Justin Quek (郭文秀,

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: Guō Wénxìu; born on 30 March 1962 in Singapore) is a

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a k ...

based in

. His specialty is in Franco-Asian cuisine. He is Singapore's most internationally known chef and the first Asian chef invited to participate in

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding ...

's Star Chefs program.

Biography

Quek is

Teochew Teochew or Chiuchow (; peng'im: ''Dio⁵ziu¹'' ) is a historical area that is mostly within the modern Chaoshan region, eastern Guangdong, China. Teochew may also refer to: * Teochew dialect, a dialect of Southern Min Chinese, commonly used i ...

and his family business in the past was a fruit stall in Queen Street. His father died when he was seven. He has 11 other siblings and he attended

Broadrick Secondary School Broadrick Secondary School (BSS) is a co-educational government secondary school located along Old Airport Road, Singapore. The school is located beside Dakota MRT station. History Broadrick Secondary School was first established in 1968 at Dunma ...

. Quek had always wanted to travel. After his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in Singapore, at 20 years old, he got a job as a

steward Steward may refer to: Positions or roles * Steward (office), a representative of a monarch * Steward (Methodism), a leader in a congregation and/or district * Steward, a person responsible for supplies of food to a college, club, or other ins ...

. It was after two years as a seaman that led him to his passion of cooking. He then went on to learn the basics of cooking at the Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Center (SHATEC) for one year. After his graduation in 1986, Quek continued his culinary training at The Oriental's hotels in Bangkok and Singapore under chef Bertrand Langlet, who encouraged him to go to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

to further his training. In 1991, Quek used his life savings of $40,000 to travel to France to greatly improve his skills. He returned to Singapore in 1992, taking the place of personal chef at the French Embassy, serving two high commissioners. Quek then joined Les Amis at Shaw House, Singapore. In 2004, he left Les Amis to establish a new restaurant called La Petite Cuisine in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. He has since opened another French eatery La Platane, a fine-dining

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...

restaurant Villa du Lac and a restaurant named Fountain. All three are located at

Xintiandi Xintiandi (, Shanghainese: ''Shinthidi'' lit. "New Heaven and Earth",Warr, Anne: ''Shanghai Architecture'', The Watermark Press, 2007, fig. "New World") is an affluent car-free shopping, eating and entertainment district of Shanghai. Xintiand ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. He sold all businesses in Shanghai in January 2009. Opened Just In Bistro & Wine Bar, Taipei in April 2009, and fine-dining French restaurant Justin's Signatures in Dec 2009. Sold all business in Taipei in 2013. Quek was also a consultant to Whisk, The Mira Hong Kong and The French Window, IFC Hong Kong. In 2010, Quek returned to Singapore and opened the "Sky On 57" at

Marina Bay Sands Marina Bay Sands ( abbreviation: MBS) is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. The resort is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and at its opening in 2010, it was deemed the world's most expensive standalone casino p ...

, Singapore. The restaurant showcases an array of Franco-Asian cuisine, and offers a view of the Singapore skyline.

Drink Driving

In June 2010, Quek was jailed for two weeks, fined S$6,300 for drink driving and banned from driving all vehicles for four years. Further investigation revealed that Quek was driving without a licence and proper insurance coverage. He was also convicted of drink driving in 2005.

Awards

* In 2001, Quek was awarded the title of Best Chef of the Year at the inaugural World Gourmet Summit (WGS) Awards. * In 2003 and 2004, Quek won the title of San Pellegrino Chef of the Year. * In 2004, Quek received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 8th Annual New World Food and Wine Festival. * In 2005, Quek received the At-Sunrice GlobalChef Award. * In 2009, Quek received World Gourmet Summit Award of Excellence Hall of Fame Best chef.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quek, Justin 1962 births Singaporean people of Teochew descent Living people Singaporean chefs Chefs of French cuisine Singaporean people of Chinese descent