Chef Wan
Chef Wan | |
---|---|
Born | Redzuawan bin Ismail 6 January 1958[1] Singapore |
Nationality | Malaysia |
Other names | Chef Wan |
Education | Associate degree in chef training and hotel management |
Occupations | |
Years active | 1990 - 2001 |
Spouse | Norhayati binti Ayub |
Children | Serina Redzuawan Chef Riz (Muhammad Zainudin bin Redzuawan) |
Parent(s) | Ismail Mohd. Nor (father) Noraini Abdullah (mother) |
Relatives | 7 |
Website | http://www.mychefwan.com/ |
Datuk Redzuawan bin Ismail[2] (born January 6, 1958), better known by his stage name Chef Wan, is a Singapore-born Malaysian celebrity chef.[3]
Career
His early career was as an accountant. He says after seeing the popularity of many types of Asian food in Western countries he decided to promote Malaysia and other South East Asian countries using their food.[4]
He has an associate degree in Professional Chef Training and Hotel Management from the California Culinary Academy and a Ritz Escoffier Diploma from the Hôtel Ritz Paris. In 2009, he won the Best Celebrity Television Chef of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.[2]
Chef Wan is Tourism Malaysia culinary ambassador.[5] He is currently a brand ambassador for AirAsia.[6]
In 2005, Anthony Bourdain introduced Chef Wan to American audiences during his trip to Malaysia in Season One, Episode five of No Reservations. Chef Wan appeared in Episode 4 of Rick Stein's television series Far Eastern Odyssey (BBC, 2009).
On 26 July 2018, Chef Wan's Kitchen at Esplanade Mall ceased operations after only a year. Chef Wan said, "It's not because the cooks are not good, and neither are the staff to blame. The culinary team just did not follow my recipes... and as a result, many diners were not satisfied... It's better to close it than to invite further criticism from guests who enjoy what I cook."[7]
Personal life
In an interview in February 2010, Chef Wan highlighted that he is of mixed ancestry; his father has Malay ancestry while his mother has Japanese ancestry. Chef Wan has two children. One is Serina Redzuawan, an actress who has appeared in several Malaysian drama series;[8] Chef Wan's son, Muhammad Nazri bin Redzuawan, is following in his father's footsteps by becoming a chef as well.
Controversy
Chef Wan was widely criticized for making an inappropriate joke with regard to the missing MH370 flight when he posted a photo on his Instagram account of an object which he linked to the search efforts and referred it as "an old toilet door from Cik Kiah's house".[9][10] He further enraged the public as he subsequently refused to apologize and defended the joke as a means to gauge the public reaction.[11][12]
In 2015, while criticising a CNN ranking of the world's best food destinations for its low placement of Malaysia, Wan stated that "[the] Philippines is known to have the worst food in Asia, ask any chefs and they will tell you I am right".[13]
Filmography
Movies
- Lurah Dendam (1996)
- Soal Hati (2000)
- Senario XX (2005)
- Karipap-Karipap Cinta (2011)
- Gangsterrock: Kasi Sengat (2015)
References
- ^ "Chef Wan is the 'Food Ambassador of Malaysia'". Archived from the original on February 10, 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
{{cite web}}
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- ^ Chen, Grace (5 July 2009). "My Favorites: Chatty chef". The Star Online. Star Publications (M) Bhd. Archived from the original on 6 July 2009.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Malaysian Celebrity Chef, Chef Wan's TalkAsia Interview Transcript". CNN. 26 August 2004. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ "Chef Wan". Asian Food Channel. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ ZIEMAN (22 March 2009). "Jet-setting chef". The Star Online. Star Publications (M) Bhd. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
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(help) - ^ "Chef Wan's daughter, actress Serina weds". The Star Online. Kuala Lumpur: Star Publications (M) Bhd. 1 January 2010. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Chef Wan draws netizen's ire with spoof picture". The Star Online. Petaling Jaya: Star Publications (M) Bhd. 21 March 2014.
- ^ "Chef Wan ridicules discovery of object". Astro Awani. Kuala Lumpur: Astro Awani Network Sdn. Bhd. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "Chef Wan: MH370 joke was mere jest to gauge public reaction". The Mole. Kuala Lumpur: MOLE.my. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "MH370: Photo was a joke to gauge public reaction - Chef Wan". Astro Awani. Astro Awani Network Sdn. Bhd. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "Chef Wan: Malaysia should be 1st, not 6th on CNN's food ranking". The Malay Mail. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
External links
- Malaysian people stubs
- 1958 births
- Malaysian chefs
- Living people
- Malaysian accountants
- Malaysian television personalities
- Malaysian people of Malay descent
- Malaysian Muslims
- Malaysian people of Japanese descent
- California Culinary Academy alumni
- Malaysian people of Javanese descent
- People from Singapore
- Malaysian people of Peranakan descent
- Singaporean emigrants to Malaysia
- People who lost Singaporean citizenship
- Citizens of Malaysia through descent