Chef Denise’s culinary journey began when she enrolled into the Shatec Culinary Institute of Singapore and gained a keen interest in Italian cuisine after an internship at the Grand Hyatt Singapore. Chef Denise continued on the path of specialisation and have honed her culinary skills over the past 17 years, spending a majority of her career at Italian establishments such as Osvaldo Ristorante & Bar, Zafferano Italian Restaurant & Bar, Bar Cicheti and Forma.

During the year of 2012, Chef Denise furthered her studies in Switzerland and interned at a luxury boutique hotel in Los Angeles for a year where it deepened her knowledge in kitchen management. During her stint there, she was exposed to the diverse culture of Californian cuisine hence influencing her decision to join Spago by Wolfgang Puck in Singapore, during the year of 2016. 

At Spago, Chef Greg Bess gave her the opportunity to take on a pasta making role and she immediately fell deeper in love with the craft. This led Chef Denise to find a restaurant that is more pasta focused, hence joining Bar Cicheti as Sous Chef in 2019 where she was the main pastaia. During her tenure with the Cicheti Group, she had achieved the honour of being awarded Junior Chef of the Year in 2021 by the World Gourmet Awards association. 

Soon after, a golden opportunity rose to focus on her passion for the craft of pasta making. She was able to train under the tutelage of Sfoglino Lee Yum Hwa of Ben Fatto Private Dining, before they both opened Forma as the opening team in 2022. They strove to honour the Italian heritage by diving deep into artisanal pasta formats for diners with a hope to expose them to unique and rare shapes of pasta, as well as their origins.