The Life Of A Chef

We get behind the grill with a barbecue expert in Singapore.

With over 30 years of experience in the culinary scene, Chef William Lum has accumulated an amazing track record, from winning multiple cooking competitions to coaching up-and-coming kitchen protégés.

Not one to rest on his laurels, the Weber Grill Academy Chef now heads the Grill Academy on Joo Chiat Road, where he continues to pass down his invaluable skills and knowledge through cooking workshops.

Tell us about a memorable experience from your time working as a chef.

When I was in Paris for culinary training, the restaurant I worked at didn’t offer a fixed menu. Instead, the Chef de Cuisine would bring us to the Rungis (a wholesale market) every Monday and Thursday, early in the morning at 3.30 am, to get fresh produce. At the market, he would share with us his knowledge of each item and explain the best ways to prepare it. We would arrive back at the restaurant around 8.30 am to 9 am. Then, it was time to unload and reorganise the food into different categories. The Chef would then proceed to write up the menu to be served over the next three days.

I remember one time we bought a big basket of live eels, and on the way back to the restaurant in the truck, one of them managed to escape from the basket – and I had to catch it! When it started crawling on my leg, I screamed; later, everyone made fun of me about it!

That must almost seem like a different life! What about your current job at Weber here in Singapore; what does it involve?