Creative cooking courses for international gourmets

Interview with Ismail Ahmad

On December 5th, Expat Cuisine will host the Malaysian celebrity chef Ismail Ahmad. We are honoured and delighted to share this unique opportunity with the international Frankfurt community.  Our interview with Ismail Ahmad, will give you an impression of this great personality and will make you want to be part of this exclusive event on December 5th.

Hilly: Ismail, kindly let us have some background information; who is Ismail Ahmad?

Ismail: I am the son of Kampung Chengkau Hulu, Rembau, Negeri Sembilan from the biduanda tribe, practicioners of adat perpatih.  Like all kampong boys, I spent my childhood years playing in the paddy fields, fish in the river, plucking fruits from our neighbours trees.

Hilly: To us it is clear that the kitchen is a domain created to let your personality come to full bloom, but how did it all start?

Ismail: My passion in the fresh produce of the orchards and the paddy fields and my efforts in trying out the herbs and spices growing in such abundance around me-has led me to cook, cook and cook…Helping my grandmother in the kitchen has made me successful in the world of cookery. Not forgetting my grandfather though, who helped me by showing me the art of choosing the best from the sea when shopping at the local market.

Hilly:  your formal education in Hotel Management and Catering with specialization in Chef Training was followed by an apprenticeship with Hilton International. Your dedication was soon discovered and you chose to share it with others?

Ismail: Yes! Indeed, I became a lecturer at Taylor's College in Food Technology and Kitchen Management, sharing my knowledge and experience from running an industrial kitchen to managing an exclusive restaurant.

Hilly:  It was just a matter of time for you to be discovered.

Ismail: Well in all modesty it was exciting to host for various cookery programmes for local television. It was great fun to develop the program formats and cook in the shows such as Aroma, Sri Murni and Kuih Raya, Hey Good Cooking, Wok and Roll and Makan Tapi Diet on RTM TV 1 and 2; but I also hosted cooking TV shows in Singapore.

Hilly: With this media profile I am not surprised that the Malaysian Trade organization has invited you to join their international promotion tours. Where did you get to cook on these tours?

Ismail: The United States of America, Middle East and Europe. Some of my best memories are connected with Amsterdam, Cannes, & New York. With the Malaysian Tourist board, I traveled to Japan, South Africa, Cambodia and United Kingdom conducting cooking demonstrations to promote Malaysian cuisine.

Hilly: Such a busy man like yourself, what do you do in your little spare time?

Ismail: Cooking and food is my personal passion, so indeed I am also involved in food styling, recipe creations and act as a consultant to numerous new restaurants in KL, as well as a spokesman for a few food manufacturing companies.

Hilly: you are too modest; you also wrote a great cookbook and opened up your own restaurant!

Ismail: smile… yes you must come and visit my restaurant called Restoran Rebung. It is a tribute to the wonderfully varied tastes in food that I inherited from our forefathers. I vouch for the food and its traditional origins and the comforting taste of kampong fare from past memories.

But for now, come and join us at Expat Cuisine, December 5th and enjoy a wonderful evening and I will cook some of the great recipes that you will also find in my cookbook that will be on display at well.