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SINGAPORE – Norway’s Re-naa restaurant has earned its third Michelin star under its Singaporean executive chef Mathew Leong, 29.  It is the first restaurant in the Norwegian city of Stavanger to be awarded three Michelin stars, and one of two newly-minted three-Michelin-starred restaurants in the Michelin Guide for Nordic Countries 2024. The other is Denmark’s Jordnaer.  The two restaurants are part of the slate of the Nordic guide’s six three-Michelin-starred establishments, which was announced on May 27 at a ceremony held in Helsinki, Finland.  Leong, who is in Singapore for a few days, heard the good news from Re-naa’s Norwegian chef-owner Sven Erik Renaa. The 21-seat restaurant is known for showcasing the region’s finest seasonal produce. Speaking to The Straits Times, Leong says: “It means a lot, not just to me but also to the team who has dedicated the time and effort to make things happen.” The third star could change things for Re-naa, he adds, and there will be a meeting “right away” when he returns to Norway.  Leong is the second Singaporean chef to achieve three Michelin stars, following chef Jimmy Lim. The latter earned three sparklers in 2023 for JL Studio in Taichung, Taiwan, as he flies the Republic’s flag high with his take on modern Singaporean cuisine. In the meantime, Leong is on track to realise his dreams of representing Singapore and Asia in the prestigious biennial competition Bocuse d’Or 2025, widely regarded as the culinary Olympics for chefs, to be held in January 2025 in Lyon, France. But before he hits the world stage for that, he will have to first compete in the Asia-Pacific selection held in September 2024 in China.  Two months prior to the selection, he will stop work at Re-naa to focus on training at his state-of-the-art custom-made kitchen, which costs €300,000 (S$440,000). This will be his second time representing S ngapore. In 2021, he clinched 12th position, the best showing from Singapore since the Republic received the bronze award in 1989. Leong’s return to Singapore this time is for a one-day-only collaboration with chef Cheung Siu Kong of one-Michelin-starred Summer Pavilion at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, as he continues to This collaboration is supported by the Bocuse d’Or Singapore Academy – helmed by veteran French chef Bruno Menard, along with co-chairs Julien Royer of three-Michelin-starred Odette and Sebastien Lepinoy of French restaurant Les Amis, which also holds three Michelin stars. Chefs Royer and Menard will be part of the Singapore contingent to accompany Leong for the competition. Leong, previously listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe List 2023 under the Arts & Culture category, says: “Everything is going smoothly. Of course, we still need funding, sponsors and support to make things better. But we are on the right track.” He vows: “The next article you write will be about Singapore on the podium with a gold.”