Cuisine & Wine Asia — May-June 2017

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At 28, Kenneth Oh is one of the two youngest

nominees. The young Malaysian chef has spent

seven years at Gattopardo starting at the bottom of

the rung. Right after Chef Oh’s high school period,

the bloom of chef television shows ensnared his

future. His parents objected, asking him if he was

ready for a tough job. He puts it out there, “I like

the pressure in the kitchen and I’m not the type

of person who can sit at a desk the whole day. I

have to be constantly moving and as a chef, I get

to cook and experiment on a daily basis.” Chef Oh

studied overseas in Switzerland for two years – one

of the only two times he found a challenge so far

that was beyond his control: a language barrier.

Nevertheless, he did what he could and learnt to

make things work. In Singapore, he had to cope

with manpower issues. “We worked magic here,

and the lack of manpower forced us to push harder

and become better,” he adds. Within five years, he

reached the position of chef de cuisine: something

he appreciates and regrets at the same time. “I

didn’t get to go out and see as many things as I feel

I should have.

But, at the same time, I reached my capabilities

under Chef Lino Sauro. He gave me freedom to

grow and always advised me on how I can improve.

He was strict – but that got me here. He always tells

me to keep changing and never stay stagnant.” Chef

Oh is most proud of his knife skills and has fileting

competitions among his colleagues. He laughs,

“I would always win though. I’ll show them how I

do it and then I challenge them to beat my time to

instil friendly competiveness. I think I can handle

pressure quite well and I don’t flip out that easy. I’m

not the sort of chef that throws pans at everyone.

The Calm, Collected & Confident:

The Equanimeous Award Recipient

Young chefs are not only the

ambassadors of how Australia’s

wonderful variety is created,

but critically represent the final

passage of the ‘story onto the

consumer’. The more Meat &

Livestock Australia can support

young chefs in understanding the

provenance and wide selection of

natural Australian products,

the better able these final messages will

be delivered in the menu creation.

Andrew Simpson

International Business Manager

Southern Asia

2017