'I don't regret I was once a drug addict': Eighteen Chefs' Benny Se Teo on retiring and his journey

SINGAPORE: Fourteen years after turning into the face of restaurant chain Eighteen Chefs and a image of hope for ex-convicts, Mr Benny Se Teo has retired.A former heroin addict, Mr Se Teo famously turned his life round, then cast forward with his efforts to provide fellow ex-offenders a likelihood to be employed – at a time when it was not widespread.Reflecting on his journey, he advised CNA: "I don't regret that I was once a drug addict. If I didn't undergo these tough instances, I am unable to assist people who find themselves going by way of these tough instances.“Somehow maybe God wants me to go through every single thing so that I can be a blessing to a lot of people who are going through this.”Mr Se Teo, who was in and out of jail for years till a near-death expertise modified him for good, was final launched from jail in 1993. He had bother getting a job on the time."I feel very special to be given this opportunity to experience that – from someone who is having difficulty to get a job, now I'm providing jobs," he stated, talking at his dwelling on Depot Road on Friday (Dec 3).One lesson he is learnt from hiring ex-convicts is that this, he stated: "Don't judge a book by its cover."From his years of expertise, he is discovered that how a particular person is dressed for an interview doesn't point out how they may carry out at work, he stated. Those who're hungry, who don't have anything to fall again on will make it, he stated.

GIVING SECOND CHANCES

While he resolved to assist troubled youth – an initiative he counts as his most significant accomplishment – the method was not at all times smooth-sailing. He has needed to publish bail for his workers, and had the Central Narcotics Bureau flip up at his restaurant. “I have boys who failed me many times,” he stated. However, those that have been honest and returned at all times received one other alternative.