Mastery – A master is someone extremely skilled at their craft. In this series, we learn to unlock the secrets of mastery of contemporary masters, from sports people, writers, singers, explorers, artists, and scientists to musicians.

The story of Aw Kah Meng, chef and owner of Ipoh’s Morel Restaurant, is one of tenacity and perseverance. Starting from scratch in the world of culinary arts, it was his humility and unrelenting pursuit of skill and knowledge that has enabled him to master up as a culinary chef.

Long before there was Morel, a young and idealistic 20-year-old from the small town of Kampar headed to Singapore with the dream of becoming a chef.

“In a way, I was quite naïve. With a knapsack on my back and what little experience I had as a kitchen helper and cook, I stepped foot in Singapore thinking I could easily find a job.

“Of course, things weren’t fine. My English isn’t good and I only wanted to learn international cuisine.

“I went to 5-star hotels for interviews and I could only fill up my name in the application forms. I was down and broke,” Aw, now 39, related.

But he persevered. It took Aw two months to finally land a job at the Swissotel The Stamford as a kitchen helper and garde manger, an entry level cooking position where one prepares salads, appetisers and cold cuts.

“For three years, I did the same thing. By the time I left, I was already an expert at cutting fruits. I think I could have done it with my eyes closed.

“I could work a 5,000 pax function but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to learn more and made up my mind to leave for the St Regis Singapore,” he said.

At the St Regis, Aw had the chance to pick up some French cooking, Malaysian and Singaporean local foods, and even making desserts.

“I went through a brief stint under French chef Julien Royer, whose restaurant has now been named The World’s 50 Best and awarded three Michelin stars. Unfortunately, I was not picked to be his kitchen crew.

“I was sent to the Room Service Kitchen. Whereas my only experience of cooking local food came from the vague instructions from my mother and through trial and error as a boy, here I learned to cook char kway teow, prawn noodles, chicken rice.

“I didn’t despair even though I was initially intent on learning French cuisine. I’d go to work early and seek cooking tips from the chefs at the French kitchen. With what I had learned, I’d practise at home.

“Part of my duty as a Room Service Kitchen crew was also to prepare breakfast for the French restaurant. Along with preparing breakfast, I’d set up the kitchen for the French cuisine chefs to show that I was really sincere in learning,” Aw related.

His sincerity did pay off. Very soon, the chefs were advising him on what ingredients to get, what knives to buy, and what books to read.

Always with a hunger to learn, Aw moved on to il Lido, a renowned Italian restaurant by celebrity chef, Bruno Menard. At 26 and more matured and skilled in and out of the kitchen, Aw was determined to move up the kitchen ranks. And so, he did.

“As usual, I started from the bottom with the appetisers. In my four years there, I worked through all the stations except the dessert station and left as a Junior Sous Chef, who is second to the deputy head chef.

“I gained experience as a butcher, in the fish station, and the main course station. In fact, it was from my time at il Lido that I discovered that I love using my hands. I love making pasta,” said Aw, who still makes his own pasta at Morel.

After years of slogging off, Aw finally got his big break when he was hired as head chef at another Italian restaurant, the Burlamacco Ristorante, where he stayed on for five years before heading back to Malaysia to realise his and his Penang wife, Chin Siau Hooi’s dreams of setting up their own eatery.

“Back in Singapore, Siau Hooi and I would talk about coming up our own place. It was our dream from the start.

“We saved our money and never once considered taking up permanent residency in Singapore because we knew that one day, we would come home to Malaysia. Besides, my parents are still in Kampar and my young daughter is with them,” he said.

With a leap of faith, the couple landed in Ipoh and set up Morel in three short months.

“You could say it was a brave decision but I believe if you really put your heart into doing something, you can achieve it,” said Aw, who managed to turn his restaurant from one of casual dining at a single shoplot in Soho Ipoh previously to one of contemporary fine dining at a spacious bungalow lot behind the Ban Hoe Seng Honda Sales Gallery on Jalan Raja Permaisuri Bainun, in a period of three years.

After 16 years of working with no breaks in between, it is only fair to assume that this hardworking chef can finally slow down though that is not the case.

“I continue to work over 10 hours a day, seven days a week. I wake up at 2am to go to the fish market so that I can pick out the freshest catch. Sometimes, I’d be making pasta till 2am.

“Throughout the time, I’d be experimenting with new recipes and cooking techniques. Right now, I’m experimenting with fermented foods, which I believe can add more taste and colour to elevate the dining experience.

“I think the hardest thing about being a chef is coming up with new recipes and dishes. There’s a lot of research involved and often times, it ends up in failure. My biggest challenge has been making pizza dough. It has taken me three years to learn and improve,” he said.

Whereas his wife and staff are his official food tasters, Aw, who continues to dream of owning a pizza joint, and also a fish shop cum café in future, also gets his customers to try out his new creations in order to get their feedback.

“One must be open to criticisms and suggestions. How else will we improve? What’s the point of cooking a dish and you love it but your customers hate it?” he asked.

“To be a chef, attitude is everything. First and foremost, you must have passion and motivation. You must also partake in teamwork, have patience and be responsible,” added Aw.

Who better to give advice than one who from the get-go had all the right “ingredients” to be an excellent chef?

 

Words and Phrases to Learn:

cook up a storm – to do something with a lot of energy and skill

tenacity – persistence, determination, perseverance

perseverance – persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success

start from scratch – from the beginning, without using anything that already exists

humility – modesty

unrelenting – stubborn and persistent in his efforts

idealistic – unrealistically aiming for perfection

naïve – showing a lack of experience, judgement or wisdom

broke – having completely run out of money

stint – a period of time spent at a particular activity

vague – unclear meaning

trial and error – the process of experimenting with various methods of doing something until one finds the most successful

intent – determined to do something

slogging off – to keep on going until the person achieves his or her goal

leap of faith – the act of believing in something whose outcome cannot be known

contemporary – modern

elevate – raise to a more impressive level

partake – join in

Chef Aw is testament to skill and talent taking time to cultivate. It is not something that can be acquired in a day or two but rather years and decades. Like cooking, mastering English doesn’t happen at the snap of the fingers. Take the advice of the chef, put in lots of patience and passion, and you’ll get there eventually. The good news is, you don’t have to go at it alone. ILTI has the best teachers and resources to help you on your journey towards English proficiency. Find out more about what ILTI can do for you by calling 010-395 3067 or visit ilti.edu.my today.