Singaporean school dropout heads celebrity chef restaurant in Bali
He overcomes poor grades to become the head chef of Jamie's Italian Kuta Beach, a branch of English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's restaurant chain
He dropped out of school twice.
But after three years of hard work since leaving private education institution Kaplan Singapore in 2013, local chef Jerome Rezel has become the head chef of Jamie's Italian Kuta Beach in Bali.
The restaurant is a branch of English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's restaurant chain.
The 27-year-old bachelor told The New Paper in a phone interview from Bali: "It has been my dream since I had the passion to be a cook (when I was 17) to be the head chef at a celebrity chef's restaurant."
In April this year, Mr Gary Clarke, executive chef of culinary operations and development for Jamie's Italian in South-east Asia, told Mr Rezel that he would be promoted from sous chef to head chef in June.
The head chef oversees all kitchen operations and the sous chef is his second in command.
On hearing the good news, Mr Rezel recalled: "I said, 'No way, really?' I was really happy."
But long before achieving success, he was a failure in school.
"I couldn't study. I wasn't the brightest student," said Mr Rezel, who scored mostly Cs and Ds at Bedok West Primary School and Bedok North Secondary School.
He studied retail management at ITE College East, but dropped out after his first year.
He said his Chinese Singaporean mother, 57, and Eurasian father, 55, who both worked in banks, were "slightly upset", but were also "very encouraging in giving me the freedom to choose my career and life".
It was during his basic military training in national service that his passion for cooking was ignited.
His platoon mate Alex Phan, who is now a chef at Restaurant Ember, gave him a cookbook to read.
Mr Rezel said: "I was hooked. It had so many interesting things about cooking that I never realised before."
He had already been cooking for years at that point. When he was eight, he started helping his mother and grandmother in the kitchen, but viewed it more as a bonding activity.
At 16, he worked as a waiter at Bliss Restaurant and would volunteer to take over simple kitchen tasks like cutting vegetables when the cook was absent.
After NS, he enrolled in Shatec for a two-year culinary course and graduated in 2010 as one of the top 10 students in his cohort.
With encouragement from friends, Mr Rezel gave studies another shot and enrolled in Kaplan Singapore in 2012 for a course in marketing and management.
But the pull of the kitchen was too strong.
He said: "I told my parents... that I really, really wanted to cook, I've found what I really love. My mum said, 'Go for it, but make sure you become the best'."
DROPPED OUT AGAIN
So he dropped out of school in 2013 to apply for a cooking position at Jamie's Italian Singapore, which had not yet opened.
By then, Mr Rezel had cooked at restaurants such as Ricciotti, Garibaldi, Zet's Creation and Etna.
He recalled how he'd missed the interview dates for Jamie's Italian Singapore because of his busy schedule.
Undeterred, he took his resume to the restaurant's main office and waited outside the door for four hours until then-sous chef Alex Barman returned and agreed to interview him.
Mr Rezel met Mr Clarke, the executive chef, the next day and was hired as a junior sous chef.
In late 2014, he was offered the position of sous chef at Jamie's Italian Kuta Beach, but it took him a month to decide before accepting the gig.
"A lot of things went through my mind, (leaving) my family and friends, they mean a lot to me. But it was also an opportunity to advance my career."
With encouragement from his family, he accepted the position and moved to Baliin March last year.
On his new appointment, he said his mother was "extremely happy".
"She said, 'You finally got it! You got your dream!'" said Mr Rezel, who returns to Singapore every few months.
He admitted he was intimidated by the new responsibilities.
"I started to doubt myself. I thought, 'Am I ready for this? Can I actually manage 37 cooks in the kitchen?'"
Looking back, Mr Rezel attributes his success to his parents' support and the desire to silence acquaintances who said he would not succeed without a degree.
"The more people said that, the more I wanted to show them that I could," said Mr Rezel, who has not ruled out the possibility of returning to school.
"I'm sure having a degree would help you a lot, but this is proof that if you work hard, take chances, go for your dreams and do what you love, you can achieve it.
"It's not about holding a piece of paper."
I told my parents... that I really, really wanted to cook, I've found what I really love. My mum said, 'Go for it, but make sure you become the best'.
- Mr Jerome Rezel
OTHER WELL-KNOWN S'PORE CHEFS OVERSEAS
CHERISH FINDEN
She is the executive pastry chef at luxury hotel The Langham in London, where she incorporates local flavours such as pandan and coconut in her pastries and desserts.
She is also one of three judges on reality TV baking series Bake Off: Creme de la Creme.
A graduate of Shatec, Ms Finden worked at Raffles Hotel before moving to London in 2001.
She has since scooped up multiple awards. She won Dessert of the Year during her first year in London and was named Pastry Chef of the Year by UK chefs association The Craft Guild of Chefs in 2012.
JACK AND MARTIN AW YONG
The brothers have climbed to the top of the culinary ladder in Beijing, where Jack (inset), 51, is the executive chef of the Park Hyatt hotel and Martin, 50, is the executive chef at the Grand Hyatt hotel.
Jack enrolled in Shatec after failing English during his O levels and he began working for Hyatt Regency here in 1988 after national service.
Martin, who also worked at the hotel, became the first Singaporean to lead the kitchen of a five-star hotel in Singapore when he was made executive chef at Four Seasons hotel.
The pair were part of the six-member Singapore national team that took home the top prize at culinary arts competition Salon Culinaire in 1992. They have also competed in cooking competitions in Germany, France, the US and Canada.
EDWARD VOON
The 41-year-old is the head chef of European restaurant Le Pan at the Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club in Tianjin.
He honed his skills at the Tower Club's Atlantic Dining Room and the avant-garde Aurum restaurant in Singapore before moving to China in 2010.
Executive chef: Proud of how far he has come
Mr Jerome Rezel's rise to head chef is also a source of pride for those at Jamie's Italian who have watched his career closely.
Mr Gary Clarke (below), who was the executive chef of Jamie's Italian Singapore and who hired Mr Rezel as his junior sous chef, said that his swift rise was due to his "dedication", "commitment" and "ambition".
The 45-year-old Englishman told The New Paper over e-mail: "(Jerome) was by my side day and night continuously being pushed to his limits... He was solid in his approach."
Mr Clarke, who has been in the culinary business for over 25 years, has never hired chefs based on their academic qualifications as a chef's skills are "practical".
He said: "It was (Jerome's) attitude and persistence that shone through on the day of interview."
Mr Clarke feels extremely proud that Mr Rezel has been made head chef at Jamie's Italian Kuta Beach, adding: "He has turned into the senior chef I had hoped for and will continue to develop as I knew he could."
Mr Made Sukadana, 49, the Indonesian general manager of Jamie's Italian Kuta Beach, who has been working with Mr Rezel since last October, was "not surprised" when Mr Rezel was promoted to head chef.
"(I could tell he was qualified) from the way he worked with the cooks, connected with the team (in the kitchen) and the guests," Mr Sukadana told TNP over the phone. 
"And he's responsible."
He said that since becoming head chef, Mr Rezel has taken the time to talk to patrons "as much as he can".
He said: "I've received positive feedback from the guests that (Jerome) is very connected to them."
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