Top professional chefs are predominantly male, so when a female dons the toque in a hotel kitchen, it’s an event to shout about. And with Anne-Cecile Degenne, the attention is entirely justified. The Frenchwoman is culinary elegance, both in the presentation of her dishes and her blending of flavours and textures. If you haven’t heard of her, it’s because she new to Sofitel So Singapore, which itself was launched only a few months back.
Degenne, who’s worked with Jean Georges Vongerichten and at Eden Rocks resort in St Barts, will show off her chops at the hotel’s Xperience Restaurant and Bar with two one-night-only dinners on the eves of Christmas and New Year. Her scallop carpaccio, winter black truffle, green apple and combava dish demands to be savoured, the delicate succulence of the meat lifted by the tang of fruit and scented with shavings of earthiness. She’s equally adept at the other dishes, whether it be turbot filet with artichoke and truffle juice or French oyster with caviar d’aquitaine and leek.
These three items are part of Degenne’s Christmas Eve five-course menu that starts at $188, $228 with wine pairing. Her New Year’s Eve six-course spread starts at $208, $268 with free flow of champagne and French wines. The hotel calls her Xperience’s resident culinary designer. We hope she’s here to stay.
Sofitel So, 35 Robinson Road.
