SINGAPORE – If Norwegian chef Sven Erik Renaa had to take his eponymous three-Michelin-starred restaurant anywhere in the world, Singapore would be his only choice. He has no firm plans yet, but tells The Straits Times that it is a possibility he is not ruling out. 

“Because of my connection with Singapore and all the friends I have here, it would kind of be the perfect spot if I were ever to go somewhere else,” says the 54-year-old, who owns Re-naa in the Norwegian city of Stavanger.

He first visited Singapore in 1999 and has since developed a taste for local delicacies like black pepper crab. 

Besides, his restaurant is currently run by a Singaporean – executive chef Mathew Leong, 31. They first met in 2016 after Leong, then a 21-year-old culinary hopeful, sent a hundred applications around the world in the hope of clinching a spot in one of Europe’s top kitchens.

One of the few replies he received came from Re-naa. Since 2010, it has employed Singaporean chefs, favoured by Renaa for their work ethic. 

“They have to show me that they’re interested because it’s quite a lot of work for us to bring them in, because of the work permit and everything. I remember Mathew wrote me a very long and polite letter. He was also very hard-working,” he says.  

Leong, who describes his mentor as a patient man, despite his exacting standards, says: “He’s like a father figure to me. Even when I travel to cook now, I still ask him for advice.”

Leong, a Shatec hospitality school alumnus, left Re-naa in 2017 before returning in 2022.