For more than two decades, Desmond Lim has been instrumental in developing and steering the Les Amis Group. The group’s first project in 1994 also happened to be Singapore’s first independent French fine dining restaurant, Les Amis, which continues to be one of the most coveted tables on the island. Since then, more than 25 brands and concepts have joined the Les Amis family.

Albeit the challenges brought on by the pandemic, 2021 proved to be a busy year for Lim and team: not only did they launch their first cloud kitchen concept Kitch, but they also opened Wagyu Jin at Shaw Centre. The latter is the only restaurant in Singapore to offer Yonezawa beef, a niche variety of Wagyu and one of the top three most renowned brands of beef besides Kobe and Matsusaka. Furthermore, S’Mao Barbecue has found a permanent home in Cluny Food Court following a successful pop-up at Casa Verde. Les Amis Group also has plans to introduce its first halal-certified concept soon.