda Guerrero (chefs and co-owners of Araya)

How did you meet?
Guerrero: Francisco used to date a classmate of my middle sister in school. Our school was full of girls, so boys came to our school. From time to time, I would see him because he would visit my sister’s classmate. This was when I was around ten years old (he’s five years older than me). Afterwards, he left his school to pursue his own career. I left school later and lost track of him because he left the city, and the last thing I heard was that he was overseas. 

When I moved to Paraiso, I went to Alegre, not knowing that he was the chef there. This means he’s back in Chile. I went to look for a job there, and he hired me. We started to work together, and after a couple of months, the relationship started becoming more passionate. Since then, we have never separated again. It’s been 8 to 10 years, then he offered me the opportunity to go to China with him because he wanted to be back in Asia, so we got a job in China together. Later on, we moved to Singapore to open Araya.

How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day? 
Araya: For us, it’s just another day. We usually choose a nice restaurant to enjoy and share a beautiful bottle of wine.

Guerrero: We are from the F&B industry where work is a constant. But usually, we would open a bottle of nice champagne in the evenings and spend quality time together, just the two of us. We always dine out at a restaurant on weekends though, and we try to turn it into special dates.

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