The Singapore Food Festival, an event dedicated to local cuisine and F&B talent, will be taking on a virtual format for the first time this year.
Taking place across two weekends in August (August 21-23 and August 28-30), SFF 2020 will feature over 25 F&B partners across virtual food tours, live masterclasses, chef collaborations, food bundles and limited edition food merchandise.
In line with the SingapoRedediscovers campaign launched July 22, SFF seeks to "encourage the rediscovery of local cuisine", according to Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in its release.
Said Ranita Sundra, director of retail and dining, STB: "The Singapore Food Festival has always been about putting the spotlight on our vibrant and evolving local F&B landscape. While we are unable to host SFF in its usual form, we are excited about the possibilities that the festival’s very first virtual edition will bring."
This year's festival will comprise four components:
Live masterclasses
Free for viewing, these 17 sessions, conducted via the Webex virtual platform, will offer a behind-the scenes look into the creative process by renowned chefs and experts such as award-winning pastry chef Cheryl Koh of Tarte by Cheryl Koh, Julien Royer of three Michelin-starred Odette, and bartenders Colin Chia and Charmaine Thio from Nutmeg & Clove, one of Asia's 50 Best Bars 2020. Selected masterclasses will offer slots for in-person interaction at restaurants and ingredient boxes that can be purchased and delivered to festival-goers' doorstep.
Food bundles
Despite being a virtual event, the festival will enable participants to sample tantalising dishes on offer – think "Damn Easy Hokkien Mee" by chef Ming Tan or "Kueh Kuehs" by Jeremy Nguee of Mrs Kueh and Claire Ariela Shen of Cooking Art – with food bundles that can be purchased from mobile marketplace Shopee.
Virtual food tours
Foodies who enjoy exploring will not want to miss out on these digital food tours hosted by local TV personality Chua Enlai. He will take viewers on a virtual trip down historical precincts such as Tanjong Pagar, Chinatown, Katong and Joo Chiat and discover stories behind heritage businesses and popular food eats. Limited slots are available for participants to join local tour guides on a physical guided tour over the two weekends, with details available on the SFF website.
SFF food merchandise
Festival-goers can pay tribute to local hawker culture by purchasing Uniqlo's UTme! range of eight limited-edition T-shirts featuring famous hawker dishes like laksa, kueh tutu and nasi lemak – specially created for SFF 2020 by local illustrator Mandy Kew. They can also take a sip of exclusive beer "Passion Gao Siew Dai" created by Brewerkz, or enjoy Violet Oon's signature sambal bajak and goreng chilli that go perfectly with grilled meats and seafood.
First 90 early-bird participants who pre-book SFF 2020's offerings will be rewarded with SFF Boxes that contain some of the SFF food merchandise.
Visit www.singaporefoodfestival.sg for a full list of activities.