Dean & Deluca is finally opening in Singapore at Orchard Central 8pm tomorrow. Here are 5 reasons why you should be excited about Dean & Deluca Singapore.

Here’s a sneak preview of the new store.

1. Fabulous selection of bread

Everyone who has been to Dean & Deluca, loves their bread selection. They are known to curate the best bread and pastries, and the new store in Singapore is no exception. They are getting some of their bread from popular bakeries like Maison Kyser, Bakers & Co, and Bread Project; and their in-house bakers are also coming up with many new recipes.

2. All day breakfast

Brunch is the country’s favourite meal, and with the opening of Dean & Deluca, we have one more place to go for weekday brunch. From American country breakfast to The New Yorker, to freshly baked croissants, and salad – trust me, you will love Dean & Deluca.

3. Dean & Deluca house brands

Top grade maple syrup. Checked. Finest olive oils. Checked. Famous Manhatten blend. Checked. Best black truffle salt. Checked.

The list of private label products – artisanal products sourced from the best suppliers – from Dean & Deluca will blow your mind. And did I mention that Papa Palheta – one of the most famous coffee boutiques in Singapore – has created a special roast exclusively for Dean & Deluca?

4. Customerised gift sets

Always fretting over what gifts to get during special occasions and festive seasons? Dean & Deluca has the perfect solution. The gourmet grocer has an amazing range of epicurean delights, and the best part is that they have many beautiful gift boxes that will make your present stand out.

5. New York comes to Singapore

I am sure you have always heard about the Dean & Deluca experience in New York, and if you are still saving up for your trip – Dean & Deluca Singapore is probably the closest thing you can get to The Big Apple.

Read: Dean & Deluca New York Store Visit // Interview with Dean & Deluca’s President.

Featured in

icon-1

Back in March, the good people at Kitchen Language and Fulford PR invited me to join them on a press trip to visit Dean & Deluca in New York. During that few days, I had an amazing time learning about the brand, and it was a privilege to get a behind-the-scene sneak peek.

Dean & Deluca is a multi-channel retailer of gourmet and speciality foods, premium wines and high-end kitchenware with operations throughout the United States and abroad.

Like what I’ve mentioned in my earlier interview with Justin Seamonds (the president of Dean & Deluca), its international presence is expanding rapidly. Today, you can find the gourmet grocer in many cities including Tokyo, Bangkok, Korea, Turkey, and of course, Singapore (opening on 22nd June).

If you have always heard about but never had the chance to visit Dean & Deluca in New York, let me take you on a store visit!

After learning more about Dean & Deluca, I have to say that it is a great concept. Think of it as a food curator whereby it brings in different things from around the world. It is a place where people can get top-quality products. For food lovers, it is definitely one of the must-visit places in New York City.

We started our Dean & Deluca visit at its flagship store in SoHo (560 Broadway, at Prince Street Tel: 212 226 6800 Mon to Fri 7am – 8pm, Sat & Sun 8am – 8pm).

There was an interesting mix of people in the store: New Yorkers queuing up for breakfast and coffee; tourists filling up their basket with their favourite Dean & Deluca’s private labels; and others who are looking for specific brands carried by the gourmet grocer.

We were very lucky to have Diane Stopford (assistant general manager), Maria Roemer (merchandising manager), and Vicent Kirsch (director of visual merchandising) to show us around.

Even though they had many interesting stories to share, I had a hard time focusing as I could not stop gawking at all the yummy-looking food. I felt like a kid in Disneyland.

One of the things that I noticed is the subtle store displays; it is pretty, but not too fanciful. Vincent told me the rationale behind it is because they want people to focus on food.

Dean & Deluca is like a food heaven; there is so much to see, hear, and eat. It took us more than an hour just to walk from the entrance where you see the beautiful fruit and vegetable section; past the bakery and cheese area where they tempt us with samples; to the food counter that displays platters of delicious cooked food; and finally to the back where you can find the seafood and sushi counter.

An interesting thing that I learned during this trip – Dean & Deluca actually has concierges (not pictured) who are on hand to answer any queries, and the best part is – they also provide store tours. The next time you visit Dean & Deluca, feel free to approach them.

160 different types of cheese from six countries. Enough said.

Next, we went to Dean & Deluca cafe at New York Times Building (620 8th Ave Retail Space B Tel: 212 221 0308 Mon to Fri 7am – 7pm, Sat & Sun 10am – 6pm).

The cafe is simple, yet stylish. Offering a good range of sandwiches, soups, salads, and pastries, it is the place for busy New Yorkers to grab a quick lunch. We did a sampling of their signature items, and I almost couldn’t move after the meal.

For those who watch US shows, I am sure Dean & Deluca is a familiar name. In Gossip Girl, Blair Waldorf is often seen carrying a cup of coffee from Dean and DeLuca while sitting at The Met steps. Coffee for you?

After lunch, we headed to Dean & Deluca at Madison (1150 Madison Ave, at 85th Street Tel: 212 717 0800 Monday to Sunday: 8am-8pm).

