A simple breakfast that he made for his girlfriend changed the course of Tham Jiajun Mathew's life. It made the 24-year-old from Singapore realise that food is nothing but the most tangible form of love.
Bitten by the culinary bug, Mathew joined the At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy in Singapore. Though he parted ways with his girlfriend, he had wonderful memories of her to savour as he won the Young Chef Olympiad, an international culinary competition for hospitality students, recently.
The five-week-long Olympiad for wannabe chefs was conducted by the International Institute of Hotel Management, Kolkata. The event, supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, attracted student chefs from 50 countries.
Mathew won a cash prize of $10,000, at the end of the culinary battle, which was held in Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and Kolkata.
In an interview with THE WEEK, Mathew talks about the dishes that won him the recognition and what he is planning to do with the prize money.
Tell us about the culinary masterpieces that you created at the Young Chef Olympiad, 2017.
For the vegetarian course, I created a butternut doughnut roasted en papillote (in paper), filled with a caramelised onion royale, spinach, mushroom and feta quenelles, spiced butternut puree and a chickpea tuile. And for the fish course, I made a bhetki poached in Asian-scented bouillon, brunoise of celery and haricot vert, served with a whipped Asian-scented beurre blanc.
Dishes prepared by Mathew
How did you get interested in cooking?
I started getting interested in cooking after I cooked for my first girlfriend. It was just a simple breakfast but she loved it. It made me realise how food can make people happy. From then on, I started cooking just to see the twinkle in someone's eyes.
Are you a foodie? What is the most delicious food you have had?
I am a big foodie. I actually get very frustrated when I get food that shows that the person who cooked it doesn't make an effort. The most delicious dish I have had was from Odette restaurant, Singapore. It was non dairy, too. It was Line Caught John Dory, heirloom carrot textures, Swarnadwipa granola and cilantro. The flavours were super clean and bright.
The winners with chef Sanjeev Kapoor
Young Chef Olympiad is supposed to be the largest culinary competition in the world. What does this win mean to you?
Not just the win, the whole experience of taking part in this event was a huge learning experience for me. I made many friends in the process. The friendships forged are priceless and I felt we could relate to each other on so many levels, as food has a universal language. It felt like a huge gathering of friends who love to cook. Friendships were the biggest takeaway from this competition for me.
What are you going to do with your prize money?
I will save a major part of it to realise my culinary dream of opening my own restaurant in the future. A little bit of the prize money is going into taking a much-needed vacation!
