We had the privilege of chatting with Chef Felix Chong, Culinary Associate Director of 1-Group. His journey began at 18, working at prestigious Italian restaurants, including the 3 Michelin-starred Otto e Mezzo in Hong Kong. As a private chef, Chef Felix has served notable individuals like Alibaba founder Jack Ma and former Singapore Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong. He is a multi-time winner of numerous awards, including being a Finalist for Chef of The Year and Innovative Chef of The Year at the World Gourmet Summit from 2018 to 2022. In his previous role as Head Chef at Monti, he was part of the team that won Restaurant of The Year in 2021 and Old World Wine List of The Year in 2022. 1-Group stands as Singapore's foremost independent lifestyle F&B group, operating a diverse and captivating array of concepts, including renowned restaurants, cafés, bars & clubs, solemnization halls, and corporate event venues. Some notable brands include the award-winning Monti, 1-Altitude, and Bee’s Knees.
"Having this level of visibility and efficiency have significantly reduced costs for our business."
Chef Felix
In our conversation with Chef Felix (top right), he shares how Zeemart has been instrumental in allowing him to concentrate on his culinary passion while entrusting the mundane administrative tasks to the platform. Hi Chef Felix! Thank you for your time today. Can you briefly share your experience of using Zeemart? No worries! I’d say Zeemart has been a game-changing platform that has transformed the way we operate our business. As the Culinary Associate Director, I have had the pleasure of using Zeemart for over a year, and I cannot express how impressed I am with its capabilities and impact. It has made procurement efficient, transparent, and effortless. How was it like previously? Before discovering Zeemart, we faced numerous challenges in our procurement process. Sourcing suppliers, managing inventory, and keeping track of orders were time-consuming and quite prone to errors. How has Zeemart helped with regards to procurement? The extensive network of suppliers provides us with a wide range of trusted vendors at our fingertips. This allows us to easily compare prices, negotiate deals, and find the best products for our business. The real-time updates and analytics also provide a clear picture of our stock levels, making inventory management a breeze. Has this contributed to cost savings for 1-Group? Certainly. Having this level of visibility and efficiency have significantly reduced costs for our business. By finding the best deals and avoiding overstocking, we have been able to save valuable resources. What other features do you find useful? The integration with other systems, like our accounting software, has further simplified our workflow. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and reduces the chances of errors, allowing us to focus more on growing our business and providing exceptional service to our customers. That’s really great to hear. Our product team will be thrilled to hear about the positive impact that their work has created. Is there anything that you would like to say to them? Yes! I really like the user-friendly interface! That has really made the procurement process straightforward and easy to navigate. I appreciate how all the features come together naturally and intuitively, making it easy for us to manage our procurement effectively. Awesome! If I may also ask, how about our support team? My experience with the customer support team has been exceptional. They’re super responsive and very knowledgeable, especially Jocelyn! Whenever we have a question or need assistance, they’ve always been there to help smoothen things out for us. Overall, how would you describe Zeemart’s impact to 1-Group? Zeemart has undoubtedly increased our productivity and overall efficiency. It has become an indispensable tool for our business, surpassing our expectations and proving to be an essential asset in our day-to-day operations. We highly recommend Zeemart to any business looking to optimize their procurement process and take their operations to the next level.
Find out more about 1-Group’s iconic group of restaurants, cafes, bars, and clubs at https://www.1-group.sg/ All images via 1-Group's Facebook Page