GLOBE-trotting around Europe to eat at Michelin-starred restaurants might just go out of fashion for gourmands in Singapore, with more of these decorated chefs making guest appearances at restaurants here.

From now till the end of the year, no fewer than seven Michelin-starred chefs with a total of 12 stars between them, will be cooking at various restaurants.

Three-starred chef Michel Roux of The Waterside Inn in Britain will be at the Goodwood Park Hotel's Gordon Grill for five days starting this Saturday. He kick-starts the hotel's month-long promotion featuring four Michelin-starred chefs.

Michelin-starred chefs will also be guest stars at Hilton Singapore's The Harbour Grill and at The Cliff in Sentosa.

A cable television food channel - the Asian Food Channel - is bringing in celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli, who has won four Michelin stars in his career, working in restaurants such as Le Provence in Britain.

He will be cooking at Au Jardin Les Amis on Oct 22, as part of the Sun Festival, for a dinner event he will host together with author Frances Mayes.

And this is just for the next three months. In all, more than 12 famous chefs - a combined Michelin-star power of 19 among them - will have come to Singapore this year.

While restaurants have been bringing in famous international guest chefs to cook for special promotional events for about 10 years now, they are coming here in bigger numbers.

Ms Renee Lim, 32, public relations manager of The Sentosa Resort and Spa, says: 'The reputation of having recognised Michelin-starred chefs cooking at a restaurant adds value to its prestige and brand.'

Chef Philippe Egalon, 45, Goodwood Park's director of kitchens, says chefs here also benefit, by working with the culinary stars.

For example, six students from the Singapore International Hotel and Tourism College, or Shatec, will be on attachment in the Gordon Grill kitchen, learning to prepare the ingredients and plate the dishes.

The Michelin stars are awarded by the annual Michelin guide, which features the best places to eat and stay in 13 countries, including the United States, Britain, France and Spain.

Its rating system is one of the most recognised and influential in western Europe. Stars are given only to restaurants with outstanding quality, with three stars being the highest honour.

Most restaurants say the renowned chefs are invited through personal contacts and that planning takes at least a year.

And it is not cheap to bring these chefs here. While the restaurants say there is no fixed rate for hiring the chefs, they say a chef with one Michelin star cooking at a restaurant for a week can command a five-figure sum.

Prices for meals cooked by these chefs run anywhere from $88 for a four-course set lunch to more than $200 for an eight-course dinner.

Singapore diners have responded well to the star power, judging by the bookings.

At the Gordon Grill, dinner reservations for chef Roux's dinners are already fully booked and the hotel has had to open up seven more tables each day.

Some 500 diners turned up for a week-long promotion featuring chef Jean-Marc Banzo with two stars from France.

And even for well-travelled foodies, these events offer a chance to eat at restaurants that might be hard to get to.

Mr Francis Poulose, 39, general manager of food consultancy business Peter Knipp Holdings, has never eaten at The Waterside Inn in Bray on the River Thames, and has made reservations for chef Roux's event.

He says: 'People don't travel to London or Paris every year. And even if they do, they don't always have time to eat at certain Michelin-star restaurants that might be in the suburbs, such as The Waterside Inn.'

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