Eric Teo

The celebrity chef loves cooking for his loved ones during Chinese New Year. Try your hand at one of his favourite holiday recipes: succulent tiger prawns with walnuts and honey mandarin oranges.

TEXT Sasha Gonzales

PHOTOGRAPHY Wong Wei Liang consultant for SATS Catering as well as a Master Mentor with the Asian Culinary Institute in Singapore.

You may have also seen Chef Eric on TV – he’s a familiar face on cooking shows like King of Culinary on Mediacorp Channel 8, and in 2015 he was a guest chef on Episode 5 of Masterchef Asia

At almost 60 years old, the veteran chef is still pushing ahead. For the last 11 years, he’s been running his own culinary consultancy business, and in 2019 he set up a catering company, 3 Embers Culinary Craft, which offers sophisticated menus for private and corporate events.

Here, Chef Eric reflects on his successful career and reveals his musthave dishes and cooking appliances for Chinese New Year. He also shares a special prawn recipe that’s bursting with citrusy flavour – he hopes you’ll make it for your guests as you celebrate the Year of the Rabbit.

When did you start in the F&B business?

I started when I was a teenager back in 1979, when I got a job as a waiter. After a stint in the military between 1981 and 1985, I waited on tables again, at the then-Hyatt Regency (now Grand Hyatt Singapore). In 1986, the hotel sponsored my studies at SHATEC (the Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre), where I trained in Food Preparation (Culinary). For the next two years I did my apprenticeship at the Hyatt and slowly worked my way up. I’ve been a chef for more than three decades now.

Where did you train?

I got most of my training and experience from working in different hotels and with countless local and international chefs. In 1992, I began representing Singapore in various culinary competitions around the world. These competitions were also a good training ground for me.

Who were your culinary mentors over the years?

There’ve been so many, but one of the earliest was Chef Andreas Stalder, who gave me my apprenticeship at the Hyatt in 1986. I’m also grateful to Chef Daniel Koh, who taught me all about fusion cuisine, and Chef Peter Knipp, who helped me refine my skills as a chef. Chef Otto Weibel gave me the training I needed to become the president of the Singapore Chefs’ Association and a good culinary judge.