Cover Chefs Joel Ow (left) and Juliana Ng (right) are two young talents who are part of V-Zug’s growing cadre of in-house chefs
Chefs Joel Ow (left) and Juliana Ng (right) are two young talents who are part of V-Zug’s growing cadre of in-house chefs
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Presented By
V-Zug
Extending its expertise beyond state-of-the-art appliances, V-Zug is committed to nurturing and helping local talents in their pursuit of culinary excellence, both at home and on the global stage
Luxury Swiss kitchen appliances brand V-Zug takes pride in offering best-in-class products designed to inspire home cooks and professional chefs alike.
But its commitment to quality extends beyond mere hardware to include equipping its customers with the skills and experiences needed to use its products to achieve culinary excellence. The brand does this via masterclasses and workshop programmes for its customers, conducted by professional chefs.
In the process, it plays a pivotal role as a nurturer of the local community of professional chefs via initiatives such as brand ambassadorship, its own Gourmet Academy, and various sponsorships for international culinary competitions.
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Above Chefs Ow and Ng doing preparatory work for a dish
Chefs Ow and Ng doing preparatory work for a dish
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V-Zug has been a proud advocate of the Singapore Chef Association’s national culinary team between 2018 and 2020, supporting local chefs in international culinary competitions and olympics. When the pandemic hit in 2020, the brand amplified its patronage of local talents by featuring them in a cookbook dedicated to Asian cuisines.
Through sponsorship, V-Zug is constantly growing its Gourmet Academy team with renowned chefs as ambassadors, and emerging young chefs. Believing in equipping professional chefs to continually hone their skills to become masters, V-Zug encourages its culinary teams to participate in competitions.
Above Chef Ng doing a taste test while Chef Ow tends to the dish on stove
Chef Ng doing a taste test while Chef Ow tends to the dish on stove
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Among its award-winning chefs are Juliana Ng and Joel Ow, who were assistant chefs at the Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup 2022 in Luxembourg, in which Singapore’s national culinary team won double gold medals and the Best National Showpiece award. The training for the intense two-day competition amounted to over 4,000 hours of workshops.
Chef Ow’s most recent accolade was captaining the Singapore Young Chefs team to an overall victory at the 2023 Alen Thong Golden Coffee Pot Challenge in Dubai, which required competing teams to prepare a buffet spread and plated main course in a 48-hour cookathon.
Above Chef Ow’s medals from Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup 2022 and Alen Thong Golden Coffee Pot Challenge 2023
Chef Ow’s medals from Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup 2022 and Alen Thong Golden Coffee Pot Challenge 2023
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V-Zug-nurtured talents’ most recent win came at the prestigious Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA)/Culinary Olympics held in early February 2024 in Stuttgart. Touted as the world’s largest, oldest and most multifaceted culinary art exhibition, the 2020 edition attracted 1,800 participants from 67 countries, who together prepared over 8,000 menus for the event.
The 2024 edition marked the first time the Singapore Chefs’ Association had sent a national junior culinary team to the international competition. The team included nine chefs under the age of 25 with diverse backgrounds, all newly graduated from various culinary institutions. Mentoring the young team, chef Ow personally took on training two members himself for an intense four-month period in which they could spend up to 12 hours a day in the kitchen.
The 1,500-hour training and planning culminated at the IKA / Culinary Olympics’ Junior Chef’s Table, where the team prepared a five-course menu for 10 people, and the Restaurant of Nations category, where they prepared a three-course menu for 70 visitors. The junior team took home one gold and one silver medal for their hard work, a respectable result for a debut performance after crunch-time training that should ideally have taken up to a year.
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Above Chef Ow is a picture of concentration during a plating session
Chef Ow is a picture of concentration during a plating session
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Aspiring home cooks and adventurous foodies can also participate in V-Zug’s pursuit of collective culinary excellence.
The V-Zug Gourmet Academy provides two years of free workshops for new customers at the V-Zug Singapore showroom, as well as a 10-year warranty on all of its new appliances. The programme includes curated recipes, live demonstrations and hands-on workshops designed to be relevant to local cooking culture and cuisines. In addition to all these, V-Zug also offers themed masterclass events featuring prominent chefs who share their signature recipes and trending seasonal creations.
Too busy to visit the showroom? You can book product trial sessions to find out which V-Zug’s professional-grade appliances to cook your favourite dishes at home. V-Zug also offers its customers a private chef-on-demand service— simply pick your chef from its Gourmet Academy’s panel of professionals, sit back, and enjoy.
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