The set-up is an exact replica of the final competition hall in Lyons, France, and features the same equipment.

“It is like training for a sports activity,” says Leong, who is a second-degree black belt in the Korean martial art taekwondo. “Besides the kitchen set-up [through which] I can familiarise myself with the ‘small little box’ [setting] for the competition, there is also a coach to train my focus mentally and physically.”

The next competition will be held in 2025, with national heats beginning in 2024.

Leong debuted in the Bocuse d’Or grand final in 2021, which featured 24 competitors that had made it through the qualifying events. In his second try at the competition, he aims to be the first chef representing Singapore – and by extension, Asia – to bag top honours.

In 2021, he finished 12th in the finals – the highest ranking for a Singaporean chef since 1989, when the country clinched the bronze medal.

Leong is backed by mentors from the Bocuse d’Or Singapore Academy, including its president, Bruno Menard, and co-chairs Julien Royer and Sebastien Lepinoy, all of whom are highly accomplished chefs.

Besides steering Leong’s strategy, the academy will also ensure he has adequate resources to excel in the competition, including organising a fundraising gala dinner. Leong is also slated to return to Singapore for a series of collaborations with the academy’s chefs.

“My goal is to stand on the podium, not only for Singapore but to shine the spotlight on Asia on the world’s culinary stage,” says Leong, who was included on the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in the art and culture category, the first Singaporean to appear on the list.

Leong’s culinary journey began at the age of 13, when he unwittingly volunteered to represent his school in a salmon cooking competition.

With the help of his mother, Leong taught himself a simple recipe of a pan-fried crispy-skin salmon fillet with a mayonnaise and yogurt sauce and a squeeze of lemon juice. It ended up garnering the top prize.

“When you are a kid and you win something, this makes you want to continue pursuing it,” Leong says.

He earned a diploma in culinary arts before deciding at the age of 21 that he wanted to work in a Michelin-star restaurant. As the Michelin Guide did not at the time include Singapore, he sent his résumé to hundreds of top restaurants around the world. The only one that responded was Re-Naa in Stavanger, Norway.

“Without thinking, I bought a one-way ticket to Norway to assume the position of chef de partie at Re-Naa. There, I fell in love with Nordic cuisine and the lifestyle, and I have since been there for almost eight years,” Leong says.

He spent some time working at À L’aise in Norway’s capital Oslo before returning to Re-Naa to assume the position of head chef in February 2022.

According to Forbes, Re-Naa earned a best restaurant accolade from one of Norway’s largest newspapers within six months of his appointment, and Leong helped grow its revenue by 15 per cent to more than US$4 million in 2022.

A constant in his culinary philosophy has been a respect for the ingredients of a dish, all the way back to that school cooking contest, which, he says, was “all about cooking the produce perfectly”.

Today, his cuisine is best described as Nordic infused with Asian flavours, and takes advantage of high-quality produce from the seas and soil of the Rogaland region around Stavanger.

For instance, one of his creations – Flavours of the Nordic Coast – consists of warm Norwegian flat oysters poached with seawater and seaweed, which are then smoked with green juniper before combined with yuzu ponzu, a Japanese citrus sauce.

“It is most important that my cooking is really clean,” Leong says. “When I was younger, I would ambitiously have 20 to 30 items on the plate, but as I spent more time in the industry, I realised that this was actually covering up my flaws.

“A good chef only needs a main ingredient, a sauce and a small garnish – just three items – but everything has to be cooked to perfection. This realisation has changed my mentality and my approach to my craft.”

Ever curious, he is always open to exploring new flavour combinations, whether by dining at other restaurants when he travels or teaming up with chefs for collaborations.

Leong, who is of Cantonese descent, was back in Singapore in May for a four-hands collaboration with Alan Chan, executive Chinese chef of Cassia at the Capella Singapore hotel.

“We communicated for two months to decide on the menu so that we could complement the flavours of our dishes and create a smooth dining experience,” Leong says.

While back home, he took the opportunity to satisfy his cravings for Asian food.

“I loved chef Alan Chan’s char siu so much that I actually returned to Cassia for a second time while I was back in Singapore,” he says.

Other Singaporean establishments he has a soft spot for include Long Beach Seafood Restaurant and JB Ah Meng.

One of his long-term plans is to launch a restaurant in Singapore – and interested investors have already approached him.

“My dream is to open multiple restaurants that showcase my culinary identity, and Singapore will definitely be one of the locations because I was born and raised in Singapore,” he says.

“But personally, I do not want to rush things because my current focus is on the Bocuse d’Or.”

His schedule is gruelling. He works at Re-Naa for up to 17 hours a day and on his only day off, Sunday, he is typically up and training for the Bocuse d’Or by 7am.

“Sometimes, I get really exhausted. But what motivates me to work seven days a week are my loved ones,” he says.

“I am motivated to do something great for my family, fiancée and future kids. I want my future kids to say, ‘Wow, my dad is a Michelin-starred chef and has represented the country in the biggest competition in the culinary world.’”