My Cooking, My Talent: Volume Ii

By Chef Zairi Zaidi

This is my first cookbook. I have written it in English to sell it in the American market. I made this book to show, guide, train, and motivate the young generation to join the kitchen industry. Food never dies (food is alive). Everybody will need food. The food industry is a passion for me. Not only will you learn to cook, you can also learn something from what you cook. You also can do your own small business. There are so many things you can do. The important thing is, you must learn and study about the materials suitable to use for cooking. You will learn recipes and how to cook in the proper way. You will know all types of ingredients, the names and functions of each item you will use, the technicalities of cooking, and what utensil and equipment you will need to use. You will learn about storage, about correct temperature, about cutting methods, about safety, about nutrition, about healthy food, and about other rules and regulations of cooking.
You will know and understand about protein, producing items, dry goods, herbs and spices, mise en place, and others. I’m writing my first cookbook titled My Cooking, My Talent to share my knowledge, experience, skill, technique, and recipes with the public, especially to motivate the next young generation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796030716

Chef Zairi Zaidi

Chef Zairi Zaidi was born on Penang, Island, Malaysia. She is an Asian cuisine chef who has thirty years of experience in all aspects of the kitchen. Her travel and work has taken her to seven countries that include New Zealand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Russia, and the United States of America. Zaidi has four children, speaks seven languages, and resides with her husband in California.

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by Chef Zairi Zaidi. 795712

ISBN:   Softcover   978-1-7960-3070-9

            EBook       978-1-7960-3071-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Rev. date: 04/30/2019

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my mother, my whole family, and late my second son Arwah Muhamad Fazril bin Zairi. He gave me the idea and fully supported me to write my first cookbook My Cooking, My Talent to teach cooking guide and share my knowledge, experience, and skill to people.

Special thanks to my previous chef who taught and guide me until I became a chef myself.

I hope my first cookbook will give the young generation some ideas and motivation from my experience and knowledge.

Through culinary arts, I did not only get to work in my country Malaysia, but I also got to travel and share my experience on the international stage. I believe if you honestly work hard, study and practice theories, learn from experienced chefs, get some guide from cookbooks, and Google culinary resources and materials,(In Sha Allah) you will success chef one day. Amen.

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INTRODUCTION

Hi, guys, I’m Chef Zairi Zaidi, born in Malaysia in Southeast Asia. I ventured in the culinary arts when I was eighteen years old. That time, I never dreamed to become a chef. I only wanted to get a job to provide for my mother. I came from a poor family. I have six siblings, and I’m the eldest.

My first job was as a dishwasher in a five-star hotel in my birthplace, Penang Island. Some call the island Pearl of Orient, and tourists consider it as a food paradise in Asia.

After almost two years of working as a dishwasher (stewarding), I got an offer from the German executive chef in Equatorial Hotel Penang to join kitchen garde manger as commis 3 (kitchen helper). I couldn’t speak English at that time. All I know were yes, sir, thank you, okay, and all right. But I kept my target and my dream in mind, that one day I would become a chef, not only in my country but also overseas.

However slow, I learned how to speak and understand English. I read books and dictionary. I watched late TV news, especially those that have subtitles. I translated Malaysian to English. I read English newspapers. From there, step by step, I learned to understand English. Now I have a grasp of English and have traveled to almost the seven continents of the world, not only to make and keep some money to support my family, but also to get experience and learn from the county where I have traveled and worked.

My experience in the kitchen industry (hotel, restaurants, cruise lines, catering, oil and gas chef, hospitality, airline catering, market, fresh food section,