Paramount was awarded 17/20 points and 2 chef's hat in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide in 1997, and listed as one of the 12 Best Restaurants in Australia by Terry Durack. Owner and chef Christine Manfield aka "High Priestess of Modern Sydney Cooking" has published 2 cookbooks entitled "Paramount Cooking" and "Paramount Desserts" propelling her own unique style of modern Australian cuisine to the limelight when the former was short-listed for the Australian book design award and the Julia Child award for first-time published cookbook in 1996. "Paramount Desserts" was listed one of the top 10 best sellers of non-fiction work for 1997 in Australia. Singapore's finest independent French restaurant, Les Amis, will play host to chef Manfield during the Summit. Recipient of Wine Spectator's grand award in 1996, Les Amis was recently awarded "Best Dining Experience" during the Tourism Awards 1997.

Deputy Chief Executive Chef of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Diaoyutai State Guest House in China, Wang Hong Fa is responsible for the preparation of state banquets for most visiting dignitaries. He has served world leaders such as Ronald Reagan, Jacques Chirac and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and President Ong Teng Cheong. Wang was trained in the famous Beijing Hotel under Huang Run and Hua Yong Xing (now deceased) of Diaoyutai who had been great influences on his style. Residing in the newly upgraded Orchard Parade Hotel, Club Chinois (Tung Lok Group's new venture showcasing traditional Tan Cuisine with a modern twist) plays host to chef Wang in July.

Club Chinois

Having been awarded two stars by the Michelin Guide, 19.5/20 and "Award of the Year" by Gault Millau, Schweitzer Stuben is also a member of Relais & Chateaux with executive chef Fritz Schilling introduced as "one of Europe's greatest chefs". Schilling who specialises in Mediterranean cuisine, based on Provencal traditions and philosophies, has trained in his parents' restaurant since the age of 17. His cuisine stresses on the use of "vegetables, fish, crustacean and meat from animals which were bred naturally and under appropriate circumstances". Schilling will be hosted by Maxim's De Paris at the Regent Singapore. Known world-wide for fine dining a la mode Francaise, the restaurant's counterpart on Rue Royale in Paris merits a listing in the culinary bible, Larousse Gastronomique.

Maxim's de Paris

The 400-year-old Hyo Tei is one of the few existing Japanese style restaurants that still retains a traditional mode of the Edo period. President and chef Eiichi Takahashi is Hyo Tei's fourteenth generation descendent and is known throughout Japan as the "Big Boss" and "Godfather" of high-quality, traditional Japanese cuisine. Hyo Tei is famous for its exquisite kaiseiki featuring supreme seasonal flavours and Takahashi is renowned for his endorsement of kyoyasai (traditional Kyoto vegetables) and its subsequent widespread use in the whole of Japan. He is a consulting chairman of the Mabaekai Association which is made up of a panel of distinguished culinary personalities in Japan including chefs Murata of Kikunoi, Ishikawa of Tenki, Kurusu of Tankuma, Hirotani of Hiroya and Tsuji of Nakamuraroh. For his visit to the Summit, Takahashi will be accompanied by Kurusu, Murata and Nakata. Founded by Tigran Sarkies in 1887, Raffles Hotel Singapore has undergone a 21/2-year restorative facelift since and reopened in 1991 to worldwide critical acclaim for its outstanding culinary tradition. The Raffles Culinary Academy upholds the noble tradition of the Grand Old Lady by offering an interesting range of cooking and lifestyle classes to suit the palates of discerning gourmets, food hobbyist and amateur chefs. For the World Gourmet Summit, Raffles Culinary Academy plays host to Takahashi.

Raffles Culinary Academy

Harald Bresselschmidt was responsible for making Bosman's at the Grand Roche Hotel the best restaurant in the country for 2 years consecutively and for taking the Rhebokskloof Wine Estate Gastronomy and his own restaurant, Aubergine to the height of culinary achievement when both were placed among the Top 10 Best Restaurants of South Africa. Bresselschmit bases his cuisine on a "innovations and inspirations" tagline, inventing surprising combinations of flavours by "cooking in his head"! Mandarin Singapore's Top of the "M", Singapore's first and highest revolving restaurant, will feature chef Bresselschmidt during the Summit.

Top-of-the-M

Gault Millau's "Chef of the Year" both in 1989 and 1995, Andre Jaeger has under his belt, two stars from the Michelin Guide and 19/20 from Gault Millau since 1995. Jaeger, who met his wife Doreen while working at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, exemplifies in his cuisine "a unique blend of the highlights of ancient Eastern and modern Western cooking." He draws his inspiration from "the extraordinary delights of Asian cuisine and its basis in the Taoist tenet of perfect balance between the Yin and Yang". The Summit will have Jaeger at Compass Rose, a restaurant perched atop the world's tallest hotel, the Westin Stamford. The restaurant's design is inspired by the style of the "Windows of the World" restaurant at the top of New York's World Trade Centre, and has received the "Top Restaurant" title in the American Express Service Excellence Awards.

Compass Rose,

Douglas Rodriguez's Neuvo Latino restaurant Patria won 2 (out of 4) stars from New York Times within its first year in operation and 2 years later, it rose to 3-star status (there are only five 4-star restaurants in New York). Patria has received similar kudos in Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Food and Wine and the New Yorker. Rodriguez is also called 'the most important Latin chef in the restaurant world" by Nina Zagat, and received the Chefs of America Award in 1991, Culinary Master of North America Award in 1994 and Rising Star Chef 1996 by the James Beard Foundation. He has also appeared on numerous television cooking shows and has been the guest chef on the Today Show and Late Night with David Letterman. Now chosen by Newsweek Magazine as one of the 100 Americans who will influence us all in the coming millenium, Douglas is author of Nuevo Latino and Latin Ladles. Snappers, an innovative New Asian restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore will be the showcase for Rodriguez's Neuvo Latino cuisine.

Snappers

Responsible for the second Michelin star, 3 toques and 17/50 points in the Gault Millau guide at Restaurant Laurent, Bernard Guilhaudin who hails from the renowned 2-star Michelin La Tour d'Argent, learnt his ropes from masters no less than Alain Chapel, Claude Peyrot and Daniel Wildestein. Renowned for being an integral part of Singapore's culinary heritage, Raffles Hotel and its brigade of dedicated chefs have been bestowed with numerous accolades and awards for serving what was once described as "the finest fare in the East". Raffles Grill, with its beautifully restored classical detailing and French windows overlooking the Palm Court, featuring a cooking style rooted in the French classical tradition with contemporary overtones, will be the host for Guilhaudin.

Raffles Grill