WORKING 12- to 15-hour days, six days per week in a foreign country away from all your friends and family may not sound like fun for most 29-year-olds. But for Canadian-born chef Kevin Cherkas, the international possibilities are endless as he stamps his youthful interpretation of classic cuisine in top restaurants the world over.  

Having spent recent years working in Spain, embarking on a two-year adventure to Asia has at times been culturally challenging for Cherkas, who has taken up residency at Restaurant Lafite in the swanky Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.  
Creating dishes which will appeal to the complex Malaysian palette, is no easy feat, but the award-winning chef is confident he has the key in winning over local diners. 

“The Malaysian palette is very developed and it is more accustomed to spicy food so it’s best to reformat classics. Dishes like nasi lemak are centuries old so the trick to catering to the Malaysian people is in giving them food they already understand, just making it modern and a bit more creative,” said Cherkas who has honed his culinary talent and instincts in three-Michelin star Spanish restaurants such as Arzak in San Sebastian and El Bulli in Roses. 

Highly-skilled chef 
His flair for cooking was recognised early on; he pursued his culinary studies on a prestigious culinary arts scholarship and has won many distinguished awards. 
At Lafite, Cherkas has set out to dazzle food connoisseurs with his groundbreaking gastronomic techniques, flavours and texture.  

“The new concept arrived with me three months ago, which is basically a new style of food. This is taking a very classical and traditional style of food, and twisting it around,”  

This concept which sees “a contemporary approach on traditional methods” is what Cherkas implemented from day one in his new kitchen, aiming to revolutionise traditional French cuisine like never before seen in this city.  

His take on the traditional California Roll is to turn it into a California Ball, replacing the sushi rice with puffed rice, and wrapping the salmon with the avocado.  His caviar waffle is a playful pairing of ingredients from opposite ends – a casual snack with an elite ingredient. The colourful palette of caviar adds to the plate’s cheekiness, but the contrast in texture is delightful.  

Cherkas admitted that not everyone has embraced his culinary innovations. 
“I was almost resented when I arrived because everything had been so classical, and some customers were almost upset by what I had done.”  
After three months, Kevin’s innovative new menu has seen estranged customers return, and new clientele acquired.  

“Retention of clientele has been amazing and a lot of old clientele that had been lost has since returned. A new following has also been established, which comprises mainly of young professionals and expatriates, as this style of dining was non-existent in Kuala Lumpur until now. It really opens up dining as an adventure.” 

His new concept doesn’t just revolve around paying homage to ingredients. 

Cherkas has also reworked the traditional notion of “cooking” in the Lafite kitchen. The avant garde chef’s answer to the oven is liquid nitrogen, submersing his prey in temperatures of -196°C, so that they re-emerge with a crispy and icy shell.    The chef has also introduced novel techniques such as sphereification, a process by where liquids are trapped in a thin alginate casing. When this casing bursts in the mouth, it bathes the tongue with flavours. 

Yet, the final plate is arranged like a work of art. Cherkas resists his food being mistaken for art. Although presentation is important, he believes that properly prepared food would look good without excessive fussing.  

“Food is not art, as you don’t eat art, now do you?” 
Yet, food for Cherkas is not merely something to be eaten, rather something to be indulged in and enjoyed. He views food as an “adventure” and draws on “day to day occurrences” as inspiration for new ideas.  

He confesses to keeping notepads beside his bed, which he fills with drawings of dishes most of which never see the light of day.  

“I have so many ideas that there are simply too many to implement.” This fervour, says Cherkas, is rooted in his instincts and inclination towards food. The best chefs, asserts Cherkas, are not taught but born with a natural knack.  

“Yes I do think that you need to be talented in order to excel as a chef. You need talent to be a great soccer player, that’s not just something you can be taught. You also need to be fantastic at eating, that’s a fundamental requirement. You definitely need to enjoy eating.” 

Cherkas was delighted to cite his favourite ingredient as “ ... olive oil because of what you can do with it and its capabilities.“ 

“My favourite thing to cook would be fish. You see, with fish there is no rare, medium or well done, as there is no blood, only moisture. So there is simply cooked or un-cooked and nothing in between. I believe that to cook fish well requires the hand of God.  

“I do not necessarily feel that I have the hand of God but I do think that I may be gifted.” 

One gift he certainly possesses is the gift of the gab.  

In his own words, “I’m passionate about life, you just happen to be interviewing me about food.”