Chef Wan

Datuk Redzuawan bin Ismail, PMW, DSAP (born 6 January 1958[1]), better known by his stage name Chef Wan, is a Malaysian celebrity chef, television host, actor, restaurateur and entrepreneur.[2][3]

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Ismail is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Redzuawan. The Arabic-derived word "bin" or "binti"/"binte", if used, means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Yang Berbahagia Datuk

Chef Wan

PMW DSAP
Chef Wan in 2019
Born
Redzuawan bin Ismail

(1958-01-06) 6 January 1958
Colony of Singapore
NationalityMalaysian citizenship
EducationCalifornia Culinary Academy
Occupations
Years active1990–present
Television
SpouseNorhayati binti Ayub
ChildrenSerina Redzuawan,
Muhammad Zainudin Redzuawan (Chef Riz)
Parents
  • Ismail Mohd. Nor (father)
  • Noraini Abdullah (mother)
Websitechefwanlifestyle.com.my

Personal life

Chef Wan is a second generation Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) settler who was born and raised in a poor family at Sungai Koyan Felda, Lipis, Pahang.[4]

In an interview in February 2010, Chef Wan said that he is of mixed ancestry; his father has Malay ancestry from Indonesia while his mother has Chinese and Japanese ancestry.[5] Chef Wan has two children. One is Serina Redzuawan, an actress who has appeared in several Malaysian drama series;[6] Chef Wan's son, Muhammad Nazri Redzuawan who is commonly known as Chef Riz, is following in his father's footsteps by becoming a chef as well.[7]

Career

Chef Wan's early career was as an accountant.[4] He says after seeing the popularity of many types of Asian food in Western countries he decided to promote Malaysia and other South East Asian countries using their food.[8]

Chef Wan has an associate degree in Professional Chef Training and Hotel Management from the California Culinary Academy and a Ritz Escoffier Diploma from the Hôtel Ritz Paris. In 2009, he won the Best Celebrity Television Chef of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.[3]

Chef Wan is A Tourism Malaysia culinary ambassador.[9] He is currently a brand ambassador for AirAsia.[10]

In 2005, Anthony Bourdain introduced Chef Wan to American audiences during his trip to Malaysia in season one, episode five of No Reservations. In 2009, Chef Wan appeared in Episode 3 of Rick Stein's television series Far Eastern Odyssey (BBC).

On 26 July 2018, Chef Wan's Kitchen at Esplanade Mall ceased operations after only a year. Chef Wan said, "It's not because the cooks are not good, and neither are the staff to blame. The culinary team just did not follow my recipes... and as a result, many diners were not satisfied... It's better to close it than to invite further criticism from guests who enjoy what I cook."[11]

Chef Wan was the recipient of THE 2019 Felda Icon Award at Felda Settlers Day in 2019.[4][12]

In March 2021, viral YouTube comedian Nigel Ng, better known as Uncle Roger, visited Chef Wan's restaurant for a video shoot.[13][14] Chef Wan mentioned how he was offered to be on Gelak Gempak Selebrity, a new stand-up comedy show, but declined the offer, stating that he preferred to be "spontaneously funny" and "didn’t have much confidence in the field of stand-up comedy".[14]

Controversies

In 2014, Chef Wan posted a photo on his Instagram account of an object which he linked as debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and subsequently dismissed the debris as "an old toilet door from Cik Kiah's house". He was criticized for making an inappropriate joke with regards to the missing plane.[15][16] He took down the post and defended the joke as a means to gauge public reaction and was further criticized for it.[17][18]

In 2015, while criticising a CNN ranking of the world's best food destinations for its low placement of Malaysia, Chef Wan stated that "[the] Philippines is known to have the worst food in Asia, ask any chefs and they will tell you I am right".[19]

In 2017, Chef Wan, being the son of a Felda settler, vented his frustrations and disappointments over the Felda scandals by calling the agency "Felda then, Failed dah now" and condemned the culprits.[20][21] On a cooking programme and campaign visit to the Felda community during the January 2019 Cameron Highlands by-election, he said he wanted to slap former prime minister Najib Razak and ex-Felda chairman Mohd Isa Abdul Samad for mismanaging the agency.[22] He apologized later for his coarse language.[23]

