Flash-grilled: Raymond Ma
What was your first industry job?
Sushi commis chef. I washed rice for one and half years and oversaw the preparation of vegetables.
If you weren’t in kitchens, what would you do?
Possibly a plumber or someone in the maintenance industry.
What industry figure do you most admire, and why?
Japanese sushi master Jiro Ono. Because of his passion and his spirit to pursue excellence.
What’s your pet hate in the kitchen?
Chefs who waste food by not properly handling high end ingredients.
What’s the oddest thing a customer has said to you?
A customer ordered a whole fish dish, but then requested to remove the head. However, that was how the traditional dish was made and presented.
Sum up your cooking style in a single sentence…
Fast, precise, perfect and flavourful.
What advice would you give someone starting out in the industry?
Focus and don’t give up. Be a hard worker and you will achieve your goals.
Which single item of kitchen equipment could you not live without?
My knives as they are an extension of my hands.
What would you choose to eat for your last meal?
Dim sum.
À la carte or tasting menu?
Omakase tasting menu.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had in a restaurant?
Yi Long Court in Shanghai.
What’s your favourite fast food joint?
McDonald's.
What’s the dish you wish you’d thought of?
Tiramisu.
MasterChef or Great British Menu?
MasterChef.
What’s the most overrated food?
Salt Bae’s meat dishes.
Who would your dream dinner party guests be?
Stephen Chow, Michelle Yeoh and Li Ka Shing.
What’s your earliest food memory?
French fries.
Twitter or Instagram?
Instagram.
Where do you go when you want to let your hair down?
Sunny beaches with my lovely family.
What’s your tipple of choice?
Drinking Yamazaki 12 years aged whiskey.
What do you consider to be your signature dish?
Crystal sushi, which is a dish I developed where you drape sushi rolls in coloured jelly slices with kimchi, ponzu or mint and sake flavouring.
What’s your favourite food and drink pairing?
Crystal sushi with a vodka gimlet.
