Members’ Club 1880 Assembles F&B Team

Due to launch later this year, the Singapore members’ club 1880 has put together an A-List team to run the club’s full suite of food and beverage offerings. Helming the culinary team is Executive Chef Colin Buchan, while Rusty Cerven, Head Bartender, is slated to come on board as well. Designing the bar programme is Proof & Company, while the coffee programme will be the responsibility of Keith Loh.

Colin Buchan, Executive Chef

Most recently Executive Chef at Pollen in Singapore, the sister restaurant to Jason Atherton's Pollen Street Social in London, Colin is no stranger to the local F&B scene. The Scot’s accomplished career consists of stints at several Michelin-starred establishments including Marco Pierre White’s L’Escargot, Andrew Fairlie’s One Devonshire Gardens, and The Square restaurant in London. Colin also spent more than a decade working in Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants starting with Amaryllis in his hometown of Glasgow, and was a private chef to David and Victoria Beckham.

Rusty Cerven, Head Bartender

Rusty will make his Asian debut at 1880 – this comes after working in various World’s Best bars across Europe and the US, including the iconic bar at luxury hotel The Connaught and The Gibson in London. Originally from Slovakia, he has worked in the industry for more than 10 years and in 2013, was awarded the prestigious Bols Around The World Champion. In preparation for his upcoming role at 1880, Rusty travelled from coast to coast in the US and Mexico, as well as throughout Asia. He used the time to search for new flavours and ingredients, and to learn about the different production and distillation of spirits.

Proof & Company, Beverage Partner

Proof is Asia’s leading independent spirits company, merging a curated portfolio of sought-after independent brands with a team of award-winning bartenders and educators, a forward-thinking technology platform, and the region’s leading hospitality clients. From offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, Proof manages the exclusive distribution of a portfolio of more than 600 craft spirits, cocktails ingredients, bar tools and glassware. Proof’s award-winning team of 12 Spirits Evangelists is one of the most well-regarded creative teams in the cocktail and spirits community globally. Together, they guide the development and opening of bar programs for clients across Asia. Five of these bars ranked in the World’s 100 Best Bars in 2016, including Proof & Company’s own cocktail bar, 28 Hong Kong Street in Singapore (ranked World No. 7 and Asia’s Best Bar in 2015) and Manhattan Bar in Singapore (ranked World No. 11 and Asia’s Best Bar in 2016).

Keith Loh, Coffee Programme Consultant

The name Keith Loh is synonymous with a perfect cup of coffee – a fact that few in Singapore will dispute. The experienced hospitality entrepreneur and coffee professional has over 12 years of experience in the industry, and a clutch of coffee-related awards to his name. Brands he has been involved with include Whitebait & Kale, Oriole Coffee and Bar, and Bedrock Bar & Grill. In 2013, his F&B company was acquired by The Big Idea Group and he was its executive director for a year, before striking out on his own to go into urban farming. Last year, he returned to his first love: coffee. Today, he helms two business – Caffeine Solutions and Guerrilla Coffee – which are centered on supplying coffee machines and beans, and consulting work.

Stay tuned for more about the upcoming launch of 1880!

#ladybirdindulges