Benny Se Teo (Singapore Chef)
Benny Se Teo (12 March 1960) is a Singaporean chef and the founder of Eighteen Chefs.[1] In 2018, Benny Se Teo opened a new restaurant called The Meathouse by 18 chefs.
Background
Benny Se Teo’s recipe book, Honest Good Food. Photo credit to LOCALBOOKS.sg.
Born in 1960, Benny Se Teo was raised in Chinatown, Singapore alongside 6 older siblings. Benny studied at Bukit Merah Secondary School. After failing his O’Levels, he decided to end his formal education.[2]
Encounters with drugs
Benny’s father abused and trafficked opium. As a child, he helped his father to package the drug for his customers.[3] Benny started smoking marijuana as a teenager.[4] His over-dependence on drugs cost him 10 years in jail and drug rehabilitation centres.[5] After a near-death encounter in 1992, Benny decided to quit drugs for good.[6]
Early career
Following repeated rejections by companies due to his criminal record, Benny first worked as a freelance motorcycle courier.[7] By 2000, he had saved approximately S$20,000 from the job. In 2005, Benny co-founded the Chinese restaurant Goshen. However, the restaurant closed within a year due to poor management.[8]
Internship at Fifteen (2006)
In 2006, Benny secured a one-year internship at the UK-based restaurant, Fifteen. Owned by Jamie Oliver, Fifteen offers apprenticeships to underprivileged young people. Benny became the first Singaporean to work at Fifteen. He worked with the famous chef Gennaro Contaldo, who was recognised as Jamie Oliver’s mentor. Under Gennaro, Benny picked up cooking techniques and kitchen operation skills.[9]
Eighteen Chefs (2007 – present day)
Benny pictured in an Eighteen Chefs outlet. Photo from Singapore’s Finest. Benny Se Teo pictured in the Eighteen Chefs kitchen. Photo from Singapore Tatler.
Upon his return to Singapore in 2007, Benny opened the first Eighteen Chefs outlet at Eastpoint Mall. Eighteen Chefs hires ex-convicts and youths-at-risk, allowing these individuals to a means to support themselves financially and gain work experience.[10] In 2012, 35% of his staff were troubled youth and ex-offenders and by 2015, the numbers rose to 50%.[11]
Growth
In 2009, Benny opened 3 more outlets at Yishun, Tiong Bahru and Buona Vista. However within a year, 2 of these outlets had to be shut down due to poor business. Despite these early financial troubles, the restaurants were earning more than S$750,000 per month and more than S$10 million annually by 2014.[12] Between 2007 and 2014, Benny increased his staff’s wages from S$1,100 to S$1,300. As of January 2019, there are 12 Eighteen Chefs outlets islandwide spanning from heartland areas such as Serangoon to shopping districts like Orchard and Bugis.[13]
Career highlights
Honest Good Food (2016)
In December 2016, Benny published a cookbook titled “Honest Good Food: Bold Favours, Hearty Eats”. The book features 38 recipes inspired by Benny’s life experiences and the insights that he had gained from them.[14] The book retails for S$32.00 on the Marshall Cavendish website.[15]
Awards & accolades
Year
Award/Title
Awarding Organisation
Refs.
2015
Notable Award
One Asia Awards 2015
[16]
Best Western Restaurant (Chain)
RAS EPICUREAN STAR AWARD 2015
[17]
2013
Emerging Enterprise Award
The Business Times & OCBC Bank
[18]
2012
Social Enterprise of the Year
President’s Challenge Social Enterprise Award (PCSEA)
[19][20]
2010
Simply Dining Award
–
[21]
2010
SIP Fellow Award
Social Innovation Park
[22][23]
2009
Spirit of Enterprise (Honoree)
Spirit of Enterprise (SOE) Awards
[24]
Media appearances
Benny Se Teo on stage at TEDx P&G (2016). Photo credit to Benny Se Teo.
Interviews & features
Benny Se Teo and Eighteen Chefs has been featured considerably by local publishing sites and TV broadcasting channels like Channel U, Suria and 8 Days magazine.[25] He has also been invited for interviews by international media companies.[26] One of his interviews on HK Apple Daily has more than 190,000 views on YouTube as of January 2019.[27]
Events
Year
Event
Role
Refs.
2016
TEDx P&G Singapore
Guest Speaker
[28]
2015
TEDx JNJ Singapore
Guest Speaker
[29]
2014
Future Leaders Summit
Guest Speaker
[30]
References / Citations