Damian D'Silva, Soul Kitchen

Chef Damian D’Silva left his career as an aeronautical engineer to pursue his passion for food in his early forties, and hasn’t looked back since. After spending two years in various kitchens across Europe, he came back to Singapore to gather more experience at several European restaurants before opening up his first café: the Soul Kitchen on Purvis Street.

Damian’s Soul Kitchen quickly became a hit amongst urban foodies, for its eclectic mix of European and Peranakan dishes. Today, Damian maintains what he perfected at the Soul Kitchen through his latest offering – Big D’s Grill – located at Holland Drive.

It’s easy to see that Damian’s contributions to Awakening The Appetite are straight from the heart. His recipes stem from the need to create dishes that bring happiness to those suffering from cancer.

He didn’t face many challenges when coming up with the recipes, as he already knew the restrictions. He took special care to ensure patients and their caregivers could easily replicate the chosen recipes.

Damian points out that cancer patients tend to lose their sense of taste as a result of the treatments they undergo and says he focused on recipes that would awaken their taste buds by bringing a sense of nostalgia. He believes with a happy memory from their past alleviates pain and suffering.

He thought up the recipes quickly, as he put himself in the shoes of a cancer patient. Naturally, he thought of what he might miss most if he was a patient, taking into consideration the patient’s dietary needs. He made sure to include recipes that could be prepared easily, featuring ingredients that were readily available.

He feels his recipes bring joy to cancer patients. If a particular ingredient, taste, texture or aroma is able to awaken a happy memory in their minds he has succeeded. Damian hopes to help patients regain their sense of taste.

In Awakening The Appetite, Damian features an array of appetising soups, salads and mains as well as snacks or ‘nibbles’ for those times that one doesn’t need a big meal. His main intention is to entice cancer patients to eat and he stresses the importance role food plays in the effectiveness of their treatments.

Alfred Leung, Imperial Treasure

Over the years, Alfred Leung has forged his reputation as a formidable restaurateur. His most noteworthy claim to fame was the transformation of the highly successful Crystal Jade Chinese restaurant group from a single outlet restaurant into a regional brand with dozens of branches in several countries.

Having stunned the F&B industry by his sudden departure from the Crystal Jade group in July of 2004, Leung opened his own fine dining establishment within six months – Treasure Teochew Restaurant – in Ngee Ann City. More Hong Kong-style restaurants soon followed, among them Imperial Treasure Nan Bei, Imperial Treasure La Mian Xiao Long Bao, Imperial Treasure Noodle & Congee House, Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck, Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine, Imperial Treasure Fast Food & Bakery and Imperial Treasure Steamboat Restaurant.

For the most part, Alfred Leung appears intent on building his brand. His secret to success in the business lies in keeping a sharp eye out for detail and letting his food speak for itself.

His contributions to Awakening The Appetite are inspired by the need to provide cancer patients with more eating choices when it comes to their daily requirements as well as to introduce them to healthy alternatives that they may not only enjoy, but also benefit from.

Leung didn’t face many challenges when coming up with ideas for his creations, as he already knew the restrictions he had to work with and also because traditional Chinese food is known to be quite healthy to begin with. As a result, it only took him about one week to complete all his recipes.

He also mentions that although it was his first time creating recipes for cancer patients, he already had a fairly good idea when it came to ingredients, based on his extensive experience in the F&B industry.

He hopes that his recipes will help cancer patients to enjoy food that is delicious as well as nutritious and also hopes that they will come to love his dishes even more over time. His featured dishes in Awakening The Appetite are largely Cantonese, which is his specialty, and include favourites such as Fish Congee and Steamed Mushroom with Crabmeat and Egg White.

Daniel Tay, Bakerzin

Having grown up in his father's confectionery, sweets are in pastry chef Daniel Tay's blood. This was further reinforced during his training at the prestigious UFM International Baking Institute. He also did a stint in France, working at the famed Fauchon before returning to his roots. HIs former interest in fashion is now put to good use creating innovative desserts, for which he has received countless accolades.

