The Marquee experiential dining will offer a theatrical dining experience with state-of-the-art audio. — Photos: Marina Bay Sands
Over the years, Singapore has emerged as quite the gastronomic hotspot for travellers and locals looking for opulence and indulgence in their fine-dining experiences.
And nowhere is this more evident than with Marina Bay Sands (MBS), which has become synonymous with luxury experiences. In fact, if you’re a gourmand or someone with a penchant for the finer things in life, you’ll want to mark your calendars for MBS’ first-ever food and wine festival, to be held between May 15 and 28, under the banner “Where Your Senses Feast”.
The festival is spotlighted and book-ended by multiple culinary events and experiences, from collaborative dinners to appearances by top chefs in the region. This includes a six-star dinner set for May 19 and 20, which will involve chef Stefan Stiller of the three Michelin-starred Taian Table in Shanghai, as well as chef Greg Bess of the one Michelin-starred Cut in Singapore. There’s also the legendary chef Tetsuya Wakuda of the famed two Michelin-starred Waku Ghin.
Stiller is the chef behind three Michelin-starred Taian Table in Shanghai and will be taking part in the six-star dinner during the festival.
These three culinary titans will be joining forces in Singapore and playing to their strengths in a menu that will include stone ox full blood wagyu filet mignon, Brittany blue lobster and so much more.
Another nirvanic highlight for gourmands of every stripe will be a dinner on May 21 (selling fast) featuring guest chef Ton Tassanakjohn, the chef-owner of Bangkok’s redoubtable Le Du, which is now ranked the No.1 restaurant on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2023 list.
The Marquee Experiential Dining on May 23 and 24, with Filipino star chefs Jordy Navarro and Johanne Siy (Asia’s Best Female Chef 2023) offers an innovative meal that takes all the fussiness out of fine-dining and injects it with fun and verve instead.
Perhaps one of the most highly-anticipated appearances at the festival is Australian culinary legend Luke Mangan, who will be helming an event called “The Great Chef Showcase” on May 17 and 18, which will showcase his culinary chops and then some.
MBS’ other eateries will also be joining in the festivities, so there is plenty to whet the appetite. Diners can experience the Gordon Ramsay Wine Club (which involves selecting bottled wines from Bread Street Kitchen) or a five-star dinner at Waku Ghin or even the “World Of Wagyu” event at Koma.
According to Matthew Helm, the executive director of culinary at MBS, putting together this ground-breaking culinary event involved a lot of planning and behind-the-scenes direction and execution.
“While we have held annual editions of our own Epicurean Market in the past, we have not embarked on anything quite like this upcoming two-week long food and wine festival.
“We started out with a vision to bring together the most creative minds in the industry – chefs who are at the peak of their leagues, eager to break new boundaries, and complementary to MBS’ culinary aspirations.
Wagyu beef from Australia, Japan and the United States will be showcased at Koma's World of Wagyu.
“In all, our food and wine festival is a culmination of the most brilliant and diverse talent in gastronomy today – and what better to be able to experience them all in a single setting?” he says.
Helm says one of the key elements of the festival is the fact that it isn’t just about stiff white table cloth fine-dining meals. The festival looks at elevating these culinary experiences and challenging the norm.
“Fine dining is no longer confined within the white tablecloth experience and conventional formalities. We are raising the bar by taking dining out of restaurants into one-of-a-kind settings such as our museum, nightclub, and even the outdoor Event Plaza set against the backdrop of skyscrapers and the glistening Marina Bay waters. “We are excited to introduce theatrical performances and state-of-the-art audio-visual elements at key events such as the ‘Six Star Dinner’ and ‘Marquee experiential dining’ to elevate the dining experience to a new level.
“For one, I am looking forward to witnessing the chemistry between chefs Jordy Navarra and chef Johanne Siy through their live demonstrations on Marquee’s stage. This form of free flow, interactive dinner is captivating. People love connecting with chefs more than ever to uncover their culinary philosophies and creative process behind the dishes,” he says.
Helm is the culinary wizard behind the execution of all the gastronomic events at MBS' inaugural food and wine festival.
Conducting and synchronising a festival of this magnitude with chefs of such high-calibre is no small feat and Helm admits he and his team have their work cut out for them, as many elements require customisation and looking at the finer details.
“It is a mammoth task for our culinary and stewarding teams to execute more than 30 dining experiences across the property over two weeks. From building out satellite kitchens to sourcing of high-quality ingredients, down to structuring support teams assigned to each guest chef and curation of tableware, the entire execution requires an extremely high level of precision.
“For instance, temperature is vital when it comes to food preparation, and made even more challenging when we are working on such magnitude of up to 170-pax dinners out of the restaurant. There is no room for error.
“The other important value alignment we ask of our guest chefs is to join us in our ongoing journey in sustainability. We will continue to implement sustainable kitchen practices throughout the festival, from segregating wet waste from plastic, cardboard, and oil, down to the portioning of food. We also use fresh herbs from our in-house herb garden in the dishes,” he says.
The Gordon Ramsay Wine Club is one of the highlights of the festival and enables diners to sample some of the finest bottled tipple from Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen.
Response to the inaugural festival has been phenomenal, with many events already sold out entirely. Helm says that given the enthusiastic thumbs-up they have received from diners, the festival will likely be on the cards next year as well.
“The response since we launched ticket sales has been overwhelming and evident of the high demand for iconic dining experiences. We are sold out on the first nights of five different dinners and masterclasses, with limited seats left to events helmed by our own chefs.
“We envision this festival to become an annual affair and can’t wait to see how the first one comes to fruition,” he says.
For more information about MBS’ food and wine festival “Where Your Senses Feast”, go to www.marinabaysands.com/campaign/food-and-wine-festival.html.
