Singapore, March 7, 2010
They have flown the coop, so to speak, but they still want to nest in the fame of the latter.
At least three former chefs of the famous Chatterbox chicken rice and another cook trained by a Chatterbox alumnus have set up shop and are riding on this link to draw business.
The Chatterbox coffee house at The Mandarin Singapore made waves when it opened in 1971 for turning chicken rice from humble hawker fare to posh nosh.
The dish started selling for $4.50. Now priced at $22, it continues to be popular, selling an average of 250,000 portions a year.
No fewer than four outlets now claim to be associated with Chatterbox and they sell variations of the iconic dish for between $2.50 and $5.
The latest to join the fray is the hotel’s former executive sous chef, Mr Han Seng Fong, 63. He opened a chicken rice stall last Friday at the Kopitiam food court in The Centrepoint.
He plans to put up photographs of himself when he was with the hotel – which was later called Meritus Mandarin and is now known as Mandarin Orchard – at the stall.
“I want people to know I worked at Meritus Mandarin and I helped to promote the Chatterbox chicken rice because diners go for famous chefs,” he said in Mandarin.
“And the recipe I am using at the stall is the same as the one I used when I cooked at the hotel.”
He left the hotel last month to start Chef Han Chicken Rice because he wanted his three sons, who are in their 30s, to inherit his culinary skills. They gave up their jobs in engineering and sales to help run the shop.
Other shops that tout links with Chatterbox include Mr Chicken Rice in Pasir Ris, chain stall Sergeant Hainanese Chicken Rice, and Sheng Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice in Bedok Reservoir Road.
Ms Lim Ee Jin, assistant vice-president of marketing communications and public relations at the hotel, said the Chatterbox chicken rice recipe was created by four chefs who have since left the hotel.
The recipe was eventually handed down to chef Han, who was with the hotel for more than 30 years. When he quit, it was passed on to the current chef de cuisine, Mr Liew Tian Heong.
Only the chef sets eyes on the seven-page recipe. Other cooks who help prepare the dish are taught just certain steps of the process.
Last year, however, Mr Han imparted his chicken rice skills to hawker Chew Kian Yong in the reality TV series, Buzzing Cashier 2.
In the show, famous chefs teach their secret recipes to unsuccessful hawkers to turn around their failing businesses.
Mr Chew, 49, went on to set up Sheng Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice in Bedok Reservoir Road. One of the photographs displayed at his stall shows him posing with chef Han, who is in the Meritus Mandarin chef uniform.
He said in Mandarin: “People who have watched the show will recognise chef Han as the famous chicken rice master from Meritus Mandarin who taught me how to cook.”
Mr Kiang Joon Toh, 71, one of the pioneer chefs at Chatterbox, has a different story about the origin of the recipe. He claims he came up with his own special recipe when he cooked at the restaurant from 1971 to 1978.
He said in Mandarin: “I created my own recipe and customers loved my cooking. But I never taught anyone else at Chatterbox my recipe because they were not interested in learning.”
Yet he did not estrange himself from the famous eatery when he set up a Sergeant Hainanese Chicken Rice stall in Food Republic food court in 2005. There are now five such stalls.
Up until last week, posters at his outlets state that he is “one of the original Mandarin Hotel Chatterbox chefs who made (Chatterbox) a household name”.
Also riding on the coat-tails of Chatterbox is casual eatery Mr Chicken Rice in Pasir Ris Downtown East.
Its chef-owner, Mr Low Hoe Ann, 55, was a sous chef at Chatterbox.
He started his own chicken rice stall after he was retrenched by the hotel in 2005. A wall of the eatery is covered with enlarged photographs and newspaper clippings that link him to Chatterbox.
“I put these up because they tell my history. I used to work at Chatterbox and everyone who has worked there knows how to cook chicken rice,” he said.
The Chatterbox connection has indeed benefited these stall owners.
Customers flocked to chef Han’s Centrepoint outlet on its opening day based on the fame of his name and patiently waited 20 minutes.
Ms Doreen Neoh, 58, an IT executive, said: “I heard that he used to cook at the famous Chatterbox, so I came specially to try his food.”
Business was so successful for Mr Low of Mr Chicken Rice that he was able to expand from a food court stall to an 80-seat eatery in two years.
However, not all who try to capitalise on the brand name succeed.
There was a My Chicken Rice in Balestier Road that claimed to be helmed by former cooks of Mandarin Orchard. Mr Low of Mr Chicken Rice said it was started by his former subordinates at the hotel who were trying to emulate his success.
It has since shut down.
Is it legal?
But is it right for these stallholders to profit from their affiliation with Chatterbox?
Lawyer Bryan Tan of Keystone Law Corporation, who specialises in intellectual property that covers trademarks and patents, said stall owners who claim to be associated with popular eateries may face lawsuits ranging from misrepresentation to passing off as the real thing if their assertions are untrue.
And although it is fair for the stallholders to state that they used to work for a former employer, they should check that their employment contract does not prohibit it.
He added that something created for one’s employer belongs to the employer if it is protectable, such as special formulas and cooking processes that are safeguarded by copyright, trademark and patent law.
Ms Lim of the hotel said no legal action has been taken against any of these stallholders.
Still, Mr Kiang of Sergeant Hainanese Chicken Rice removed the posters linking him to Chatterbox from his stalls last week.
Ms Lim said: “Our chicken rice is unique. No matter how hard others have tried, no one has successfully replicated it. And as they say, imitation is the best form of flattery.”
Indeed, there is more to the Chatterbox chicken rice than just its recipe.
The chickens. for example, are bred exclusively for the restaurant on a farm in Malaysia.
Each chicken at Chatterbox is also carved to yield four servings, unlike the 12 to 13 portions at most hawker stalls, which ensures that only quality meat is served.
For most diners though, the chance to taste a version of the iconic dish at a cheap price is an irresistible deal.
Quality assurance executive Teng Yi Ler, 30, who patronises Mr Chicken Rice, said: “I have heard of the famous Chatterbox chicken rice, but I get a better deal here and the chicken rice is really good.”
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| See pictures of different versions of "Chatterbox" chicken rice |
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