Whereas the flagship outlet at SoHo has more tourists and local crowd, the store at Madison caters to a more sophisticated group.

It has a very different vibe, and while the store is much smaller, it still has everything you need. We were told that celebrity sightings happen occasionally, so now you know where to go if you want to see the famous Fifth Avenue residents.

Some of the bread are baked in-house, while others are procured from the best bakeries in the city like Royal Crown, Ceci Cela, Sullivan street bakery, and Pain D’ Avignon. Again, it highlights Dean & Deluca’s role as a food curator, where you can find the best under one roof.

We ended the insightful tour, and went on a shopping spree. If you are visiting The Big Apple, one of the things that you must buy is ‘TWG Tea Dean & Deluca.’ They have created a special brew exclusively for the New York store.

There are critics who would argue that the gourmet grocer is overrated, pretentious, and expensive. But I beg to differ. I think Dean & Deluca is doing a great job as it offers you the best products from around the world.

It is, not exaggerating, to say that Dean & Deluca is a leader in discovering new food trends. It has introduced plenty of new food products to its customers, and it’s nice to see that the folks behind the brand are staying true to its course.

Dean & Deluca will be opening in Singapore at Orchard Central on 22nd June. See you there!

Full Disclosure & Fine Print: I travelled to New York City as a guest of Dean & Deluca and Kitchen Language. No monetary benefits were received, only air tickets and hotel accommodations were sponsored.

Whenever my foodie friends travel to New York City, they will visit the flagship Dean & Deluca store at SoHo and stock up on their favourite products.

For those of you who have not heard of the brand, Dean & Deluca is a luxury gourmet grocer which carries a range of artisan gourmet food, wines and kitchenware.

Kitchen Language – the F&B arm of Far East Organisation – is bringing in the iconic New York lifestyle brand to Singapore, with the first flagship store at Orchard Central opening on 22th June.

The good people at Kitchen Language sent me on a trip to New York City for the Dean and Deluca experience, and while I was there, I had the pleasure of chatting with Justin Seamonds, the president of Dean & Deluca. Here are some pretty interesting insights into the Dean & Deluca world.

What is your job scope at Dean & Deluca?

My functional areas include building relationship with our international partners; distribution channels like e-commerce; as well as marketing and public relations. For areas like retail, administration, and infrastructure, I have a good team to assist me.

How closely does Dean & Deluca work with its suppliers?

Our role at Dean and Deluca is to source for the best products from all over the world, so it is very important for us to work closely with our suppliers to ensure that we get the best for our customers.

One of the key challenges is that we have to deal with a lot of suppliers. Luckily, we get to work with many wonderful people, and this makes our job much easier.

It is always difficult to replicate the experience overseas. What can we expect from D&D Singapore?

It is impossible to replicate the whole experience, but you can rest assured that the key features – design, layout, music, signage – will be consistent. It’s not going to be exactly the same, but you can expect it to be similar. And of course, food is the highlight of the Dean & Deluca experience – it will be the same for the Singapore stores.

I am delighted to see that D&D is carrying TWG Tea. Would Dean & Deluca be interested in other Singapore’s products?

Definitely! We are happy to carry more Singapore products, and we are actually working to bring some of them to our Dean & Deluca stores in the other cities. But this will have to wait as the priority is to build up our brand in Singapore.

Dean & Deluca has stores in cities around the world like Tokyo, Bangkok, Seoul, Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai, and Turkey. Is Europe in the pipeline?

We have a great working relationship with our partners in Middle East, and as they have a great reach in several countries, it’s very easy to expand the business there. Even though we have been approached many times, we are still not represented in Europe because we couldn’t find a suitable partner. But one of my goals this year is definitely to enter the Europe market. Do look out for it!

Any nice restaurants to recommend in NYC?

I like the Burger and Barrel (25 West Houston Street New York Tel: 212 334-7320); you can enjoy good burgers in a terrific atmosphere. Lure Fishbar (142 Mercer Street New York Tel: 212 431-7676) – the sister restaurant of Burger & Barrel – is also very good. It serves mainly seafood and it has very fresh oysters. Another of my favourite place is Saxol and Parole (316 Bowery New York Tel: 212 254 0350). I have only eaten there once, and it was really an exceptional meal.

Any interesting plans coming up for Dean & Deluca?

We are currently discussing with several potential partners from Western Europe and South America. Our merchandisers are flying to many countries to scout for more products.

We also expect to start accelerating the pace of the product partnership. Japan has around 400 private labels in the Dean & Deluca brand, so we will be bringing their products to our stores in New York to test out the market. Our Thai partner will be working on a few exciting products to introduce to our worldwide market as well. I hope that the international section of Dean & Deluca in US will be able to reflect our standing in the market.

And of course, the most exciting news is our opening in Singapore. Isn’t that great enough?

Full Disclosure & Fine Print: I travelled to New York City as a guest of Dean & Deluca and Kitchen Language. No monetary benefits were received, only air tickets and hotel accommodations were sponsored.