HIS ear stud gleams. His pony tail drapes the nape of his neck. His clipped, loud voice delivers staccato instructions to his two dozen employees. Their weekly editorial meeting in his high-ceilinged and large Singapore office is in full swing. And as I watch him tower over everybody as he moves towards the state of the art Poggenpohl display kitchen in his office, I can�t help but think that ordinary men have careers, Peter A. Knipp has a destiny.

High-octane and driven, this 44-year-old ex-chef has pioneered a first of it�s kind company in the world. It�s called PKH which stands for �Peter Knipp Holdings�. It also stands for (as the corporate brochure announces) �Prospects Keep Happening�. And that is no exaggeration. PKH takes within it�s sweep publishing, website development, CD ROMs and presentations, F&B consultancy, kitchen concepts and creative productions.

I plan to bring international excellence to India and take Indian excellence overseas,� says Knipp with his signature confidence and determination. �It will surely be a win-win situation,� he concludes. And he is already on his way, having set up a joint venture with an Indian group �Concepts Solutions, Services Co�.

Knipp is also providing F&B consultancy for Henry Tham�s �Mandarin� in Bombay. �India is the biggest island in the world,� says Knipp, �it has so much potential, if only you guys could get the infrastructure together it would be rock and roll time.� Knipp has definite views on our country.

Food is the next best to Kama Sutra in India,� he says, and he is in complete admiration of the Indian chef�s mastery of spices. He loves the complexity of Indian vegetarian food and always has his �bazooka� (which is what he likes to call the dosa) when in India.

Food has always been his passion and Knipp began his career almost thirty years ago with a chef�s apprenticeship at the Berlin Hilton. Years later, he took over as chef at the legendary Raffles Hotel, represented Singapore at several International salon culinaires and won many an award. �

There are three types of people,� Knipp is fond of repeating. �People who watch things happen, people who wonder what happened and those who make it happen.� And quite clearly he belongs to the last category. Because after he left the Raffles, his career path zoomed with amazing rapidity and intensity.

First came the magazine, New Asia Cuisine and Wine Scene, which is now recognised as the foremost professional publication for the F&B industry in Asia. �We cover the latest ideas, trends, news and information concerning the F&B profession,� points out their director, Sue Bee Knipp. The gentle and petite lady is also Knipp�s wife and is the enterprising woman behind the successful man. Sheenah Hamid, who writes and edits the NACWS along with other features writers, puts together a plush and informative magazine.

Anything is possible with the web,� believes Knipp and Intracooks International Internet Information Provider specialises in website development. They also have their own website, launched three years ago and this one has already won the �Best of Asia Pacific Award� and the �Microsoft�s Site of The Month� award.

The site (www.asiacuisine.com) offers the latest in culinary news, events and even online cooking lessons and an online shopping bazaar. �Our philosophy is simple,� says Knipp matter of factly, �to be the best culinary information provider on the net.� As though this wasn�t enough, Knipp has set up �Caterplan�s Virtual Kitchen� which supplies not just a web development service, but also hosting, scripting, culinary photographic expertise, professional management of recipes and an interface with the client�s operations.

At Culinaire Asia Multimedia Co., our expertise lies in conceptualising and creating CD-ROMs,� explains Knipp. And these are made for various purposes from presentation tools to interactive information libraries.

Knipp hands me a few CD-ROMs as examples and as we talk, he is constantly interrupted by calls and messages and seems to be in the habit of being able to juggle more than four tasks at a time. I�d seen him to do this when he guided me through a �gourmet safari� at the Singapore Food Festival three years ago.

Completely at ease with explaining about the cuisine, the chefs and the hotels he had personally guided us through four courses in four different restaurants at one meal time. And the Singapore Food Festival is yet another magnificent first which Knipp has pulled off. Along with the Singapore Tourist Board he also organises the World Gourmet Summit with meticulous elan. Knipp has put Singapore squarely on the world culinary map.

Not content with being on the map, Knipp is determined to blaze his own paths. So he not only offers �factory kitchen concepts� to design visually aesthetic yet functional and practical kitchens for the modern consumer, but also sets up food and beverage operations for his clients. Brochure production, recipe development, product launch, graphic and signage creation are all undertaken here. Knipp�s gusto and mark of excellence is obvious in all that he does.

I am passionate about my work, my lust for learning, my love for life, and the insatiable drive to maximise life,� Knipp says. He firmly believes that each of us is a master of his or her destiny. �We are born naked and we pass on naked and if you believe in yourself then you can accomplish anything.�

And so Knipp begins his average day at the crack of dawn, kickstarts his day with a cup of sweet black coffee and by 7.45 a.m. is at work. �I used to ride to work on my motorcycle till a short while ago,� says Knipp, and you can�t help noticing a photo of his bike along with those of his two young sons, on the office table.

Lunch is just an apple or a fruit for this master-chef and according to him, �Good food is all about it being prepared with love, some degree of knowledge and using the best of ingredients.� Knipp still cooks and even uses his gleaming Poggenpohl kitchen in his office not just to demonstrate, but also for exuberant cook-ins for his friends.

No matter what he does, excellence is the key. What is it like to work with a hard driven man like him? �Oh! I am a pain,� he says quite happily. His charming wife and director, Sue Bee, chimes in: �Sure he is.� Only to add quickly, �He is very difficult but then in the end, you get results.� And that�s what matters, isn�t it?