The HEALTH | SEPTEMBER, 2019
30
EXCLUSIVE
Storyteller extraordinaire: Chef Ismail’s face lights up whenever he talks about his family and those he holds
dear. He believes that love is a healthy ingredient
BY SYED ZAID
W
HEN we talk about healthy
eating, we often think
about the physical aspect
of eating. Th e amount of
calories, foods restric-
tions, the right time and
the do’s and don’ts. However, according to
celebrity chef Ismail, there’s more to it than we
realise. Th at is the love we have whether we’re
consuming or preparing food. Th e true health
benefi t comes from something immeasurable,
something we fi nd pleasure in eating.
“Life is beautiful,” says the celebrity chef.
“You must have a good strong foundation and
good strong wing for you to fl y,” he continues.
“Sometimes you are gifted in what you do but
most of the time, you learn from others and
you work hard to get to where you want to be.”
He learned about healthy eating back when he
a ‘kampung boy’ – with memories of playing in
the river and riding the bus to school.
Cooked with love
Th e chef believes in eating healthy but his
conviction is far more diff erent that the con-
ventional defi nition. According to chef Ismail,
everything goes back to when he was growing
up. His begins to tell the story of when he was
six years old.
“I grew up living with my grandmother. I
remember the colours of the food vividly. I can
still see them when I close my eyes; pumpkins,
jackfruit, yam, papaya and all sorts of leaves –
pumpkin shoots, sweet potato shoots all were
grown by my great aunt. My grandmother gave
me a strong foundation,” he says wiping his
drool.
“You see, my grandmother didn’t know
everything from A to Z. She didn’t even
know her ABCs – she was illiterate you see,”
says the chef. “But she knows what’s good for
my upbringing. She made me eat the banana
fl owers – that’s potassium. She didn’t have the
knowledge, she did it out of love. As a result,
I don’t remember ever having high fever or a
bad fl u,” he continues.
Th e globally renowned cook says that with
the lack of meat in his staple diet, he gets
Love that comes
from a bowl of rice
Th e famous celebrity Chef Ismail reveals his defi nition of eating healthy
Homely exterior: The
guests are welcomed
with old school
decorations.
protein from consuming the eggs collected
from his grandfather’s chicken coop. “Every
morning, my grandmother would serve me a
couple of eggs, three-quarter boiled with some
bread accompanied by malt-based drinks. I
remember she nagged me to fi nish my food
so I can grow up strong and healthy,” he says
with a cheeky smile.
Up to this day, the chef claims that he
remembers the smell of his morning breakfast
back in his village house in Negeri Sembilan.
He says that love was the most important
ingredient that his late grandmother puts in
a lot of love in her cooking. “Time is love,” he
says. “She spent so much of her love in cook-
ing the food. So much love in choosing the
ingredients, so much love in making the food
clean and tasty; and so much love in ensuring
I was well-fed. She did everything with love.”
Big shoes to fi ll
A few years later, the established chef takes
on the role of being a father to his adopted
son, Halim. Taking his grandmother’s care for
him as the prime example, he sees himself in
the same light. “I would always tell my son to
cut his nails, to have a balanced diet and so
forth. He is now 25-years-old and I believe he’s
a good man that’s why I am always reminding
him to be better; to realise his full potential,”
he says.
“I rarely serve stall-bought food on my
dining table; but when I do, I would serve it to
him in a plate to make it a habit,” he explains.