Men\'s Health Malaysia - Jun 2017

56 JUNE 2017

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Guy

Skills

The Best

Parenting

Advice

from

Comedians

Ignore ’Em

“Parents are burning kids out

on structure. I think all children

should have three hours of

daydreaming every day. Just

daydreaming... If you want to

know how you can help your

children: Leave them the f**k

alone!”

—George Carlin

Celebrate Their Achievements

“My dad would treat spelling

bees like athletic events.

I’m in the middle of spelling

some shit, all I heard was

‘Alriiiight. Yeeeeeah! My son’s

spelling the shit out of these

motherf**king words!’”

—Kevin Hart

Be Your Own Man

“I’m not ‘Mom’s assistant.’

That’s depressing, just waiting

for her to write you a list,

walking around a store staring

at it, and calling her from the

cereal aisle to make sure you

got the right thing. Be a man.

Make your own list.”

—Louis C.K.

Accept That You’ll

Embarrass Them

“I think every kid thinks their

dad is goofy. Even Johnny

Depp’s kid must be like, ‘Oh

god, my dad with those freakin’

scarves. This isn’t a pirate ship;

it’s a supermarket, Dad.’”

—Judd Apatow

56 JUNE 2017 http://www.mens-health.com.my 57

EVER SINCE IT OPENED IN MARCH

2015, Dewakan has been the toast

of the town (even though it’s

located deep inside Glenmarie,

Shah Alam) and its chef, Darren

Teoh, has been feted as a culinary

genius. The most convenient and

frequent way to describe its food

is “modern Malaysian cuisine”,

but if you ever have the privilege of

conversing with Teoh, you’ll realise

that he’s not fond of labels. “I never

say it’s Malaysiana. It’s too blanket

a description,” Teoh says. “At this

restaurant, we place an emphasis

on ingredients – from the land, the

KNOW YOUR – AND

EVERYONE’S – PURPOSE

“When you know your purpose,

it’s also because you know

the purpose of the whole

organisation. When everybody

knows the purpose of the whole,

and their purpose of existing in

it, then they’ll do what it takes to

make sure everything flows well.”

MAKE YOUR TEAM BELIEVE

IN THE PURPOSE

“As the leader, you have to drive

that purpose, to ensure they

buy-in to it. But they don’t owe

you anything. There’s no reason

for them to want to buy-in unless

you give them a damn good

reason to. A lot of times, it’s not

just about money.”

WORRY (IN MODERATION)

ABOUT YOUR WORK

“What’s wrong with worrying?

Don’t you get sick and tired of

people telling you not to stress?

If it’s in over-abundance and it

affects your health, then I agree

[about not stressing out]. But if it

weren’t there, then what drives

you? You have to want to worry.”

ESSENCE OF

EXCELLENCE

Win One Table

at a Time

For Darren Teoh, founder and chef of Dewakan restaurant, life

isn’t about merely conquering one pinnacle, but savouring

a series of successes. Dig in to his doctrine:

WISDOM

Follow Darren Teoh’s recipe

for being the best you can be

WORDS

EUGENE PHUA

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ELYNN HAH

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sea, the jungle – because there is

nothing more appropriate than

eating something that grows in your

area. Then, we find modern and

creative ways to play it out.”

Besides running Dewakan,

Teoh is a lecturer at KDU’s School

of Hospitality, Tourism and

Culinary Arts; an author of the

book Re-definition: Molecular

Cuisine: Traditional Recipes

Through a Modern Kaleidoscope;

and proprietor of Food Tour

Malaysia. The 36-year-old has built

his illustrious career not through

hashtags or TV shows, but from the

gruelling ground up: Teoh began his

career in 2001, doing part-time jobs

in KL’s hotels and restaurants, both

while studying and after graduating;

worked in Singapore’s two-

Michelin-starred Les Amis, as well

as Au Jardin; stagiaire-ed in Noma,

the world’s best restaurant; and

has an MBA. “It’s true, we weren’t

paid well, the hours were very long,

and there were very-high-pressure

moments,” Teoh says of his early

days. “But if you don’t live through

the pressure, what are you gonna

do? Without those foundational

years, you don’t pick up a skill.

So, you will improve when you

have the right kinda mentorship

and, more importantly, the right

kinda practice.”

The life and times of a chef are

often fraught with peril, pain and

the aforementioned pressure;

but Teoh vividly remembers the

example of his former bosses who

have shown him, not told him,

the way to work – and lead. “I’ve

had great mentors who taught us

discipline and what it takes to be

a chef just by doing it,” Teoh says.

“Chef Galvin Lim, who’s now the

Executive Chef for Les Amis Group

in Singapore, had no qualms about

washing plates or the kitchen. What

he taught us is, if he could do the

grittiest, most difficult jobs in the

most detailed way, you should be

able to do it too.” That’s why now, as

the head of Dewakan, Teoh believes

in “down up, never top down”

leadership. “You wanna work to

a point where they wanna do

things for you,” Teoh says. “I take

care of the team. I make sure they

get training and the perks I get. If a

guest sends one small glass of wine,

it gets passed around the kitchen.

And I trust them. I give them a lot of

leeway to do things that most places

don’t do.”

Dewakan, of course, is not most

places, and its chef and founder

is not most people. You’d think

Teoh would now parlay his success

into a decadent spell as a celebrity

chef – but he’s nowhere near

done achieving bigger and better

things. “I want to live from one best

moment to another – a great point

to a great point to a great point,”

Teoh states. “I don’t think there

is a best way to live your life – just

live it! Make sure you’ve done

everything you can, and stop

thinking about only yourself,

hunting for the best.

“The paradigms could change

when we stop looking inward and

start looking outward, and making

other people’s lives better,” he

continues. “Then maybe, your life

will also start to change, and you’ll

feel like every moment will be a best

moment.”