Cheong Liew facts for kids
Cheong Liew, born in Malaysia in 1949, is a famous Australian chef. He moved to Australia in 1969. He first planned to study engineering, but he found his true passion in cooking! Cheong Liew is known for trying new ingredients and new ways of cooking. He also helped create "Asian-Australian fusion cuisine," which mixes Asian and Australian food styles.
Cheong Liew's Early Life
Cheong Liew was born in 1949 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His dad was a farmer who also owned some restaurants. Cheong's family moved to Adelaide, South Australia, in 1969. This move happened after a difficult time in Malaysia.
In Adelaide, Cheong started to love cooking. He worked part-time at a Greek restaurant called Iliad. He was in charge of the grill. Even though he had planned to study electrical engineering in Melbourne, he decided to follow his passion for food. He became a chef by teaching himself.
Cheong Liew's Cooking Career
In 1975, Cheong Liew opened his very own restaurant called Neddy's. The menu at Neddy's mostly featured delicious Malaysian and Chinese dishes. Cheong was very brave with his cooking. He used ingredients that were not common back then. These included things like crocodile tail, pork leg, sea urchin, and shark lip!
Neddy's restaurant closed in 1988. After that, Cheong Liew started teaching cooking. He taught at Regency Park in Adelaide, sharing his skills with new chefs.
In 1995, Cheong Liew became the head chef at The Grange restaurant. This restaurant was inside the Hilton Hotel in Adelaide. At The Grange, he created his most famous dish. It was called "Four Dancers of the Sea." This special dish had four different kinds of seafood. Each one was cooked in a unique style from a different country. After about 14 years, Cheong left The Grange in 2009. The restaurant then closed later that year.
Awards and Honours
Cheong Liew is seen as one of the most important people in Australian cooking. Stephen Downes, a writer, called him "one of the indisputable fathers of Australian cooking."
In 1999, Cheong Liew received a special award called the Medal of the Order of Australia. He got this award for his great work in the food and restaurant world. He helped to develop and influence the style of modern Australian food.
In 2017, an American magazine called Food & Wine Magazine named Cheong Liew "one of the ten hottest chefs alive." That same year, he was also added to the Hall of Fame at the World Food Media Awards. This shows how much his amazing cooking is respected around the world!
Writing
- Liew, C., & Ho, E. F. (1995). My Food. St Leonards, N.S.W., Allen & Unwin. ISBN: 1-86373-739-1
See also