Baker's Inn started off in 1998 as a small patisserie - mainly dealing with wholesale orders and supplying French bread and pastries to restaurants and hotels. Since then, Bakerzin, as it's now known, has come into its own - offering not only desserts, but also casual all-day dining and other savoury offerings.

Chef Daniel is now the CEO of this hugely popular and successful chain, which has outlets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. In addition, he is also the author of a popular cookbook, Just Desserts, which aims to inspire budding dessert chefs by sharing Chef Daniel's simple, uncomplicated philosophy, ideas and techniques behind making the perfect dessert.

Ignatius Chan, Iggy's

Ignatius Chan's appreciation for the finer things in life stems back to his childhood when rare forays into high-end dining establishments with his mother fuelled this passion. And it is apparent in all his business ventures today.

A graduate of SHATEC, Ignatius has had an illustrious past to date, which includes time at the Ritz in Madrid and Crillon in Paris. A multiple award-winning sommelier, Chan honed his art through working stints in European wineries and later, as Cellar Master at Raffles Hotel.

A former founding partner and executive director of Les Amis Restaurant, Lighthouse Restaurant, Au Jardin Restaurant and fine wine merchants Vinum, Ignatius opened his own restaurant Iggy's at the regent Singapore in 2004.

With a multitude of awards including ever higher positions in Restaurant Magazine's Annual Top 100 restaurant under its belt, Iggy's is well-poised to continue wowing diners with their modern cosmopolitan cuisine at their new Hilton Hotel location.

Janice Wong, 2am Dessert Bar

Chef Janice Wong’s journey into the food and beverage scene is an exciting one. Having mastered the basics at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, she went on to hone her skills at top restaurants both locally and abroad.

As the chef-owner of 2am: Dessertbar – the first of its kind in Singapore – she aims to introduce her patrons to ‘Dessert Excellence’ perfected through a range of desserts or ‘mains’ and savouries or ‘sides’. Complete sensory indulgence completed by designer-cool surroundings.

Janice is best described as a creator, innovator, detail-oriented risk-taker and go-getter with a vision of excellence and brilliance. It is little wonder that she was the sole female chef at this year’s World Gourmet Summit.

Janice focuses on quality and brings the best out of the ingredients she uses in her creations. As a result, her desserts are to die for! An innovator in her own right, she has set her sights on elevating the status of desserts to that of their savoury counterparts in top restaurants around the world.

Her contributions to Awakening The Appetite are inspired by the need to create delightful desserts for cancer patients. This project excited her as it posed a challenge and pushed her for a good cause.

Since she is a pastry chef, Janice naturally looked to pastry influences and techniques when overcoming the challenges that came her way. There was research, testing and a lot of trial and error involved.

Her greatest challenge was to come up with recipes that would appeal to the palate of a cancer patient. She interviewed cancer patients, including her own aunt, who suffers from cancer, to overcome the challenge of creating something that would appeal to a patient, given that their food is generally quite bland.

It took her a couple of months to complete her creations and for the most part, she concentrated on substituting sugar with ingredients that were naturally sweet. She practices this at 2am: Dessertbar as well.

Janice kept her recipes easy and enjoyable to allow patients to indulge to their heart’s content without feeling that they were sick.

She believes that cancer patients should not restrict themselves too much as this will only tempt them to consume something which is bad for them. She advises them to indulge their cravings with something naturally sweet and concentrate on eating healthier overall.

Kunio Aoki, Aoki

Chef Kunio Aoki first began learning the intricate art of sushi making at the tender age of 18 in the capitol’s Takanawa Prince Hotel. His perseverance and determination were rewarded by a steady rise through the ranks. One of the crowning moments of his career came when, together with his former master, he had the honour of serving Emperor Akihito.

