KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — Johnny Fua and Sherson Lian of AFC's "Great Dinners of the World" are typical chefs, learning their trade the hard way and eager to pass on what they know to the people working with them.

Johnny studied architecture and had another three years to go when he realised he was not going to be a good architect and dropped out.

“I sketch a lot. I can tell immediately if something is wrong with the plating or table setting,” he said. He went on to do culinary studies in Perth, at the government-run Western Australian Training Department. 

“My father, who is a tailor, wanted me to think it through and decide. He told me whatever I want to be, to be good at it. He supported me. Not my mother. She was horrified that I wanted to go from being an architect to working in a kitchen!”

But Johnny, while in college in Kuala Lumpur, had been working as a part-time waiter at the Casa Luna restaurant. “I have a good memory. There was no need to write down any orders. Soon I got bored and asked the chef if I could work in the kitchen. I did the usual prepping and washing. My first important task was cooking the staff meal. I had to plan it out. My chef was very strict. He just waited to find out what I could do.”

He finished college, went into architecture at Limkokwing’s, before dropping out. After Perth and working at a few well-known restaurants in KL, “I even lectured for two years at the Flamenco College. It’s an old man’s job; so boring!” 

He was very strict. He couldn’t stand sloppily dressed and disrespectful students. “I arranged that only the uniformed ones got a practical class.” He earned their respect that way.

Piccolo Mondo in Kelana Jaya was where he became a chef at 26! “I was so nervous.” But he stayed for three years. Then he went to work in Mangotree, where the owner/chef gave him a stressful time for the first six months. “A lot of my friends ask me: ‘Is Hell’s Kitchen real?’ It was.

“I was very nice to my crew and he told me not to be so nice. I learnt a lot. Once he knew I could take charge of the kitchen, he never bothered me any more.

“Different places I have worked at shaped me. I have no regrets. This is the first hotel (G Tower Hotel) I have worked at and it’s a big deal.” He last worked at Suffolk House in Penang. “It was the first restaurant there to have a tasting menu. I loved working there.”

He manages more than 40 staff at the hotel. “I like everything to be spot on. Don’t ‘wayang’ in front of me. I am fair, but there are no grey areas.”

His favourite food? “I like soup stuff, wat tarn hor (kwayteow with an egg sauce), bak kut teh and braised chicken feet. I’m very Chinese.”

“I love my job. I treat it as a hobby. I go into the kitchen and disturb the boys. I want to sweat it out, feel the kitchen.”

He plays some sports, and if he has the time, he likes to go diving. “A little diving and a bottle of Glenlivet, it’s so cleansing!”

He also loves tattoos. “In France, they oohed and aahed over my tattoos.”

He said the show gave him an opportunity to see and learn. “I appreciate it so much more now.” 

Sherson Lian

Sherson appears on TV3 every Monday morning in "5 Rencah, 5 Rasa" about a laidback bachelor cooking at home, turning out simple dishes that are easy to do. “It’s a Jamie Oliver concept.” It’s been a hit, and the show is already in its fourth and fifth season.

Sherson considers the show his pet project and that was how he was spotted for "Great Dinners of the World." He has also been a guest judge on "Dapur Selebrity", a cooking competition sponsored by Secret Recipe. “Whichever celebrity dish won, it would be sold at the café.” 

The chef, 27, began his “career” in food, helping to peel onions and garlic for a small café started by his mum in Faber Towers, Kuala Lumpur. “For a 12-year-old it was no fun at all.” The 1997 financial crash had hit his family badly. His father had come back from West Africa, after working for an import/export company in Singapore dealing in rubber, and had just started a jewellery business.  

He is the eldest of four children. The café did well, his dad came into the business and expanded it to the next unit, with a proper kitchen. He helped out with the selling of "chap fan" and fried rice here during his school holidays. “I was very fascinated by the Chinese cooks and the way they ‘pau wok’ (toss the wok). They taught me how to cook.” 

A partner came into the business, and a branch – Paradise Corner -- opened in Kajang, with a Station One concept. “Sungai Chua is the stronghold of Ah Longs who came in shorts and Japanese slippers to eat chicken chop for RM10. Though cheap, it was of good quality. Mum would prepare all the sauces at home, and did the marination for the meats.” 

When he finished Form 5, he he managed the Faber Towers café for a year, then went to New Zealand for six months, intending to study the culinary arts. His mum wanted to start a café there, with plans for the family to migrate. But there were personal problems, his mum found the culinary courses too expensive and they came back. 

He then managed the café in Kajang, then went full-time into the Hotel Industry Apprenticeship Scheme at Taylor’s College. “It was a free course, where I studied six months, got a bond with a hotel I worked with and the hotel would pay for the rest of the course.” 

He did three months at Taylor’s, and worked three months at the Marriott Hotel. But he had to forgo his bond with the hotel as he had to go back to manage the Kajang café again after his father’s partner left. 

Eventually the café was sold, the family built El Sanctuary, a camp ground facility in Malacca that offers accommodation and food, with team building . It’s been very successful. He helps his mum to cook, and the whole family chips in. “I’ve been here for the past six years.”  

It was at El Sanctuary that a recipe consultant asked if he would like to do a TV3 audition for the show he now hosts. The script was entirely in Malay but he got the job. One day he got an email inviting him to audition for "Great Dinners of the World", he did his dish (which was one of those for Chivas which got “transformed”) and was told later he was successful. 

“I don’t come from a background of fine dining, only 'chap fan.' I saw the details of the show and took fright, but with encouragement from loved ones, I accepted the offer. The minute I met the others, all my stress vanished! They were so nice.” 

Sherson has a few projects in discussion, one of which is the continuation of his current show, and a talk show with three hosts on everything about men, from fashion to lifestyle. “I will bring in the food element.” He also hopes his discussion with Air Asia on looking for personalities to endorse meals on board will bear fruit.

“Great Dinners of the World” has opened up a new market for him. “My strength is Asian street cooking which I learn by watching and tasting. Oxtail Soup is one of the dishes I made for the lunch at Glenlivet. I did not go to culinary school and working with the three chefs was a challenge because of the culinary lingo they used. But they showed me what to do and encouraged me.” 

Sherson sings and plays the guitar to relax. He’s in a band called Cross Fusion that does private gigs. He also loves the sea and diving. 

He’s into authentic street food. “We tried all the fancy French food in France but it was torture after a week of it. One night the four of us went to a mini market to get cup noodles! 

“What I’m doing in my TV3 show is to encourage people to cook at home. My passion is to share with people the simplicity of cooking. Just 15 minutes in the kitchen is all it needs.”

Sherson is also a team-building consultant for the Centre for Customer Care Malaysia (CCC) and conducts leadership training camps for foundation students at Help College.