Benny Se Teo (Singapore Chef)

Benny Se Teo is a Singaporean chef and restaurateur. He is the founder of Eighteen Chefs (official website), a chain of restaurants in Singapore that gives youths-at-risk and ex-convicts a chance to climb the social ladder by providing a non-discriminatory workplace to these individuals. In 2018, Benny Se Teo opened a new restaurant called The Meathouse by 18 chefs (Facebook page).

Personal life

Born in 1960, Benny Se Teo was raised in Chinatown, Singapore alongside 6 older siblings. His father abused and trafficked opium. As a child, Benny assisted his father in packaging the drug for his father's customers. Benny studied at Bukit Merah Secondary School. After failing his O’Levels, he decided to cease his formal education. Benny’s introduction to drugs began with smoking marijuana in his teenage years. Due to his over-dependence on drugs, Benny Se Teo ended up spending more than 10 years in jail and drug rehabilitation centres. In 1992, after a near-death encounter with intestinal ulcers, he decided to quit his addiction and start on his career.

Background

Following repeated rejections by companies due to his criminal records, Benny eventually worked as a freelance motorcycle courier. By 2000, he had saved approximately SGD$20,000 from the job. In 2005, he co-founded the Chinese restaurant Goshen, located in Geylang. Business was growing but poor management resulted in the closure of the restaurant within a year.

In 2006, Benny was offered a one-month internship at the UK-based restaurant, Fifteen by Liam Black, former chief executive of the restaurant. Owned by Jamie Oliver, Fifteen is an restaurant that offers internships for underprivileged young people. Benny became the first Singaporean to work at Fifteen, located in London, United Kingdom (UK). He was given the opportunity to work with famous chefs like Gennaro Contaldo, who was widely recognised as Oliver’s trainer. He was exposed to Gennaro’s cooking techniques and was able to learn how to operate a kitchen and a community-orientated organisation. Upon his return to Singapore in 2007, Benny went on to open the first outlet of Eighteen Chefs at Eastpoint Mall.

Career highlights

The MeatHouse by 18 Chefs (2018 - Present Day)

Benny Se Teo's recipe book, Honest Good Food. Photo credit to LOCALBOOKS.sg.

Complementing Eighteen Chefs, Benny opened The Meathouse at Century Square with the nearest MRT being Tampines (DT32). The halal-certified restaurant specialises in serving quality meat at reasonable prices. The meat-based dishes are influenced by a variety of cuisines. For example, the restaurant offers Japanese and Western cuisines, serving dishes such as Japanese curry beef stew and steak served with mash.

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. The book retails for SGD$32.00 on the Marshall Cavendish website.

Eighteen Chefs (2007 - Present Day)

After returning from London, Benny opened the first outlet of Eighteen Chefs in 2007 with the support of two partners. The name of the restaurant was inspired by the gang that his late father had belonged to. The restaurant is known for its customisable cheese baked rice, providing a variety of 9 sauces and 12 toppings. The restaurant menu also offers a range of dishes stemming from Asian and Western cuisines such as Salted Egg Crispy Chicken and Eighteen Angus Beef Burger. The restaurant’s affordable meal sets explained the success of Eighteen Chefs in 2008 despite the then gloomy Singapore economy. For instance, student meals, consisting of a pasta or cheese baked rice, a drink and ice-cream was reduced from SGD$7.80 to SGD$6.40.

In 2009, three more outlets were opened at Yishun, Tiong Bahru and Buona Vista. However within a year, the business faced severe losses. Two outlets were eventually closed for business in 2010. In light of the financial situation, Benny had to bargain on rental fees and took loans from financial institutions. The financial difficulties lasted for 6 months after which rental fees were settled punctually. By 2014, the restaurants were earning more than SGD$750,000 per month and more than SGD$10 million annually. Between 2007 and 2014, Benny increased his staff’s wages from SGD$1,100 to SGD$1,300. As of January 2019, there are 12 outlets islandwide spanning from heartland areas such as Serangoon to shopping districts such as Orchard and Bugis.

Awards

Benny Se Teo on stage at TEDx P&G (2016). Photo credit to Benny Se Teo.

Following the 2010 crisis, Eighteen Chefs was rewarded with the “Simply Dining Award” in recognition for its outstanding dishes and customer services. Benny himself was bestowed the “Spirit of Enterprise” award in 2009 and “Social Innovation Park Fellow” award in 2010. Additionally, Benny was also featured in the Singapore Tourism Board’s “Uniquely Singapore” movement. After experiencing rejection by corporates due to his past criminal records, Benny became dedicated in recruiting ex-criminals and troubled youth. In 2012, 35% of his staff were troubled youth and ex-offenders and by 2015, the numbers rose to 50%. In 2012, he was rewarded with the “Singapore’s President’s Challenge Social Enterprise Award”. In 2014, he earned the “Emerging Enterprise Award”.

Media appearances

Eighteen Chefs has been featured considerably by both articles and TV broadcasting channels such as Channel U, Suria and 8 Days magazine. He had been invited as a guest speaker for events such as TEDx P&G Singapore in 2016 and TEDx JNJ Singapore the year before. He had also been invited for interviews from media companies both locally and globally. One of his interviews on HK Apple Daily gained more than 190,000 views on Youtube.