Food and Drink: Chef’s south east Asian love affair
IT WAS love at first bite for Jason Atherton, one of Britain’s top chefs.
Having met his wife-to-be while working in Dubai, Atherton, a one-time protégé of Gordon Ramsay, sought to woo her with his cooking.
The chef is skilled in many global cuisines but any old style of cooking would not do. Atherton knew he had to impress Irha with dishes from her native Philippines.
Thus began a love affair with south east Asian food, which continues to inform the chef’s palate today.
Atherton, who is preparing to launch his first solo venture, Pollen Street Social in London, was at Selfridges in Birmingham to demonstrate the aromatic flavours of Malaysian food. The star turns were part of a new campaign, Malaysia Kitchen 2010, backed by MATRADE (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation), a Malaysian government initiative aimed at informing British consumers about Malaysian cuisine.
Atherton’s passion for south east Asian food meant he was delighted to help out, showing shoppers how to prepare dishes such as pandan chicken, wrapped in distinctive green leaves, hot and sour spicy cod soup and tiger prawn yellow curry.
“It is a bit of a joke when I do the demonstrations,” says the 39-year-old chef. “I say, ‘You must ask yourself why a Michelin-starred chef from Skegness, via London, is in Birmingham teaching you how to do Malaysian food?’”
Atherton describes south east Asian food as his “hobby.”
“I don’t cook it in the restaurant because I am not an expert in it,” he says.
