Culinary craftsman comes to College Executive Chef Clarence Tay keeps residents foremost in meal planning After years of preparing elaborate and carefully crafted meals in five-star hotels, you might won- der what lured Executive Chef Clarence Tay to the kitchen at St. John’s College last September. ) “| have been cooking for 20 years,’ reflected Clarence, “but here at the College there is a peaceful- ness and natural beauty that | haven't experienced anywhere Grant Ingram, Principal else. The residents are so friendly children while still doing what he and appreciative that ittook me __ loves, the position at St. John’s just two weeks to fall in love with College appeared as the answer. ie) cbianentospeople. “With the skills that I’ve acquired, Clarence began cooking in his | think | can please most of the homeland of Singapore when he __ residents, and it helps that | have was just 17. He attended the been allowed to hand-select Culinary School in Singapore and, the other three members of our following two years of mandatory small cooking team. I’ve received military service, began applying tremendous support in this way,” his craft in five-star hotels. said Clarence. See ane goceie The challenges he faces at the served as Executive Chef for College are very different from those he dealt with at hotels. Money was never an issue when some of the finest hotels in both Singapore and Toronto, earned his Canadian Chef de Cuisine oo he was preparing classical French Gold Seal Certification, and even- ae cuisine at $50 per plate. At the tually achieved most of his pro- College, Clarence works hard to fessional goals. When he began deliver high quality food ona searching for a way to spend tight budget. more time with his wife and three “1 try to work with what’s in season. Fortunately, in Vancouver we are blessed with good seafood as well as fresh vegetables and herbs almost year-round. | don’t get carried away; | try to ensure that the main meal at night pleases as many residents as possible.” The College’s international nature has encouraged Clarence to explore more ethnic cuisine and he often receives requests from residents who miss a particular dish from home. “I always try to accommodate them, even if it requires a little research, because these new challenges and the people are what make my job so enjoyable.” Intellectual and cultural diversity are the cornerstones of the Johannean way of life. This past September | was reminded of this when more than 450 alumni of St. John’s University in Shanghai gathered for their fifth World Reunion in Washington, D.C. Their main goals were to create an international coordinating structure for all of the different alumni chapters around the world and to find ways to reach out to a new generation of Johanneans. | contributed by presenting a talk on community life at St. John’s College and the academic and social activities that are helping to foster a committed group of future Johannean alumni. Over the past year, we have been pleased to host lectures by Johanneans George Shen, T.F. Ying, Carry Wang, and Stanley Kwok, all of whom have helped our residents to better understand the student life and educational values of St. John’s University in Shanghai. Based on the success of these lectures, we intend to invite distinguished Johanneans for academic visits each year. Furthermore, we have recently discussed different approaches to facilitate communication between the different generations with the College’s Johannean Advisory Committee. Building links with different parts of the world and acting as a wider world community for students and scholars requires that we allow everyone to take an active role: We regularly encourage our residents to present seminars about their own research or cultural interests in the Fairmont Lounge as part of our Resident Speaker Series. And to further encourage our international focus, I’m pleased to announce that we held our first annual international dinner on January 24. As part of the celebration, many residents wore their national costumes and our Chef prepared foods from over a dozen different ethnic cuisines. Throughout all of this activity, the number of residents in the College has grown to over 160. They are affiliated with 45 different departments and come from 35 different countries. In addition to those residing in St. John’s College, we have 25 Faculty Fellows. We are proud to include all of them in our international community.