OLIVER ROQUE

Head chef, sho cho

Abu Dhabi is now a huge culinary destination. Celebrity chefs across the globe love to promote their skills and talent in this region – every one is eager to showcase their idea, talent and way of serving to enthusiastic food lovers.

My mother taught me patience and to pay attention to detail. She would scold me when I didn’t concentrate while she was teaching me how to cook – I would end up burning everything and never imagined I’d become a chef.

My team at Sho Cho often say I love to work with a smile – but not always. We face situations where some kind of yelling is unavoidable; it’s actually useful because if it’s done in the right way, it can improve the person I am working with. That means food is cooked in the correct manner – it’s about making sure the customer is happy at the end of the day.

When I’m not in the kitchen, I love to read culinary books and watch TV cookery shows. I find them fascinating. Japanese star Masaharu Morimoto is the chef I follow the most. I’m a big fan of his TV show Iron Chef.

Back home in Japan, I really can’t resist passing by a street vendor selling fried fish balls with spicy sweet sauce served with a cold brew.

Souk Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi, daily noon to 3am. Tel: (02) 5581117. Taxi: Souk Qaryat Al Beri. soukqaryatalberi.com