Marcel’s Monthly Chef’s Table – Selected Chefs Are Dishing Up Some Bites For Your Brain
& Category Manager Cook & Chill SEA and India at Electrolux
Professional, based in Singapore
In this third edition we are going to meet Daniel Schneider
from Germany. Daniel’s duties are product training, equipment consulting,
seminars in food science and many more.
Daniel developed a passion for teaching and loves to share his knowledge with others.
As usually,
let’s dig right into it and see what Daniel has to say:
Tell us one story you believe is valuable to share from your time
as an expatriate chef Daniel.
When my wife Stefanie and I started to plan our
move to Singapore we both had great jobs in Zurich. We had the best friends and
a great time, but we knew we had to move forward in our lives to achieve our
goals and dreams. We started looking for jobs in Singapore while still in
Zurich, but we weren’t lucky. Eventually we decided to quit our jobs, terminate
our rental agreement and sell 90% of our belongings. We reduced our one hundred
twenty square meter apartment in Zurich to four big pieces of luggage and two carry
on pieces. We bought two tickets to Singapore and left to take our chances.
After we arrived, we had four weeks of vacation first and then started to look
for jobs. That was when we realized that it was not easy to find a job for both
of us, and we struggled for months. We were down to the last dollars in our
account and ready to move back to Switzerland, but then it happened. We found
jobs and build our life here in Singapore. It was very hard for us, but
positive thinking kept us going and at the end we tackled our problems and
triumphed over them.
What advice do you want to give here?
DONT GET STUCK!! As a chef you have the possibility of traveling the world and working in places other people only dream of. Take this chance and open yourself to all those possibilities waiting for you. Take a leap of faith and go for it. Never stay still or go backwards. Always believe in what you think is right for you and trust your gut.
Tell us a short story.
After a rocky start my wife and I settled in Singapore. I started working as a Head Chef for a catering company operating worldwide and was in charge of different projects in Singapore. I enjoyed the time and it was a great job to start with here. After two years I made a change into the corporate world, starting as a Corporate Chef in charge of South East Asia, and there my real journey began. I traveled a lot and met different chefs from my region. It is great to interact with other chefs who’d done the same thing as I did and hear their stories. As an expat here in Asia it is very easy to make contact with other expats and get to know them. Especially as a chef I’m constantly learning new things about food on my travels. I expand my network every single day. As well this life gives me the chance to travel, so up until now I’ve had the chance to visit more than fifteen countries in this part of the world.
What is it you’d like others to know about you?
I grew up in a small town and moved a lot in my
life. I always wanted to go out there and see things and experience things. My
journey has made me a more passionate and versatile chef. It gave me the
ability to start my very own family here in Singapore with our newest edition
Lara. I love to teach and pass on the knowledge I’ve gained to the next generation
of chefs, and am more than happy to help them achieve their goals and dreams.
How can your story inspire others?
I think if someone reads my story and how we decided to leave Zurich it can spark the same in them. You can also see that you don’t have to have everything ready all the time. Sometimes 50% is enough, and the rest follows on its way afterwards.
Is there a funny anecdote you may want to share?
They always say that once you have a foot in the door, it will be easy. This can relate to a whole country as well. The foot in the door was my first job in Singapore. When I started, I really enjoyed that work, but after two years of hard work I started to think about a change. All of a sudden, my wife messaged me that her boss, who had never talked to me, or even met me, gave my contact details to a person she’d just met at a dinner event. She was looking for a corporate chef for the company she worked for. A few days later we set up an interview and I got hired on the spot. Sometimes how things happen in life is just coincidence.
Please visit Daniel’s LinkedIn profile here:
Check out the previous Chef’s Table Story here:
Do
you want to become a successful chef? Are you an aspiring chef? Do you want to
travel the whole world and learn about different cultures and cuisines? Do you
want to work abroad and make career in a foreign country?
My
book “Slamming
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the ultimate “Become a Chef Guide”!
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P.S. Check out my website www.marcelriemer.co for more great
content!
I started my career as a
professional chef at the age of 16 and I wrote this book because I want to
inspire and help people on their culinary journey.
11 Countries! 4
continents! 19 cities!
My mission has been always simple: “Making
Great Food To Delight Great Guests.”
I am Marcel, a professional chef born in
Germany. I have traveled the world and I have cooked for the world.
I broiled in Phoenix, grilled in San Diego,
fried in Auckland, baked in Hong Kong, roasted in Kuala Lumpur and sizzled in
Jakarta, Manila, Beijing and other places.
I swung the wooden spoon at world class hotels
such as JW Marriott, Grand Hyatt, Radisson and Movenpick.
I created dishes for the presidents of the USA,
France and the Prime Minister of Great Britain, cooked for world class athletes
and famous actors.
Thanks for reading!
Marcel
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