Basic HTML Version
FireFlyz | 47
Personality
Nowthatyouaremarried,doyoualwaysdo
thecookingathomeordoesyourwifedoit?
Still me occasionally, but she’s a good
sous chef!
What do you lovemost about your job?
It just kind of feels right to me. Yeah, I
would love to have weekends off to go out
and do things, but when it comes down
to it, I really don’t mind at all. Maybe it’s
seeing the faces of customers smiling and
going on about how good their meal was
or the fact you never have to worry about
going hungry.
All I know is I’mhappy when I’m there
cooking beside my team, and I love what
I do because it’s me.
Whatdoyoudotostayupdatedaboutnew
trends/recipes?
I do this by talking to people in the
industry and by travelling. I also get
inspired by following some really good
chefs and restaurants on Instagram and
food channels.
Sufiz Allatif, or Chef Sufiz, as he is commonly known is currently the sous chef at the
neighbourhood Kulcats Barrio cafe in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. Sufiz shares
his culinary journeywith
Brianne JasminAeria
.
Howdid your career take off?
I was a florist, a dancer, a food server
and also a restaurant manager.. I fell in
love with cooking the first time I tried
making instant pancakes. The rest was
just training. To further my culinary skills,
I travelled to Hamburg, Germany for an
apprenticeship.I guess my first real en-
trance into this career was when I became
a restaurant manager for the American
franchise Chilis restaurant and bar, in
Malaysia. I was in charge of monitoring
and overseeing the restaurant’s daily
operations and activities. I really learnt
what working as a chef meant then, and
when I moved on, I was able to take my
experience with me and it allowed me to
grow and become a better chef.
Chef Suf iz and
What Works for Him
In addition to all
that, I was featured on a
show called
Skuad Pasar
Malam
in 2013.
Skuad
Pasar Malam
followed
me and my cousin, DJ
Nas-t as we travelled
across Malaysia and
explored different night
markets in search for
the best street food. At
the end of the show, I
would create my own
version of their famous/
best selling/ signature
dishes.
Howwould you describe
your food philosophy?
My phi losophy has
always been about
cooking from the heart. I
always try to incorporate
locally grown products
in my cooking because
I believe that if you use
good ingredients you can
cook an excellent dish.
Being a chef, is it hard to find good food
when you travel and what are your
expectations?
I believe that good food is all about taking
a risk. It doesn’t matter where you are,
you have to be open to explore new things
in order to expand your taste buds. As a
chef, this is how I discover something
fresh and unique.
Does travel play a role in coming up with
newrecipes for you?
Yes! Helps me stay fresh and updated. Like
I said earlier I keep an open mind when
I travel so I can find diversity in cooking
methods and ingredients that I can bring
back to my own cooking.
Chef Sufiz at work
Sufiz enjoying street food
Some break time in
between work