GEORGE TOWN, Sept 28 — Two young Penang chefs won the 2017 World Master Chef Competition for Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong earlier this month.
Gary Lim Lee Sheng, 27, and Jason Lim Soon Ming, 25, bagged the gold medal, defeating 160 teams from 44 countries.
“We won it with our low temperature cooking method for a Garoupa that maintained the juiciness and flavours of the fish,” the duo said in a press conference at Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s office here today.
The duo, who are unrelated to each other and the chief minister, said the technique is a traditional Cantonese cooking method that is difficult to perfect.
Guan Eng had earlier presented them with RM800 and a certificate of appreciation each for winning the international competition.
He said it was an outstanding achievement for two Malaysian chefs to win in the Cantonese cuisine category when this type of cuisine is more popular in Hong Kong.
Penang-born Gary has worked in more than 10 different Chinese restaurants from the age of 18 years.
“I didn’t study culinary arts, everything I know, I learn from experience working in those restaurants,” he said.
He is currently a chef at the Tong Hai Restaurant in Paya Terubong on the island.
Jason, who is from Sungai Petani, has joined 10 different competitions previously, but the Master Chef Competition is the first one he had won jointly with Gary.
The 25-year-old also gained his cooking experience from working in a hotel restaurant but later studied culinary arts.
He is working in G Hotel currently but will be starting work in the Ritz Carlton in Singapore next month.
