Singaporean chef Mathew Leong wants to win at the prestigious Bocuse d’Or, deemed as the Olympic Games for cooking
The Singaporean chef is the country’s best bet for a top-three placement at the prestigious competition. But the contingent is less than halfway to its S$1 million fundraising target with six months left to the grand finals in France.

Michelin-starred Singaporean chef Mathew Leong. (Photo: Sune Eriksen)
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When Mathew Leong first competed in the Bocuse d’Or in 2021, he was only 26 years old and was Singapore’s youngest ever representative in the biennial competition deemed as the Olympic Games for cooking.
At that time, Leong juggled 10-hour trainings on his off days, fund-raising and figuring out logistics while working as the head chef at then Michelin-plated and now one Michelin-starred Restaurant À L’Aise in Oslo from Tuesday to Saturday. The night before the finals, he was still at a grocery store until 3am.
Leong, who is now the executive chef of three Michelin-starred Re-naa in Stavanger, Norway, remarked wryly: “I was exhausted even before it started, but I had to do everything myself because I was not financially stable.” He went on to earn a respectable 12th placing among 21 candidates, the best showing since William Wai clinched a bronze for the Republic in 1989.
Today, as Leong is gunning to be the youngest and first Asian and Singaporean to clinch a gold at Bocuse d’Or 2025, he may be sleeping better with more experience, but the same concerns weigh on his mind.

With only six months more to go, the Singapore contingent has not even reached half of the targeted S$1 million funding for training expenses, flights and accommodation as well as sending 500kg of equipment by air freight to the competition arenas.
Leong said: “It will help tremendously to have more funding, more sponsors. There’re many things we can do with a stronger budget. The participants from the Nordic countries stop work and train full-time for their countries for two years. The amount of money that their sponsors, especially their local institutions, pour into them is just crazy. Imagine you’re racing on an F1 track and your competitors have the best cars and you’re driving a not-so-good one. You need to be on par with them otherwise there’s no point doing it.”
Having mentored chefs such as Jason Tan, chef-owner of two Michelin-starred Euphoria, and one Michelin-starred Alma’s executive chef Yew Eng Tong through several Bocuse d’Or competitions, Eric Teo, the honorary president of the Bocuse d’Or Singapore Academy, didn’t mince his words when talking about the uphill journey a Singapore candidate faces.
He said: “In Europe, they take two years off just to train for this competition. With manpower crunch in Singapore, restaurants are less likely to release one person to focus on that, especially if the candidate is likely to be at least of sous chef calibre. You need to work yet also be dedicated to training at the same time; you’ve to find chefs who are familiar enough with Bocuse d’Or to train you, and you have to raise a few hundred thousand dollars to get to the competition.”
William Wai’s bronze placement in 1989 was considered extraordinary given the odds. Wai, who was working at the iconic Compass Rose restaurant at Westin Stamford Hotel then, was the Republic’s first candidate to the competition. He had joined mainly with the mindset of gaining exposure, and credited the result to the fact that he had a European trainer and that the blend of eastern and western elements in his dishes made his creations stand out from the rest.
Wai, currently the healthcare corporate chef at SATS Ltd, recalled: “it was really tough then as I could only train during my off day and had only a few months to prepare for the finals. Fortunately, I had the support and coaching of chefs Otto Weibel and Joe Yap from Westin Hotel. It would have been great if we had more sponsors for equipment, financial support and I had more time to train for the competition. I was also uncertain then if I would be able to compete with the European chefs and chef-owners who came from established restaurants.”
Bocuse d’Or was started by French chef Paul Bocuse in 1987 to broaden the public’s appreciation of the finesse, dedication and hard work that goes behind creating fine cuisine. The rigorous competition is held every two years and includes national and regional rounds in Europe, America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. Twenty-four countries are eventually selected for the two-day finals where each team comprising the chef and a commis (assistant chef) will create two themed dishes within five hours and 30 minutes.

Leong is the Republic’s best shot at podium glory to date for the upcoming Bocuse d’Or. The 2023 Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe lister has been based in the competition’s most awarded country for the past eight years. Re-naa recently earned its third Michelin star in the 2024 edition of the Michelin Guide Nordic Countries, the only one from Stavanger. The 21-seat restaurant showcases the region’s finest seasonal produce and is owned by Leong’s mentor and boss Sven Erik Renaa.
In addition, Leong is mentored by a bevy of chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants including Bocuse d’Or Singapore Academy president Bruno Menard and team coach and co-chair Julien Royer from three Michelin-starred Odette. Seasoned Singaporean chefs Eric Teo, Toh Chia Wee Zave and Jimmy Chok, who spotted potential in 13-year-old Leong when he took part in a cooking competition, are also on the committee.
Royer said it was a “no brainer” to say yes when he was asked by Menard. He explained: “Bocuse d’Or showcases the creme de la creme of the culinary world. Mathew is a very technical and organised chef with the attention to detail and extreme precision to perform at a very high level. My job as team coach is to ensure that he has all the necessary tools and technical support to deliver the best possible results. We’re raising funds through different channels, dinners and other activities as it is costly to manage all the necessary logistics for Matthew to shine.”

Culinary product suppliers like Classic Fine Foods and Elle & Vire Professionnel have stepped in to provide ingredients and logistics support. Karen Tay, managing director of Classic Fine Foods, said: “We hope to inspire more to join us in building a supportive ecosystem to nurture local talents. It takes a whole nation to get behind initiatives like Bocuse d’Or to raise a culinary star, much like an Olympic champion.”
Even the Norwegians are showing their support. Seafood company Domstein is sponsoring Leong’s €300,000 (S$435,462) state-of-the-art practice kitchen in Stavanger, which is designed to be an exact replica of the grand finals space right down to the positioning of the drawers and the oven and stove brands. This allows Leong to rehearse every movement, cooking temperature and preparation process in the competition right down to a tee. “I’d know exactly how many steps are needed to reach from one point to another even with my eyes closed,” he said.
Leong currently trains twice a week, with time trials that simulate competition conditions right down to the crowd roars and having video cameras in his face. From July onwards, he will focus on training full-time for the Asia-Pacific selections in Shenzhen this September and then the grand finals in Lyon in January 2025. There is also a personal trainer and mental coach to ensure that Leong is in top physical and mental form.
With all the stars lined up in Leong’s favour, it would be a great pity if one of our brightest on the global dining stage is hampered by finances. Would a nation emulate its Nordic counterparts and throw its weight behind its own instead of waiting for concrete results to justify an investment? We hope so because Leong is all fired up to go all the way. He said: “I’m excited, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fulfil my dream and fly the Singapore flag high.”