Passion key to career in food — Chef Faez
KUCHING: To pursue a career in food, one needs passion, says Chef Ahmad Faezrahman, or Chef Faez as he introduced himself to thesundaypost.
“First come passion, then discipline, followed by grooming and personality,” he said from behind the Malaysian Institute of Baking (MIB) booth at Borneo Post International Education Fair (BPIEF) 2017 yesterday.
MIB offers a selection of certificate-level courses in both hospitality and chef training in pastry and culinary arts. In addition, there is a Diamond Chef Course where aspiring chefs can pursue their dream of running their own restaurant, travelling the world as a professional chef, or even becomes a celebrity chef.
For those who want to master local cuisine, Chef Faez said they had a Malay cuisine course coming up.
MIB has been around since 1987 and is based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Joining BPIEF for the first time is KTG Education Group, with four institutes under its banner – Linton University College, Pertama Institute of Technology, Jati Institute and Institut Antarabangsa Sains Mantin.
Having four institutes mean their fully equipped campus cover a lot of ground - Business and Accounting, Built Environment, Nursing, and Engineering and Information Technology.
They are located in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan. They currently have around 4,000 students, 70 per cent of whom are from Sarawak.
Here to take advantage of the many institutions courting students are sisters Natalie and Joyner Rangen.
Natalie, 34, told thesundaypost that she had an eye for getting her masters overseas, but being able to get the same qualifications from the comfort of home sounded good as well.
“Going overseas is part of the plan, so I’m here talking to agents who can help make that happen,” said the lecturer, who wants to boost her mastery in education or languages.
“My interest is in communications,” she added.
Meanwhile, Joyner, 23, has dreams of becoming a pilot and is looking into mechanical or mechatronic engineering as a step forward to her goal.
“We both know very well how important further education is,” she said.
Both also voiced out that they wished there were more local public universities participating this year as they wanted to cover as much ground this weekend and make inquiries there as well.
This year’s BPIEF is located at Level 2 Event Hall in Vivacity Megamall.
With the tagline ‘Your Next Step Begins Here’, organisers hope it would serve as an avenue for educators to take the next step to help parents and students make smart and informed choices that would shape their future, said BPIEF chairman Dorge Rajah.
“Education is a cornerstone to a better future and our role, albeit a small one, as the organiser of BPIEF, an annual CSR event of The Borneo Post, brings together some of Malaysia’s reputable institutions from academics, vocational and technical schools including adult education providers from around the country and representatives of overseas institutions,” he said during his opening speech.
There were many challenges but BPIEF patron Datuk Fatimah Abdullah who holds a watching brief on education, was there to give constructive suggestions and spread the word of BPIEF as she travelled across Sarawak in her ministerial duties, Dorge added.
Fatimah is Minister of Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing.
BPIEF ends today.
First come passion, then discipline, followed by grooming and personality. — Chef Ahmad Faezrahman