‘I’d act as mum’s sous-chef ’

hailing from Kerala, India, he misses eating spicy fish curry with kokum

The urge to learn and try something new keeps me going. Joppu Joy Executive Chef, Café Vienna, Business Bay

What’s your earliest childhood kitchen memory? I was passionate about cooking since childhood. My first lessons came from BBQ parties at home, especially while watching mum cook for the family on special occasions. I would pretend to be her sous-chef. After my schooling, on the advice of my uncle I joined the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology. What’s your favourite dish at Café Vienna? Our Super Salad — grilled cornfed chicken breast, quinoa, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and poached egg on a bed of baby spinach. A culinary skill that you’ve mastered? To cook a perfect French omelette. A chef you look up to? Chef Jacques Pépin. Share your culinary philosophy with us. To prepare clean comfort food with the use of seasonal produce and offer local flavours. What’s your favourite dish? Duck confit with a white bean stew. What do you order (or not) at a restaurant you’ve never been to? I never order a rare steak. I definitely order a curry or a stew with rice. On your smartphone, we’d find... Zomato, Ubereats, and Deliveroo. Eating or cooking – what cheers you utmost? Cooking for people who love eating. What has the UAE taught you about food and cooking? The importance of flavours, the balance in a meal, and the use of innovative techniques to prepare food. Any tips for chefs in making? Don’t stop when you are tired, stop only when you are done. Any cookbook authors that you refer to? Rene Redzepi and David Chang. A food destination that is on your wish list? The Hokkaido Fish Market in Japan. A dish that is on your wish list? Dry Aged Wagyu Striploin Steak with Morel Mushrooms. If not a chef, what would you have been? I would have probably followed my dad’s footstep and become an organic farmer.