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Singapore Vegan Festival – Guest Speakers & Chefs

Guest Chefs & Expert Speakers

Ambaree Majumder

Social Entrepreneur, Speaker and Educator Ambaree Majumder advocates a plant based diet through her talks and workshops that are based on evidence based facts about why it is crucial that we gradually move to a plant based lifestyle for better human health, environmental sustainability and climate stability. Ambaree has spoken at schools, university, corporate organisation and on several global platforms in countries like the USA, Australia, Malaysia, India, the Philippines and Singapore.  She is also a member of Rotary Club of Marina City in Singapore and leading the region in their efforts towards protecting the environment. She is the co-chair of a task force called Plant-Rich Diet under Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group.  She is certified in Plant based Nutrition and Food Sustainability from e-Cornell, which is the online version of the Cornell University. A mother of 2, she is raising Ahaana, 10 and Aarish, 4 vegan. Because of Ambaree's persistent advocacy, Ahaana's school now offers a vegan lunch option everyday of the week as a part of their regular menu.

Saturday, 27th August, 4:00 PM: Our Plate & the Planet (Kids' Session)

Dr Andy Kusumo DYNAMEAT

Dr Andy Kusumo

Dr. Andy Kusumo, Founder and CEO of Dynameat, is a complex problem solver morphing into a cross-functional leader, passionate to change the world for the better. He has 20+ years involvement in cross disciplines and cross industries (pharmaceutical, biotechnology, alternative protein) turning ideas into winning solutions. His prior stint at biopharma Merck and Amgen; and his chemical engineering degrees from Cornell University and Carnegie Mellon University, to push the boundaries of plant-based meat alternatives. Ignited by passion and hope, the Dynameat team unite technology, people, and dreams to bring the vision of food sustainability into reality, under Andy's leadership.

Saturday, 27 Aug, 2:00 PM - Panel: Meet the Changemakers

Cherie Tu

Cherie Tu

Cherie is a Sydney-based content creator, recipe developer and food blogger who is also a passionate advocate for a vegan lifestyle. Cherie founded the blog 'Thriving on Plants' in 2014 where she shares all of her recipes, tips and tricks on her online platforms to help inspire others to create epic plant-based meals in the kitchen. She also has since published two cookbooks, 'Thriving on Plants' Volume 1 and 2, which both feature over 75 of her favourite vegan recipes.

Saturday, 27 Aug, 2:00 PM: Masterclass Featuring Vegan BBQ Pulled Mushroom Burger and French Toast Roll Ups
Saturday, 27 Aug, 4:00 PM: Smartphone Food Photography Workshop

Clarisse Beurrier

Clarisse is the Co-Founder & CEO of Animal Alternative Technologies. She is a New Harvest Grantee and has conducted life cycle and techno-economic assessments of Cultured Meat. She holds an MPhil in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the University of Cambridge. She has a plethora of industrial experience in science, sustainability and finance including working at a FTSE 100 engineering company and alt protein startups. Saturday, 27 Aug, 2:00 PM - Panel: Meet the Changemakers

Daniel & Tamara Chavez (CANCHITA Peruvian Restaurant)

For over 20 years, Peruvian Daniel Chavez has travelled the world and worked in some of the finest F&B establishments and made it his mission to showcase Latin America’s culinary diversity with the local community in his current home-city, Singapore. Together with his Mexican-born wife, Tamara Chavez they are proud ambassadors of Latin American gastronomy and work together with their restaurant team at Canchita to showcase the cuisine of Peru and the continent.

Saturday, 27th August, 12:30 PM: Masterclass featuring Vegan Peruvian Cuisine

Davina Goh

Davina Goh

Davina Goh is a performer and Malaysia's pioneering public advocate of plant-based living. Since 2016, Davina’s ‘Da Vegan’ persona has shed light on the lifestyle with Malaysian-inspired recipes, green living tips and cafe recommendations on social media and at her website, davinadavegan.com. Her dynamic personality, combined with an inclusive approach and a career background in performing arts, adds a touch of magic to the message she spreads about what it means to be a vegan in Southeast Asia.

Saturday, 27th August

Jolie Michelle Ow

Artist, art facilitator and founder-director of mindfulness centre Canvass Life, Jolie Ow has accreditation in art therapy, yoga, mindfulness, holistic education and social entrepreneurship. During this time, she has developed and facilitated wellbeing programmes, courses and retreats for local and international practitioners, schools and corporations. With more than 18 years of teaching and consulting for brands including COMO Hotels and Resorts, Jolie focuses on delivering programmes on holistic, organic learning and where exploration, is just as key to development.

Saturday, 27th August, 11 AM: Mindful Eating Workshop

Max Rye

Max Rye is the chief strategist at TurtleTree, a global biotech company that uses modern cell-based technology to create sustainable food products. A former Silicon Valley business owner, Max is a seasoned technopreneur with more than 15 years of experience in managing and developing tech businesses.

Saturday, 27 Aug, 2:00 PM - Panel: Meet the Changemakers

Mihir Pershad

Mihir Pershad

Mihir Pershad is Founder & CEO of Umami Meats, where he is building a team pioneering cultivated, 'not caught' seafood by crafting delicious, nutritious, and affordable cultivated fish that is better for our health, our oceans, and our future. Mihir has an academic background in protein biochemistry and has spent his career working to commercialize deep tech innovations to address humanity's grand challenges. Most recently, he was a Venture Partner at Early Charm Ventures, where he led the commercialization of university spinouts at the intersection of biotechnology and aquaculture. Mihir is also author of Cultivated Abundance, a book that outlines a framework for entrepreneurs to leverage transformative technologies to build an inspiring, abundant future for humanity. In his free time, Mihir enjoys climbing mountains, scuba diving, and exploring the remote and wild corners of the world.

Saturday, 27 Aug, 2:00 PM - Panel: Meet the Changemakers

Seb Alex

Born and raised in Lebanon, Seb Alex started his career in Sustainable Architecture. Few years on, he decided to leave his corporate life behind and dedicate all his time to what really speaks to his heart: Animal Rights Advocacy. Since 2019, Seb has given lectures in over 2/3 of universities in The Netherlands and more than 40 universities and schools in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, United Kingdom and Portugal, reaching more than 5000 students between the ages of 13 and 30. Currently, Seb concentrates on social media content creation and gives lectures on Animal Rights, Ethics & Sustainability in universities and schools. He is also the founder of the Middle East Vegan Society, a non-profit organisation concentrating on the growth of veganism in the Middle East and North Africa using educational and corporate outreach.

Saturday, 27 Aug, 12:00 PM – Talk: Impact of Our Everyday Choices

Vincent Wong

Chef Vincent Wong possesses more than 20 years of experience in the culinary domain and thrives on lifelong learning and creating new techniques. As the Plant-Based Ambassador for Shangri-La Hotels Singapore, his holistic approach to food showcases a creative use of familiar ingredients to present an experience that is playful and unique.

Saturday, 27th August, 3:30 PM: Masterclass featuring Watermelon "Tuna" Sashimi and Soy Panna Cotta

Living Wholesome

Wayne Tan and Agatha Teo (Living Wholesome)

Credited for presenting his version of Thunder Tea Rice (lei cha fan in Mandarin) for the millennial generation, IT-salesperson turned hawkerpreneur Wayne Tan and partner Agatha Teo run Living Wholesome Vegetarian at Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre. At the humble stall, they serve up bowls of this traditional Hakka dish with their own twist for a combination of fresh vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds and herbs that are full of healthy fats, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals and completely vegan.

Saturday, 27th August, 6:15 PM: Masterclass featuring Vegan Thunder Tea Rice