The Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) brought together around 1,100 members of Singapore’s food and beverage industry at Resorts World Sentosa for the RAS Epicurean Star Award 2026, celebrating excellence, innovation and resilience across the sector.
The event welcomed industry leaders, chefs, restaurant operators, suppliers and partners, alongside government and trade agency representatives, corporate partners and members of the judging panel.
A key moment of the evening was an on-stage dialogue between Guest of Honour Ms Goh Hanyan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, and Mr Benjamin Boh, President of RAS.
The discussion covered government support available to the F&B industry, while also encouraging businesses to support local farms, buy local produce and contribute to Singapore’s food resilience.
The dialogue took place during Singapore’s Year of Climate Adaptation. The Government designated 2026 as the Year of Climate Adaptation to highlight climate adaptation as a national priority and strengthen collective resilience, including water and food resilience. RAS used the occasion to encourage F&B businesses to support local produce as part of these broader efforts.
Ms Goh also presented the evening’s opening award for Best Farm to Table.
The RAS Epicurean Star Award recognises innovation, craftsmanship and service quality across Singapore’s F&B sector. This year, the awards received 306 nominations from 164 participating brands and concepts across 25 categories. Of these, 254 nominations were submitted across 24 award categories, while 52 nominations were received for The People’s Choice Award.
This year’s theme, “Never Back Down: The Arena of Champions”, reflected the challenges faced by the F&B industry in recent years, including rising costs, labour constraints and a rapidly changing business environment.
The sporting arena concept was carried throughout the event, with nominees receiving stadium style introductions and LED wristbands lighting up as categories were announced. Winners took to the stage as champions of their respective fields, while guests were encouraged to dress in sports attire.
The 2026 awards also introduced the Best Omakase/Counter Dining Experience category. The new category recognises dining formats where interaction between the chef and diner is central to the experience, with culinary execution, ingredient quality, service and ambience presented directly at the counter.
For this year’s judging process, all 24 award categories excluding The People’s Choice were assessed through anonymous mystery judging. Three independent judges visited each participating establishment as regular customers over approximately three months to assess each concept based on its everyday standards.
Each judge was accompanied by one guest, with credit letters presented only after the dining experience. The identities of the judges remained confidential throughout the process.
RAS introduced a third independent judge for each establishment in 2026, with the aim of making the judging process more robust and consistent. The additional assessment was intended to reduce the influence of a single particularly strong or weak visit and provide a broader reflection of each concept’s everyday performance.
RAS also introduced a special calendar developed with community partners to showcase F&B Companies of Good and the causes they support. Each month features a QR code directing guests to the respective partner’s cause on Giving.sg.
The gala dinner featured a five-course collaboration involving five chefs, overseen by Mr Lamley Chua, Vice President of Surreyhills Holdings Pte Ltd and Co-Chair of the RAS Epicurean Star Award 2026, together with the Resorts World Sentosa culinary team.
The individually plated menu contained no beef, pork or lard. It began with Eryngii “Scallop” by Chef Quynh of KA MON, featuring locally grown king oyster mushrooms sponsored by Spore Gardens.
The second course was Russian King Crab Leg by Chef Marvas of QĪN, with crab legs sponsored by TheSeafoodCompany. Chef Su of 21 CARPENTER presented The Last Fish Standing, featuring seabass fillets sponsored by BluCurrent by Singapore Aquaculture Technologies.
The fourth course was Duck Pithivier by Chef Greg of MOUTARDE, featuring duck sponsored by Tiong Lian and chicken sponsored by Toh Thye San Farm. Dessert, Solento, was created by Chef Nicolas of PIERRE HERMÉ using locally grown vanilla beans sponsored by Mireia Singapore Vanilla.
The participating chefs also prepared a five-course vegan menu for guests with special dietary requirements, while the Resorts World Sentosa Banquet Team prepared a five-course Halal menu. All menus were individually plated for guests.
The RAS Epicurean Star Award 2026 concluded with The People’s Choice Award, bringing together the industry to recognise the people, businesses and concepts contributing to Singapore’s F&B landscape.
