At SMU’s Institute of Service Excellence Industry Forum held last month, Chef Christophe Megel, Executive Director of At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, said that in chef-run restaurants – where leadership is “more prominent” – staff have “a greater vested interest” in the business. This, he said, is why the overall service experience tends to be better in such restaurants. Mr Megel, who delivered a keynote speech at the forum and was a speaker at a panel discussion, noted more such “freestanding” restaurants have been established in Singapore in recent times.