Moments. Who knew at 23, I would be in a food fight fulfilling my dreams. It’s definitely overwhelming, but what is life without surprises?
Back in September, everything was normal. I was focussed on excelling at my newly found love: taxation. I was cooking at home regularly, which I love to do since I was a kid. Then a phone call from RAGE changed everything.
6 days in Kuching. A day in KL. The flights to and fro between cities and the famous KL jam became a blessing in a disguise for me – a time of reflection and rest.
People, surroundings and experiences. From talking to the cab driver to observing the videographers work their magic to working alongside my fellow contestants of the RAGE food fight, all these became ten thousand moments in my memory.
The beauty of food is that so much of the chef, who they are, what they’ve seen… their moments can be conveyed through the food they make. To be understood by the dish you create ultimately is the goal for all chefs. At least that’s how I saw it.
After trying the other finalist dishes I feel I’ve gotten a peek into who they are.
For instance Li–Anne, from her dish, I see her to be sweet, complex and full of surprises.
Her pumpkin spiced cake was decadence personified – moist and moorish. The roasted pumpkin cake was beautifully balanced with various spices. The vanilla bean ice cream and honeycomb definitely elevated her dessert to an experience of texture and flavours.
Nuril’s dish was fun, colourful and vibrant; but if you examined it a little closer, his attention to detail and technical skill shines through. With familiar Malaysian flavours treated with French techniques this was fusion food at its best.
From this take, he is a bold and cheeky but yet a sophisticated person.
Next Ah Hong, what a better way to describe him than confident.
His coconut gravy definitely showed his boldness of flavours. The way he handles his knife shows his belief in achieving his culinary dream.
Kelly has a quirky taste and style.
It takes truly a creative mind to think up a recipe of mixing olives and pineapple. The saltiness of the olives and the sweetness from the pineapple weirdly works well together.
Seeing what my competitors brought to the table indeed made me feel privileged and honoured to be in the top five, sharing this journey with them. Despite the differences in age, style and personalities, they are such a great bunch to be with, beautiful inside and out, and of course not forgetting the amazing RAGE crew.
Food, created in love, creates moments in one’s journey when it is shared. For it is in the giving and the sharing, that memories are built, through food.
Make every moment count.
justashleys 