World Association of Chefs Societies—News

The New WACS Continental Director For Asia: Rick Stephen from Singapore
24-05-2011

The new WACS Continental Director for Asia was chosen by a fair voting system during the recent Asian Presidents Forum at Disney Hotel in Hong Kong last week.

Rick Stephen, who is a certified master chef and the Executive Chef for SATS Ltd, won by a majority of votes. He succeeds John Sloane, the former Continental Director for Asia, who made the decision to step down a few months ago due to his increasing work commitments as Vice President of F&B at Resorts World Sentosa.

Says Rick, “I hope to represent the member countries and ensure they get their hearing. WACS is also responsible for a number of great programs like Train the Trainer and Chefs Without Borders and I need to make sure the Asian members have access to these programmes.”

At the Asian Presidents Forum, John Sloane also added that he will still be supporting the various WACS initative from the background, and generously made the offer to host the next Asian Presidents Forum 2012 in Singapore.

Gissur Gudmundsoon, President of WACS said, "John has worked hard in his role and he has made a big difference. For that, we want to thank him and we look forward to his future contributions."

Up Close and Personal with Rick Stephen
The New WACS Asia Continental Director shares more about his vision.

Aussie ex-pat and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) Executive Chef Rick Stephen has been elected to the board of the World Association of Chefs’ Societies as Continental Director for the Asian region.

Rick replaces current Continental Director John Sloane, who resigned during his second term to focus on his role as Vice President of Food and Beverage at Resorts World Sentosa.

A former culinary Olympian and a prolific international judge, Rick is passionate about education, improving the status of chefs and linking young chefs with new opportunities in the region.

“After John announced his resignation I was approached by the Singapore Chef’s Association about standing for election,” Rick explains.

“The Asian economy is buoyant and India and China are the fastest growing economies in the world. With this growth there are new hotels, resorts and lots of new opportunities for Asian chefs. With the travelling I currently do for work and judging I’m in an ideal position to promote our profession, and I thought I could do even more as Continental Director.”