After he was awarded the 2019 Felda Icon,[4] Chef Wan was criticized for claiming that some of the Felda settlers were lazy and tended to “breed like cats” for having polygamous marriages and large families, and becoming complacent in their rich and comfortable lives. He stressed the importance of hard work and a need to avoid laziness among the settlers based on his own observations living in the Felda settlements.[24][25][26] Najib Razak embroiled himself in a war of words with Chef Wan over his remarks this time.[27] Chef Wan has told the disgraced ex-PM to ‘shut his mouth’ and ‘don’t bark like a mad dog’.[28][29]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1996 Lurah Dendam Rizal First appearance
1997 Baginda Teacher Ismail
2000 Soal Hati Naza
2005 Senario XX Dad Siti
2011 Karipap-Karipap Cinta Himself
2015 Gangsterrock Kasi Sengat Himself Special appearance

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1999-2001 Kampung Boy Himself Voice-acting, 1 episode

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

References
  1. "Chef Wan is the 'Food Ambassador of Malaysia'". Archived from the original on February 10, 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  2. Chen, Grace (5 July 2009). "My Favorites: Chatty chef". The Star Online. Archived from the original on 6 July 2009.
  3. "Unknown title (expired link)". 14 August 2009.
  4. Nur Aqidah Azizi (7 July 2019). "Chef Wan receives 'Ikon Anak Felda' award [NSTTV]". New Straits Times. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  5. Deborah Loh (25 February 2010). "Selling ice to eskimos". The Nut Graph. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  6. "Chef Wan's daughter, actress Serina weds". The Star Online. Kuala Lumpur: Star Publications (M) Bhd. 1 January 2010. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  7. "Following The Food trail". VANNIYA SRIANGURA. Bangkok Post. 25 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  8. "Malaysian Celebrity Chef, Chef Wan's TalkAsia Interview Transcript". CNN. 26 August 2004. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  9. "Chef Wan". Asian Food Channel. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  10. ZIEMAN (22 March 2009). "Jet-setting chef". The Star Online. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
  11. Esther Loi (26 July 2018). "Singapura Restaurant, Chef Wan's Kitchen call it a day". The New Paper.
  12. "Chef Wan named 2019 Felda icon". Bernama. The Sun Daily. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  13. Nigel Ng (2021-03-07). Uncle Roger Roasted by Celebrity Chef (ft. Chef Wan). MrNigelNg. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2021-03-07 – via YouTube.
  14. Teoh, Ming (2021-03-01). "Uncle Roger visits Chef Wan's restaurant and sparks fly". TheStar. Archived from the original on 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  15. "Chef Wan draws netizen's ire with spoof picture". The Star Online. 21 March 2014.
  16. "Chef Wan ridicules discovery of object". Kuala Lumpur: Astro Awani. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  17. "Chef Wan: MH370 joke was mere jest to gauge public reaction". The Mole. Kuala Lumpur: MOLE.my. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  18. "MH370: Photo was a joke to gauge public reaction - Chef Wan". Astro Awani. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  19. "Chef Wan: Malaysia should be 1st, not 6th on CNN's food ranking". Malay Mail. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  20. "Chef Wan: Dulu Felda, sekarang 'failed dah'". Malaysiakini (in Malay). 27 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  21. "Felda then, "Failed dah" now - Chef Wan". KiniTV. Malaysiakini. 27 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  22. Christopher Rabin (20 January 2019). "Chef Wan wants to slap Najib, Isa Samad". The Malaysian Insight. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  23. "'To Najib, I'm sorry,' says Chef Wan". The Star Online. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  24. Dennis Chua (8 July 2019). "#Showbiz: 'Felda settlers must work hard' - Chef Wan". New Straits Times. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  25. Aref Omar (15 July 2019). "People twisted my Felda post, says Chef Wan". New Straits Times. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  26. Sira Habibu, C. Aruno & R. Aravinthan (11 July 2019). "Chef Wan: I'm not sorry at all". Sinar Harian. The Star Online. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  27. "Najib and Chef Wan at it like cats and dogs over Felda remarks". The Star Online. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  28. Julia Chan (9 July 2019). "Attacked for criticising Felda settlers, Chef Wan tells Najib to 'shut his mouth'". Malay Mail. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  29. "'Don't bark like a mad dog': Chef Wan tells ex-PM Najib after comments on FELDA settlers". Channel News Asia. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  30. "Federal Territories Day Honours List for 2010". The Star. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  31. "Chef Wan Dikurnia Datuk Kali Ke-2 Dari Sultan Pahang" (in Malay). Malaysiakini. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  32. "Chef Wan dikurnia Datuk kali ke-2 dari Sultan Pahang" (in Malay). MSN. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
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