It’s that time of the year where we eat, make merry and decide where to eat again. Everybody knows that food is such a huge obsession here: This year alone, we had more fervent discussions over hawker heritage, intense culinary Instagramming and artisanal breads than we could make time for. And as the year draws to its close, we thought it was apt to celebrate Singapore’s food gods — the people who have been instrumental in many of this year’s top food trends, from gourmet ice cream to cupcakes to hawker food.

Taking our cue from Time magazine’s Gods Of Food article, we’ve come up with our own 13 personalities who changed the game here. These people have influenced our palettes, raised the stakes and altered our food landscape in far-reaching and irrevocable ways.

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1. THE MEE POK MAN

We didn’t need chefs like Gordon Ramsay (who took on our hawkers in Singtel’s Hawker Heroes challenge in July) or Anthony Bourdain (who popped by for the inaugural World Street Food Congress in June) to tell us how good our hawker food is. We’ve known that for the longest time. And when we say “mee pok man” we aren’t referring just to that particular noodle seller (thanks, Eric Khoo), but all our unsung wok stars: The zhi char cooks, the prata man, the mee rebus auntie, et al. They shaped our national food identity and consciousness — they should be applauded.

2. BRAD LAU

Say what you will about his grammar, the quality of his food reviews and his excessive use of the word “best”; Brad Lau’s LadyIronChef blog is huge. It boils down to the keyboard warrior’s skills in ensuring his website is always featured whenever you Google anything food-related in Singapore. And have you seen his photos? He may have just started his Instagram account last March, but he has already amassed 373,082 devotees (at last count) — that’s more than double Anthony Bourdain’s 162,522.

3. LOH LIK PENG

With his latest ventures — Bincho’s in Tiong Bahru and Provision Store in Everton Park — Loh Lik Peng is officially Singapore’s most successful hipster restaurateur (an ironic category, we know). Then again, he’s also a man with really good instincts and a knack for picking the right chefs to work with, ever since he gave Sebastian Teo a space within Hotel 1929 to start Ember 10 years ago. You could say he practically patented the formula: Promising chef + a designer space in heritage ’hood = success. It has become the blueprint for many in the scene.

4. PAPA PALHETA

Just this year alone, we saw the likes of Necessary Provisions, Department Of Caffeine, Dutch Colony Coffee Co, Revolution Coffee, Working Title, Bravery ... we could name more, but we need to have our coffee fix first. Singapore’s love affair with coffee culture arguably started over a decade ago when Starbucks landed on our shores, but the current hype is also partly due to the jolt the cafe scene received back in 2009, with the entry of Papa Palheta. There was no proper store front and little fanfare. Yet, the father of the “third wave of coffee” here unleashed an unprecedented cult following — even though it wasn’t technically a cafe to begin with. Every other little bistro then declared it served Papa Palheta coffee as more artisanal joints entered the fray.

5. CHEF WILLIN LOW

The pioneer of what is known as Mod-Sin cuisine has had busy year: Willin Low had his own TV show called A Party Affair, he closed the beloved Wild Rocket, and started a pop-up restaurant, Compl(e)ments Of. But his greatest offering to the scene can be summed up in two words: Spam fries. It seemed that all of sudden everyone started serving it — or variations of that offering — from those done a la potato crisps to ultra-skinny ones the size of toothpicks. Bars and bar grubbers all over Singapore have said a silent “thank you” to him.

6. SHIGEMI KAWAHARA

Tim Ho Wan, Lauduree’s, Krispy Kreme, Lady M, Nara Thai. All these acclaimed imported eateries opened their doors here this year. But would they have done so if Ippudo didn’t spark a ramen craze back in 2009, forever changing our noodle consumption habits? Shigemi Kawahara’s restaurant’s popularity also showed that Singaporeans would flock in droves to such eateries. So Pierre Herme, whatcha waiting for?

