Opening Address by Guest-of-Honour, Mr Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State for Trade and Industry at RAS’ Epicurean Star Award 2013 on Tuesday, 26 November 2013, 7pm at Raffles City Convention Centre
President of Restaurant Association of Singapore, Mr Andrew Tjioe,
Chief Executives of Government Agencies and Companies
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Evening.
1. I am delighted to be here for the Epicurean Star Award Gala Dinner. This evening, we recognise the outstanding achievements of our industry players through the 5S Award, the Star Chef Competition and the Star Restaurants Awards. I would like to offer my deepest congratulations to the deserving winners and also take this opportunity to commend Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) for organising this event.
Singapore’s Restaurant Scene
2. Singapore’s multi-cultural society has given us a wide variety of cuisines, each with its distinctive flavour and character. This makes us well-positioned to be one of Asia’s top culinary capitals. Correspondingly, we have a vibrant restaurant scene. In 2011, there were almost 6,500 food and beverage establishments in Singapore, a 4.5% increase from the previous year. The industry employed over 100,000 people and generated S$7.1 billion in operating receipts[1]. Beyond the numbers, recent years have seen the emergence of a more creative food services scene, with more experimentation and new concepts.
3. However, food services players, particularly SMEs, face significant challenges in the form of manpower constraints, rising costs, increasingly discerning consumers and heightened competition. To meet these challenges, food services establishments need to develop differentiating concepts, and restructure businesses processes to improve productivity. The government, through agencies such as SPRING Singapore, will support businesses in this. Trade Associations such as RAS play a crucial role by helping to connect with industry players and coordinate their efforts.
Food Services Productivity
4. Productivity in Singapore’s food services sector lags behind that of other service sectors. From 2008 – 2011, value-add per worker for the food services sector grew at 1.9% per annum, compared to 2.5% per annum for the services sector[2]. In 2011, SPRING launched the productivity roadmap, for the food services sector, to encourage companies to develop innovative products and concept, streamline workflows through technology adoption and process redesign, upgrade manpower capabilities and improve service standards. More than 450 enterprises have been supported for various projects under this roadmap as of Sept 2013.
5. Manpower is a key concern for SMEs, especially those in the food services sector. To help with this, SPRING recently started the SME Talent Programme, which matches SMEs with students in ITEs and polytechnics to help SMEs employ locals. For food services, SPRING has been working with RAS, and so far 32 students have been successfully matched to 13 SMEs in the sector. Companies can also tap on SPRING’s Part‑time Pool Programme to cope with varying manpower demands.
Role of RAS
6. An excellent example of how RAS has been helping the industry is the 5S Housekeeping programme, adopted from the Japanese 5S system[3]. This is a method of organising a workspace, and stands for “Sort”, “Systemise”, “Shine”, “Standardise”, and “Self-Discipline”. Use of the 5S approach improves operational efficiency and space utilisation, which significantly lowers costs for food services establishments. Many companies, including Tung Lok, Palm Beach, Jumbo Group, Pu Tien, Paradise Group, Bakerzin and Pine Garden’s Cake have implemented this in their restaurants and have experienced improved productivity and profitability.
7. For instance, through the 5S programme, Pine Garden’s Cake decreased the time taken to produce a cake by 10%, reduced wastage by 50% and reduced the time needed to locate items in the kitchen by 20%. These improvements have helped Pine Garden’s Cake to significantly improve productivity and product safety. Customer satisfaction has also improved by 10%. Being a micro SME did not impede Pine Garden’s Cake’s push for productivity. Their achievements should inspire other SMEs, regardless of size, to adopt the 5S programme either on their own, or in groups to share the cost.
8. RAS has also worked closely with SPRING to make solutions easy to understand and adopt. So I am delighted to announce the SME Packaged Solutions Programme today. This was put together by SPRING in consultation with RAS and industry players, and focuses on the two key areas of workflow re-design and manpower scheduling.
9. RAS has also been active in engaging private partners, and has worked with Unilever Food Solutions to launch the Chefmanship Academy Training Programme. The success of a restaurant is closely linked to the chefs’ culinary skills. The Chefmanship Academy, which will start its first course tomorrow, aims to impart knowledge and tools for chefs, managers and owners to achieve greater kitchen efficiency, customer satisfaction and hence business profitability.
Conclusion
10. The food services industry is a key part of Singapore’s economy, and eating out is an integral part of the Singapore experience. Companies must continue to press on to restructure and improve productivity. The government, together with RAS as a key partner, will support companies in their restructuring journey and is prepared to help companies to meet the challenges of economic restructuring. For the government to help companies and sector, the companies and sector must also help themselves. With your commitment and passion, we will be able to achieve our vision of being Asia’s top culinary capital together.
11. Once again, I would like to thank RAS for organising this celebratory event. My heartiest congratulations go to all the participants, nominees and winners. I wish you a pleasant evening ahead. Thank you.