“The truth is it never crossed my mind that I would be a chef once I finished SPM. I didn’t do well in the exam so I was reluctant to go back to my foster mom’s house. She told me “Rid, since you’re not excelling with academics, so try to learn practical skills like cooking.” So, since then I have set to become a chef as my goal.
I couldn’t call myself as a chef because I think you’d need at least 10 years of experience in the field. I’ve been a chef for almost 21 years and I still wouldn’t dare to call myself a chef.
About Oman food, most of them are cooked using the ‘boiling technique. However, lamb showa uses bits of spices and they cook it under the Earth for 2 to 3 days.
Every experience that I have has been interesting. I started from the bottom, I’ve been yelled at, ran errands, made mistakes, came late to work. All that have made me who I am today.
If you want to be a chef you have to be mentally strong. If you’re lazy, undisciplined, and not committed to what you do, you cannot become a chef. If you’re doing just what you like to do, then you won’t cut it. Plus, it is true that chefs earn more but only the Sous Chef, Exec Sous Chef, Chef De Cuisine and Exec Chef earn more. Whereas, Kitchen Helpers, Commis 3,2,1, Demi Chef, Chef de Partie earn more or less like other jobs.
The reason I chose Oman is because my wife has been working for the Oman Air Crew for almost 10 years. I’ve never thought of becoming anything else but a chef. Guess I’m just a Malaysian, living in Oman, hoping to become a chef.”
Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa
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(This post was first published on October 10th 2016)
