Sous chef offers Muslim-friendly private dining on days off

Part-time private chef Mohamed Nabeel Firdaus Aziz with his brined salmon with pomme puree and salsa brava sauce, and ribeye steak with pomme puree. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

The 32-year-old set up his private dining business called Chef Naughty Rabbit in June 2018, specialising in Muslim-friendly Western cuisine.

His motivation?

“I wanted to break the stereotypical notion that private dining is for the rich and famous and make it more accessible. I also wanted to give Muslim diners a taste of the food I have learnt to cook at Western restaurants,” says the father of one, who works five days a week at beachfront restaurant Canopy Changi Village.

Becoming a chef was not his first career choice. He had initially joined the Singapore Civil Defence Force full-time, as a firefighter and section commander, after serving his national service as a fire and rescue specialist. But eight months in, he decided he wanted to pursue a career as a chef instead. 

During national service, he had spent much of his spare time binge-watching reality cooking competition show Hell’s Kitchen (2005 to present), hosted by American celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

He recalls: “Seeing the chefs yelling, screaming and working under pressure on screen gave me an adrenaline rush. It sparked my interest in kitchen work.” 

He enrolled at At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy and obtained a Workforce Skills Qualifications Diploma In Culinary Arts in 2015. 

He then successfully applied for a job at Bread Street Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay and worked there for two years, starting from the bottom – peeling potatoes and garlic, poaching eggs and deboning chicken wings. He also learnt how to grind beef for burger patties.

After leaving Bread Street Kitchen in 2017, he worked briefly at a Mexican restaurant where he honed his knife skills, slicing up to 10kg of tomatoes and onions every two days. There, he fell in love with chipotle and the sweet, spicy and sour flavours of Mexican food.

“I was struck by how the three flavours are also key in Malay cuisine and I felt it was something to keep in mind for the Muslim market,” he says.