SINGAPORE – Chef Akmal Anuar’s first taste of the culinary world was as a nine-year-old boy helping out at his family’s nasi padang stall located at a coffee shop in Teck Whye back in 1992.

       Three decades later, the 42-year-old is an internationally acclaimed chef-owner, with 10 restaurants under his name in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and New York, including a one-Michelin-starred restaurant in Dubai named 11 Woodfire.

       Two of his modern Japanese concept restaurants, Goldfish Sushi & Yakitori, also in Dubai, and Otoro in Abu Dhabi were awarded Bib Gourmand recognition in 2022. Bib Gourmand honours excellence by moderately priced eateries.

       The world of food was not exactly his first choice.

       “The 90s were different. I also wanted to be a musician, but I am not talented in that area. Those days, we had footballers in their prime like Fandi Ahmad, and I wanted to be a footballer but I was too skinny so I didn’t make the cut,” he said.

       He was inspired by his parents, who, without any formal training, worked hard for a living and raised him and his three siblings. He remembers how his mother would, from time to time, “selit” (“slip” in Malay) an extra $20 in his pocket.

       For making an indelible mark on the international fine dining scene, Mr Akmal was given Berita Harian’s (BH) 26th Achiever of the Year Award on Oct 25 at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore. The award by the Malay language daily honours exemplary individuals from the Malay/Muslim community who have made a significant impact in their field.

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       It has taken a journey of sheer grit and perseverance – to the extent of relocating with his family to Dubai – to live his dream.

       He was never interested in formal schooling. After completing his N-level exams, he enrolled in the Institute of Technical Education but did not attend any lessons.

       He tried taking up a diploma in culinary skills at hospitality school Shatec in 1999, but dropped out in 2001.

       That same year, he started training under chef Justin Quek at French restaurant Les Amis. It was where he first learnt what asparagus and black truffle look like.

       After coming back in 2005 from the Solomon Islands, where he worked at a restaurant in the Pacific Casino Hotel, he continued his culinary journey in the kitchen of Saint Pierre restaurant at One Fullerton for a year as a sous chef.

       In 2006, he met his mentor, Mr Ignatius Chan, who owns contemporary European restaurant Iggy’s, and eventually became its head chef.

       Currently based in Dubai since his move there in 2013, the father of three girls aged eight, 10 and 15 is the founder and creative director of food and beverage consultancy White Rice Co. His wife is his business partner.

       In November 2023, he returned to his roots with the opening of Harummanis at Sultan Gate in Singapore, a modern Malay restaurant named after his family’s hawker stall.

       Harummanis, which means “sweet-smelling” in Malay, is also the name of a Malay steamed sponge cake topped with banana slices.

       He described the BH Achiever of the Year Award as being “a proof of possibilities” that a Malay Muslim can achieve prestigious awards that represent the community.

       “There was a stigma that Malay Muslim chefs can’t achieve much. But I’m the first Malay chef who still keeps my restaurants halal and be awarded, so what is impossible?” he said.

       He will be opening four more restaurants in Paris and the UAE. “I am not going to stop. I will keep going and open 100 restaurants,” he said.

       BH’s Young Achiever of the Year Award was given to Ms Zulayqha Zulkifli, a full-time social worker and co-founder of Project Hills, a ground-up initiative that provides support for low-income families.

       She said she was “absolutely shocked and honoured” to receive the award, which recognises individuals aged 30 or younger who have contributed significantly to society.

       Ms Zulayqha, 30, said that Project Hills was born out of her personal plight growing up in a rental flat in Queenstown.

       Juggling studies and part-time jobs, such as being a cashier and a clinic assistant, she had to look after her three siblings when their mother left the family in 2010. Her father worked day and night as a cleaner to provide for the family.

       Together with her older brother, a civil servant, she now supports families living in rental flats in Queenstown. She and her team of 150 volunteers distribute meals to the families weekly, and supply them with milk, diapers and school essentials. Project Hills is also expanding its support to underprivileged families in Bukit Merah and Tiong Bahru.

       Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung, who was the guest of honour at the award dinner and presentation, said in his speech that the awardees reinforce the value of resilience and hard work as key to success, and that success is never fully achieved alone but with help, support and care from others.

       “The final important value that our awardees remind us to uphold is to respect every trade and every profession, and ensure that there are many pathways to success in Singapore, and many definitions of achievement,” he said.