With an extensive 15 years of culinary experience under his belt, the bubbly Chef Dalton helms the kitchen as Head Chef of La Strada today. From the tender age of 10, his fervent love for cooking was unmistakable as he entered the industrial kitchen shortly after graduating from the Principle of Professional Cooking course by the Education Foundation of the National Restaurant Association, USA, in 1998.
Wasting no time in getting his first taste of the F&B industry, he began his life-long culinary journey in 1998 as Chef De Partie at Grand Plaza Parkroyal Singapore. During his three years there, he familiarized himself with Singaporean, Peranakan, Thai and Japanese cuisine – even making his mark as 1st Runner Up in the SPHC Plaza Annual Regional Chef Competition in 2000 and Best Employee of the Month in the same year.

Dauntless in his pursuit for culinary excellence, Chef Dalton found himself at Shrooms Restaurant, Wine Bar and Salut Restaurant where he worked alongside Chef Meyjitte Boughenaout with a two-Michelin star background. His explorations later took him on a month-long attachment at Banc Restaurant Sydney, Australia, before returning to Singapore to join the Les Amis Group at the now-defunct Au Jardin.

No stranger to prestigious accolades like the gold and silver awards in FHA Culinary Challenge he earned in 2006, Chef Dalton maintains modest and relentless in sharpening his craft. In 2007, he cemented his signature rustic and homely cooking style working in Au Petit Salut as Sous Chef to Chef Patrick Heuberger in 2009.

2009 saw his return to the Les Amis Group, where he led the Bistro Du Vin kitchen as an Executive Chef. Enriched by his yearly trips to France, he likes to bring home the sights and tastes of his adventures to help develop bold flavor profiles to his cooking style.

Ever the fiend of hands-on experiences, Chef explains that it is these trips that push him to take liberties and inspiration from the soul and tradition of food to elevate them in taste. Pairing his experiences with his keen acumen for customer satisfaction, Chef Dalton became La Strada’s Executive Chef in the summer of 2015. Unafraid to exercise progression and propriety, he reimagines flavor profiles without compromising the dignity of Italian cuisine.

In addition, Chef Dalton was also in the opening team to help Les Amis Group’s expansion in Hong Kong. With his assistance, the group successfully opened Bistro Du Vin Hong Kong and Le Port Parfumé, a seafood bistro.

His straightforward and disciplined demeanor follows through with his 5am morning exercises and reading on the weekends. Never away from the kitchen for too long, he spends off days grocery shopping before going home to cook up a storm of straightforward but intimate meals to feed his family.