Chin is one of the most respected chefs in Malaysia and says that being a chef is about constant learning and self-discovery. — Photos: Filepic
Slowly, this perception has changed of course. The advent of reality television and cooking shows like MasterChef have given rise to the notion that being a chef is a glamorous pursuit that requires intelligence, creativity, a strong business mind and so much more (all completely true, by the way).
These days, even on the local front, there has been a growing appreciation for talented homegrown chefs – from fledgling young ‘uns to more established names who have set the blueprint for success on home ground.
But what does it really take to be a top chef in Malaysia? StarLifestyle speaks to Malaysian chefs who detail their journeys to the pinnacle and how they continue to strive for excellence.
ALSO READ: Top chefs in Malaysia need to 'stand out', says Raymond Tham of Skillet and Beta
ALSO READ: What does it take to be a top chef in Malaysia? Jack Weldie of Chipta11A tells us his story
Celebrated local chef Darren Chin really needs no introduction, but we’ll do one anyway. One of only four Malaysian chefs to earn a Michelin star for his acclaimed restaurant DC (which celebrates French cuisine) in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, KL, Chin has been a trail-blazing force in the Malaysian culinary scene since he opened his redoubtable restaurant.
But like many other chefs, the road to his success was littered with obstacles. Chin says he never did well academically in school because he hated memorising things. So after high school, he enrolled in a local college and did his diploma in culinary arts.
Chin’s restaurant DC is one of only two restaurants in KL to attain a Michelin star. — Photo: DARREN CHINAfter completing that, he joined Dave’s Deli (which his father David Chin started) and worked at one of the outposts – Dave’s Bistro – for 10 years.
But when he was 30, things started to go downhill in his personal life and he grew sick and tired of what he was doing.
“I was going through a dry spell and I felt like there was not much purpose in cooking – it was very mundane and repetitive. This was also compounded by the fact that I was going through a difficult time with my first wife and eventually we got a divorce,” he says.
Chin then used all his savings in his EPF account to “escape from all my troubles” and bought a one-way ticket to Paris and enrolled at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu Paris, where he says he truly learnt the fundamentals of cooking and French cuisine and how to correct the mistakes he had been making over the years.
After his graduation, he did a few internships in Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris before eventually deciding he wanted to come home.
From there, he opened DC Restaurant which initially focused on classic French cuisine and featured heavy sauces and very meat-laden dishes. Over the years though, Chin says he has gotten into his groove and the kind of French cuisine that he now serves has been lauded throughout the country and beyond.
But along the way, he has learnt from his mistakes of course – which means he has only grown stronger as a chef.
“Back then, I was one of the pioneers to feature degustation menus – I didn’t have a la carte options and that was a very risky approach to selling cuisine, so there was a lot to prove.
“I enjoyed the whole process, but it was very stressful. I had a lot of staff working under me and a lot of challenges to overcome. But over the years, I have figured out that being a chef is about constant learning and self-discovery,” he says.
Chin now makes food that he enjoys without any aim of getting accolades or awards and says every dish is a team effort. — FilepicHaving built his own business from scratch (he also now owns restaurants like Gai), he says learning how to operate a business is key for any chef who dreams of eventually opening their own restaurant.
“Knowing how to manage your business – it is about building your baseline so once you build that structure, you have more potential for growth. A lot of time, younger people want to see the success but they don’t want to take the journey and these things take time to develop,” he says.
Because cooking is often repetitive and there is a point at which brain fatigue or a creativity stall can take place, Chin says it is important to remember that every single dish should be a team effort. As a chef, he says you also need to find joy in what you are doing because if you don’t enjoy cooking, what is the point really?
“What I have finally realised today is that I don’t chase those awards and dreams anymore, not because of what I have achieved so far but because I now fully enjoy being able to express myself through my dishes without pretense or any objective in mind.
“I attribute my appreciation towards the people that I work with, because of the way we work the menus – at first I dictated everything because I wanted to fully express myself but cuisine evolves through a collective, it cannot evolve from one person; it is not a one-man show. Working together pushes the cuisine forward and that indirectly gives customers a reason to come back,” says Chin.
Although Chin has worked his way up through his own sheer hard work, he says he hopes to see more support from the government in terms of helping local chefs and restaurateurs become international culinary icons – because the talent on the local front does not match the exposure Malaysian chefs are currently getting.
“How do we let people know the great things Malaysian chefs do here? This is relative to exposure and how the world views us, so we need to globalise what Malaysian talent can do. So I feel the government should help elevate this,” he says.