7. CYNTHIA CHUA

Would Tiong Bahru have become a buzzing hipster-ville if Cynthia Chua, the Spa Esprit owner, didn’t open 40Hands in sleepy Yong Siak Street three years ago? Her influence actually goes back further — to 2007, to be exact — when Spa Esprit enlivened the Dempsey enclave with House, her first F&B venture. House-made truffle fries was a menu staple and changed the way we looked at pizzas. This year alone, Chua opened three eateries that managed to tick off every big food trend, while staying ahead of the curve: Coffee with gourmet food at Common Man; tapas South-east Asian-style at Ding Dong; and Argentinean Gourmet at Bochinche.

8. STANLEY KWOK

We’ve all had our just desserts at places like Creamier, Merely and Salted Caramel, but the success of these gourmet ice-cream joints could be attributed to these two people who made eating ice-cream cooler than cool. Stanley Kwok founded Island Creamery in 2004 and started offering freshly made premium ice cream in flavours such as Teh Tarik and Pulut Hitam. Tom’s Palette followed in Island Creamery’s footsteps in 2005, churning out creations such as Lavender and Cucumber Martini. These innovative creations led to artisanal ice cream stores proliferating all over our island, and in 2013, famed culinary personalities like Willin Low, Janice Wong, Daniel Tay and Pang Kok Keong also made their own wacky flavours such as Caramel Popcorn Avalanche and Double Peanut Fudge.

9. ARRIF ZIAUDEEN

We all know the pitfalls of calling to make dinner reservations — from having to spell your name three times for someone who doesn’t quite understand you and then gets it wrong anyway, to going down to the restaurant only to find that they’ve lost your reservation. It’s no wonder then, that people started turning to Arrif Ziaudeen’s creation, Chope, a dazzlingly sleek website where you can make your dining reservations online with minumum fuss, 24/7. With over 250 restaurants (and counting) in its directory, you can choose any cuisine you want. Chope managed to raise US$2.5 million (S$3.2 million) in March — soon you will be able to chope your seats at your favourite restaurant in other parts of the region too.

10. GEORGE QUEK

You may not know his name, but you’ve probably bought his pork floss bun at some point in your life. Yes, George Quek is the one who started Bread Talk, the bakery that launched a thousand other bakeries. Sort of. Is it a coincidence that a generation fed on buns from the ubiquitous chain has something to do with the current fad of artisanal breads? No. What’s more, this year, Bread Talk raised its stakes when it launched its very own Bread Talk Cafe at Suntec in September, followed by another in Westgate Mall.

11. LESLIE TAY

A doctor by day, a foodie by ... whenever he’s not being a doctor. Unlike some other bloggers who just give their reviews and thoughts, Leslie Tday provides rich, juicy details and back stories of the restaurants and hawkers he features on his blog, ieatishootipost. That probably accounts for why he gets 25 million hits. The good doctor even teaches you how to eat a dish, whether it’s sushi or durians. This year, he scored his first full-time TV gig, 8 Days Eat, holding his own against his co-host, the Best Info-Ed Programme Host herself, Belinda Lee.

12. THE CUPCAKE CONNOISSEUR

Cupcakes were already around back in 2002 when a newly opened Marmalade Pantry started offering them, but we’ve only recently grown more obsessed with them — along with all things sweet and sugary, from jar cakes to macarons. Patisseries such as Kisses, Fluff, Audacious Cakery, Tiramisu Hero, Maple & Market all sprang up this year, and it’s all thanks to you, the cupcake consumer.

13. TAN YUNG YIH, WONG HOONG AN AND DENNIS GOH

Where do you go to when you’re hungry? To HungryGoWhere, of course, the website founded by the three amigos of food reviews, Tan Yung Yih, Wong Hoong An and Dennis Goh. The trio made everybody’s opinions about food count and turned their idea into Singapore’s most successful go-to portals. It’s a stroke of genius, really. Because even if you don’t trust the opinion of a single food reviewer, then maybe you’ll believe the collective view of 100 people. After all, if a dozen people say a place is “absolutely terrible”, there must be at least an element of truth to it, no? It’s the TripAdvisor or the Rotten Tomatoes of the foodie world here. And it’s not just our opinion — why else would SingTel swallow up HungryGoWhere for a cool S$12 million in 2012? Now, if that’s not a sign of success, we don’t know what is.

By Serene Lim and Hon Jing Yi

features [at] mediacorp.com.sg