THE only time chef Luk Chui Lee's calm is ruffled during the phone interview from Sydney with LifeStyle is when she is asked if it ever gets catty in her all-woman kitchen.

'That is a stereotype of how women get along. We are professionals in the kitchen and have a harmonious relationship,' she says of the five women in the kitchen of Claude's.

She stresses that the team was formed based on the chefs' abilities rather than their gender.

That said, women chefs have been a great source of inspiration for the self-taught cook, who came relatively late into the culinary scene.

Born in Singapore, she grew up in Sabah, Malaysia, before moving to Sydney, Australia, at the age of seven with her family. She was always interested in cooking but had never entertained it as a career.

'Like all Chinese parents, mine expected me to get a professional degree,' says Luk, who excelled at school and read law at the University of Sydney.

She practised as a lawyer at the accounting firm KPMG for a year before deciding to heed her calling as a chef, having grown up as a cooking and baking enthusiast.

With the blessing of her parents, she worked as an apprentice under various women chefs, including Christine Manfield at the former Paramount and Kylie Kwong at Wockpool.

She says: 'I sought to work under these female chefs because I found them to be inspirational leaders in the field, regardless of their gender.'

However, she did learn through those stints that 'having a whole lot of confidence' helps them hold their own in a male-dominated industry.

'When there are only two to three female cooks in a kitchen, they naturally come under the microscope. Everyone pays attention to how they perform and if they live up to expectations, they will succeed,' she says.

In 2000, she began her tutelage under Claude's former chef-owner Tim Pak Poy, whom she admired for being able to marry classical French cooking techniques with his Chinese heritage.

Four years later, she bought the restaurant, which had a three chef's hat rating by the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, from chef Tim for an undisclosed sum.

But a month after fulfilling her dream of owning a restaurant, she was devastated to find Claude's included in the guide unscored. The timing of the handover had left the judges no time to evaluate the restaurant, now under a new owner, before the guide was published.

She eventually won back the prestigious rating the following year and has maintained it.

The chef, who regards her style as one that melds the sensibilities of Chinese cuisine with French cooking, says she begins by researching the origins of a dish. She wants to understand why certain ingredients and cooking techniques are used before looking for 'a different way of doing things'.

On the dish that she is most proud of, she says: 'I'm still looking for that perfect dish, where no element can be removed without detracting from its harmony.'

Her stint at the summit is her first overseas engagement and diners can expect 'tried and tested' dishes from Claude's.

As to why she decided to participate in the summit, she says: 'I was impressed by the line-up of chefs cooking at the event and I'm excited about the chance to meet a great female chef such as AnneSophie Pic.'

Chef Luk will cook a dinner on April 14 at the Mandarin Oriental. Tickets are at $298 per person. She will also conduct a culinary masterclass on April 17 at the Singapore Tourism Board Auditorium. Tickets are at $68 per person. For reservations to both events, call 6270-1254.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Mar 16, 2008.