Interview with Leroy Zhong of Bon Soir – Dark Dining

With the competition to gain The Ultimate Start-Up Space by Martell VSOP still underway, we catch up with the top 10 finalists of the challenge to find out more about their ideas and the drive behind them. First, we got Leroy Zhong of “Bon Soir – Dark Dining” to share his thoughts.

(For a quick overview of the prizes the ultimate winner stands to gain, read this.)

Describe your idea and how you think it stands out from all the finalists.

Our idea for the shop space is to have a fine-dining restaurant with a completely pitch-dark environment. The visually handicapped will be hired Read more

8 Tips to Setting Up Your Food and Beverage Business in Singapore

The Food-and-Beverage (F & B) services industry is booming in Singapore. In view of the upcoming launch of the Integrated Resorts (IR), the F & B services industry is set to see phenomenal growth in the next 5 years. From 4,489 in 2005, the number of F & B establishments has surged significantly to 4,900 in 2006 (a short 1 year span).

Increasingly, students from renowned institutions such as ITE and SHATEC look forward to honing their entrepreneurial skills after graduation by setting up their own F&B brand names. This trend could be attributed to the swell in media attention placed on the F & B industry in recent years. Read more

In Conversation with Yen and Celeste of The Butter Factory

If you are an avid clubber, there is no doubt that you would have partied the night away at The Butter Factory before. And even if you don’t club, I’m pretty sure you would have heard its name being tossed around by friends as party venues before. We managed to steal some time away from two of its four co-founders, Tay Eu-Yen and Celeste Chong, to have this interview. Read more

Interview: Sky Chiew, CEO of Donut Empire

For those who have been faithfully trotting down to any one of the bright, sunny and inviting Donut Empire outlets, thinking about the people behind Donut Empire might be the furthest from your mind when you have mouth-watering yummy donuts right in front of you. But here we bring you a conversation with the man behind the popular donut chain, CEO, Donut Empire, Sky Chiew. Read more