Chef Kunio first stepped into the Singapore scene in 1991 with the encouragement of a good friend and fellow chef. Formerly of Nogawa Japanese Restaurant at Le Meridien Hotel, He demands only the best when it comes to his guests. This plus Chef Aoki’s culinary mastery and experience has brought him a loyal following over the years. His cuisine is simple and traditional, yet with modern undertones that keep his creations fresh and contemporary.

Travis Masiero, Spruce

Hailing from New Hampshire, USA, Travis Masiero made his debut in the culinary world at an early age. Upon graduation from Cornell University Hotel School, Travis embarked on a European culinary journey that first took him to Relais&Chateau Hotel Dominik in Italy and then to the one-star Michelin Hotel Konigshof in Germany.

In 2005, Travis and his wife Erika moved to Singapore to operate WineGarage. Later, in March 2009, he opened his own restaurant – Spruce – a casually sophisticated establishment serving Italian and French cuisine with global reach.

His contributions to Awakening The Appetite are inspired by his desire to put his culinary skills to good use and whet the appetite of cancer patients through a delightful platter of tasty, nutritious, easy-to-make dishes that can be enjoyed by patients, together with their loved ones.

Having lost his uncle to cancer at the tender age of 12, Travis was keen to contribute in some way towards alleviating the suffering of cancer patients.

Presented with the challenge of preparing something that was tasty and nutritious while considering the dietary and physical aspects involved. He wanted to prepare dishes that patients could consume normally while being sensitive to their condition.

Travis was careful not to include any additives or fat in his dishes and chose instead to rely on fresh ingredients – fruits, herbs and spices – to add taste and zest. He also included lots of vegetables in his creations and concentrated on keeping the dishes fresh, vibrant and light overall.

He advises cancer patients and people in general to learn how to eat well: in other words, eat a balanced diet. He believes that it is always easier for a patient to adjust to a new way of life in terms of food choices if the entire family makes an active effort to do so as well. When his niece was diagnosed with an eating disorder, his brother’s family had to adjust their eating habits too and thus started eating healthier.

Since he specialises in western cuisine, Travis’s contributions to this recipe book include salads, soups and many seafood-based mains, which are easy to prepare. He hopes that patients and their families will relish his recipes and continue to enjoy them even after battling cancer.

Willin Low, Wild Rocket

Eight years ago, Willin Low left his well-paying career in the corporate world to pursure his passion of becoming a chef. This legal eagle turned chef has been cooking for appreciative crowds since.

After joining Italian eatery, Ricciotti, as a trainee in its pastry department, Willin quickly honed his talent for baking and pastry and was soon promoted to Chef de Partie at the fine dining establishment – Garibaldi.

Not long after, this self-taught chef struck out on his own, starting up his bistro, Wild Rocket, at Mount Emily. Less than two years after, he added Wild Oats to the list, followed by the burger joint Relish and Burger Bench & Bar.

In 2009, the New York Times named him one in three chefs to change the culinary scene in Singapore and he is also one of the 100 most exciting new chefs featured in the prestigious Phaidon publication “Coco: 10 World-Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs”.

His contributions to Awakening The Appetite stem from the fact that he cooks to make people happy. He says that being a chef-owner allows him to do more with himself and was glad to be given an opportunity to cook for cancer patients.

The challenges Willin faced, resulted mostly from having to work with certain ingredients. His paramount concern is flavour, but in this instance, nutrition was just as important.

It didn’t take him very long to come up with the recipes, mainly because he likes to live healthy and was able to incorporate most of his own dishes into this book. However, he did choose to create some recipes from scratch, featuring several vegetables as well as antioxidants and natural flavours and colours.

Willin believes that good food can cheer anyone up.He says that eating well is very important. However, he stresses that there are two apects to this; one being that food must taste good and the other being good nutrition. He says healthy eating habits do make a difference in people’s lives.

His contributions to this recipe book range from soups and salads to mains,all featuring his signature blend of fusion cuisine.