Singapore, 17 March 2011 - This year's World Gourmet from 26 to 30 April sees Ryan Clift, chef and owner of Tippling Club, gearing up to host one of Australia's foremost chefs, Brent Savage. His critically acclaimed Bentley Restaurant & Bar in Sydney, founded with award-winning sommelier Nick Hildebrandt, is widely hailed as one of the most dynamic eating and drinking experiences in Australia.

Since his meteoric rise to Sydney Morning Herald Chef of the Year in 2005 and the launch of Bentley in 2006, Chef Savage has received a steady stream of accolades, including the 2007 SMH Good Food Guide Best New Restaurant and Australian Gourmet Pages Restaurant of the Year in 2010.

Taking his main influences from Spain and France with Middle Eastern and Asian ingredients appearing throughout the menu, Chef Savage has been credited with creating modern, cutting edge food with a particular emphasis on contrast, using flavour and texture.

'Pork Belly with Wattle, Garlic Milk and Rhubarb', a menu highlight at Tippling Club during WGS 2011, perfectly embodies his cooking philosophy. The crumb is made from wattleseed, a native Australian flower, giving the dish an earthy, almost coffee tone to balance the sweet garlic milk and rhubarb, which lends a sour edge to the dish. The pork is also slow cooked in milk at low temperatures for 12 hours to create an intense flavour.

Promising to captivate local taste buds, guests can also look forward to a dessert that was specially created for this occasion in Singapore - 'Liquid Mandarin with Soft Chocolate, Liquorice and Mandarin Ice Cream'. Inspired by Chef Savage's last visit to Asia where he tasted "the most amazing mandarin", this dish features liquid mandarin encased in a chocolate cylinder and placed on a crumble of liquorice, chocolate and dehydrated mandarin."

Chef Clift commented: "It is my pleasure to work with a culinary expert who shares the passion for adventurous and innovative cooking. Brent insists on using the highest quality ingredients and cutting edge methods to create visually stunning dishes that surprise the palate. His main focus is flavour, contrasting and balancing a spectrum of distinct tastes and textures. What I really like about his style is that his technical wizardry is not just an end, but a means to ensure that the finished creation tastes great."

Chef Savage will be in Singapore from 26 to 30 April, and will present:

o A 7-course Bentley degustation menu with wine pairing at Tippling Club o A Culinary Master Class for adventurous souls who want to learn more about creative and accessible avant-garde cooking techniques

When asked about his craft, Chef Savage said: "Cooking is an ever evolving scene, where every creation is a new experiment. It all boils down to a fierce passion for food. To me, eating remains a simple pleasure and I aim to create a memorable experience for diners." Chef Savage's new cookbook Bentley: Contemporary Cuisine tells the story of his culinary journey and shares how the award-winning fare at Bentley is prepared. In replicating processes like sous vide cooking, dehydrating and hot smoking using common kitchen items, he enables the average housewife or aspiring chef to conjure these creations on their own and share with the people around them. For his effort, the publication was named Australia's best Chef Cookbook of 2010 by the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

BENTLEY TASTING MENU 26 to 30 April 2011

OCTOPUS with Black Olive & Cucumber 2008 Dr. Burklin Wolf Spatlese Trocken Riesling, Pflaz - Germany

OCEAN TROUT with Ocean Trout Mousse & Fennel Pollen 2009 Marchesi Mazzei Belgvardo Bianco IGT, Tuscany - Italy

BEETROOT with Red Chard, Horseradish & Soy Beans 2008 Benoit Ente Aligote, Burgundy - France

PORK BELLY with wattle, garlic milk & rhubarb 2008 Domain Road Pinot Noir, Central Otago - New Zealand

ROASTED DUCK BREAST with Cuttlefish & Mushroom 2008 Telmo Rodríguez 'Gaba do Xil' mencía, Galicia - Spain

COCONUT SORBET with Sweetcorn, Grapefruit & Ginger 2002 Kracher No.6 Grand Cuvee NV Trokenbeerenauslese, Burgenland - Austria

LIQUID PINEAPPLE with soft chocolate, Liquorice & Pineapple Sorbet Grahams port '6 Grapes reserve', Duoro Valley - Portugal

Notes to editors About the events:

7-course degustation menu, created by Brent Savage When: 26 - 30 April Where: Tippling Club Cost: S$230++ per pax

Culinary master class with Brent Savage When: 28 April, 10am - 11.30am Where: Singapore Tourism Board, Auditorium Cost: $68+ per pax

To make reservations, please contact Tipping Club at Tel: +65 6475 2217 E-mail: enquiries@tipplingclub.com

About Tippling Club

Set amidst lush greenery on the fringes of Dempsey Hill, Tippling Club is an exciting venue that skillfully marries the best of modern European cuisine and progressive cocktail craft. Guests are invited to enjoy a cocktail on the Tippling Terrace, or sit at a chic industrial bar which surrounds the open kitchen. From the bar, they can watch and chat with Chef Ryan Clift as he demonstrates his modern culinary techniques, which often challenge dining norms, opening up new possibilities in food and dining. Beyond short-lived gastronomic trends, Ryan seeks to further improve the rich traditional foundations of cuisine through new techniques and innovations in the kitchen.

About Bentley Restaurant & Bar

In 2005, Brent Savage was named The Syndney Morning Herald's Chef of the Year, while Nick Hildebrandt was named Sommelier of the Year. That heralded a beautiful partnership, which led to the opening of the Bentley Restaurant & Bar in March 2006.

The restaurant built a reputation for superb contemporary food paired with rare wines that thrilled and told a story. With the help of Melbourne designer Pascale Gomes-McNabb they refurbished the restaurant and upped the atmosphere. Guests can sit at the screened off bar area with a back lit bottle wall or dine in private surrounded by statement murals and chandeliers, and let the culinary masterminds weave their magic.