What we say

Jul 18, 2016 10:09 am

There is a quaint legal term I remember from my days as a crime reporter: in camera.

It refers to hearings conducted in the judge's chambers. It is meant to protect the young and vulnerable, especially in sensitive cases.

These days, it seems our entire lives are conducted "in camera".

We have gone from blissful anonymity to reluctant personality, our images, our moves - innocent, uncouth, illegal or mundane - captured by cameras on the streets at HDB blocks, shops, restaurants, clubs.

Police have installed 65,000 cameras since 2012; they will add another 11,000 over the next four years.

That no one seems to mind is, as the Prime Minister said last week, because of the trust that the Government would safeguard our privacy as zealously as it guards our security.

And that is as it should be - the logic of surveillance amid the reality of radical insurgency. In the aftermath of tragedy, any argument for privacy would be petty.

Referring to Thursday's terrorist attack, Nice's regional president Christian Estrosi said the county has 1,200 security cameras. The cameras pinpointed the moment the attacker boarded the truck and followed his path to the promenade.

Those "eyes" would no doubt be critical as investigations now turn to the possibility of accomplices.

The case for surveillance is clear. Not so, "social" cameras.

Technology has empowered the amateur auteur and enthralled the voyeur. And social media has enabled the silliness to go viral.

What's disconcerting is the camera phone in the hands of the hordes who increasingly swear by the power of their pixels.

Do user-generated videos help or hinder?

We have seen the extreme. Videos of black people shot by police have inflamed emotions, led to violence and a fractured society.

If the heated rhetoric on US talk radio and Fox News is any indication, the US seems to have gone tribalistic, bordering on ballistic.

We are fallible because we see what we wish to see, our lens jaundiced by ingrained prejudices.

In an untruthful world, can we trust what we see to be the truth?

In a world where indiscretion can be captured "in camera" for all to ogle, can we be discerning enough to avoid trial by camera?

Don't be the judge.

OTHER WELL-KNOWN S'PORE CHEFS OVERSEAS

Deborah Wee

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

Deborah Wee

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."