Temasek Polytechnic

Like most visitors to Singapore, Clare and Keith are always very impressed with that city’s hospitality, in terms of both its quantity and quality. As an Asian hub, it’s a cultural melting pot, and welcomes all visitors with enthusiasm. With a population nearly the size of Sydney located on a small island, it means a typical visit to Singapore always has a hectic schedule but no matter how busy things may be, the locals make sure their guests are comfortable and well fed. The range and quality of hotels and restaurants is exceptional.

Of course, this quality doesn’t happen by chance and Singaporeans work very hard at getting these things right. Their hospitality professionals are very well trained and as a result it’s quite likely that you’ll find them running large hotels and restaurants right throughout the world. One of the key training institutions is the Temasek Polytechnic which is now aligned with the leading hospitality training campus in the United States of America, the University of Nevada in Las Vegas and the Culinary Institute of America.

In conjunction with our Singapore importer, Hai Choo Wines and Spirits, we provide a scholarship for students of the Business School at the Temasek Polytechnic. Each year, two students and a staff member from the Diploma in Culinary and Catering Management are selected to come to Moss Wood for a week’s work experience during harvest. This year we have Amanda Han and Joel Lim, accompanied by lecturer Daniel Chia and each of them have entered into the spirit of the vintage and providing willing assistance, from picking grapes to plunging tanks. Since Hospitality, rather than viticulture and winemaking, is their area of interest, they have also looked at the tourism offer in Margaret River as a whole. To that end they have visited other local wineries and restaurants, including Pierro, Cullen, Vasse Felix, Leeuwin Estate, Cape Lodge and Newtown House. Hopefully, when they return to Singapore, they’ll be enthusiastic ambassadors for the Margaret River region.

A tradition that has evolved is for the visitors to produce a Singapore meal. This year the highlight was Ma Po Dou Fu, braised bean curd with a spicy sauce, originally from Sichuan in China.

Amanda’s reasons for coming to Moss Wood were to see the winemaking process and if she was lucky, some kangaroos. Joel is very keen to get some depth in his understanding of wine. Daniel has visited Australia many times before and is familiar with just about all our major regions but this is his first visit to WA. They have enjoyed the hands-on work and we’ve really appreciated their efforts in the vineyard and winery. They have departed vowing to come back to work vintage next year, they would be most welcome.