From dishwasher in Melbourne to heading the kitchen at Gilda in George Town, a Malaysian (food) love story

Ahmad Soffian Salim transitioned from an accidental entry into the culinary world as a kitchen assistant in Melbourne to becoming the head chef of an Australian restaurant within five years.

After returning to Malaysia due to the pandemic, he and his wife, Aim Aris, embarked on consultancy projects that eventually led them to open their own restaurant, Gilda, in Penang in collaboration with several partners.

Gilda, inspired by modern Australian cuisine and Southeast Asian flavors, offers a diverse menu in a space that also showcases artworks, reflecting the couple's innovative culinary approach.

GEORGE TOWN, Sept 13 — Before he was brining chicken and making coconut milk-laced romesco at Gilda Restaurant, Ahmad Soffian Salim was washing plates in restaurants more than 14 years ago.

It was almost an accidental career change for the mechanical engineering major who had initially worked in the engineering department at Malaysia Airlines planning aircraft maintenance and servicing.

Ahmad relocated to Melbourne, Australia with his wife, Aim Aris, back in 2012 when the latter was pursuing her postgraduate studies there.

Living in an area that was far from the airport, Ahmad sought out jobs near their home and ended up as a kitchen assistant washing dishes and pots in a restaurant.

”We lived in an area where one of the best cafes in Melbourne was just behind our house,” Aim said.

She said 2012 was the peak of cafe culture in the area and it was their first time experiencing the Australian hospitality industry where in some cafes, the chef designs the menu to pair with coffee.

”It was really interesting and that was the first spark for Ahmad to want to try immersing himself in this industry,” she said.

One of the easiest ways to get in was to work his way up so that was how Ahmad started working as a kitchen assistant.

”I love food but what really made me want to be a chef was the high quality local produce there,” Ahmad said.

He said the locally sourced produce was of such good quality that the chefs did not really need to do much except to elevate it and let its natural flavours come through.

The couple had only expected to stay in Melbourne for about two years but it somehow stretched into eight as Ahmad worked his way up from a kitchen assistant to line cook to becoming the head chef of an Australian restaurant in five years.

“I worked in different cafes and restaurants and trained in modern Australian cuisine as my interest in cooking grew,” he said.

He had briefly considered applying to study in a culinary school but the fees were high while chefs in the restaurants he worked in encouraged him to learn on the job instead.

So, he took jobs in different kitchens to build his experience, going from working a morning shift in one restaurant and heading to another restaurant for dinner service.

“I was fully occupied working from morning until night time for five days kind of thing, I often worked two jobs during that time because I wanted to learn,” he said.

His appetite for learning was fuelled by what he found around him in Melbourne: cafes, restaurants, coffee and ingredients that opened up new possibilities.

After working his way up to become head chef and with Aim nearing the end of her PhD in late 2019, they decided to take one year off to travel and set up pop-up kitchens and collaborations in Jakarta, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted their plans.

The couple was in Penang to conduct research and work on a cookbook project in 2020.

“We managed to do our pop-up for three days—a kitchen takeover—at Norm Micro Roastery. And then the government announced a lockdown,” Ahmad said.

Interstate and international travel were prohibited and their plans to continue to Europe were put on hold.

It was then that they were asked to help plan a restaurant menu as a restaurant consultant.

“At that point, I had only ever been a chef, I didn’t know much about restaurant consultancy so we told the restaurant, we will try,” he recalled.

What was initially meant to be a month of assistance became nine months as they developed the menu, helped run the kitchen and trained the team.

For Ahmad, it was also his first experience working as a chef in Malaysia.

Aim said they decided to make the most of their circumstances since they were both stranded in Penang during the lockdown.

From the one consultancy project, it led to more projects including a one-year residency at a restaurant in Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur in 2023.

The residency gave Ahmad something he had missed while setting up kitchens for others: a kitchen where he could cook his own food with his own team.

They later helped with the menu planning, training and opening of Peninsula House in Penang in July 2024, before handing over to its team.

After years of moving between projects, they started toying with the idea of opening their own restaurant.

”Since we are both from KL, our initial plan was to set up a place there,” Aim said.

Penang, however, had another connection waiting for them — a friendship formed through a small pop-up during the pandemic.

Among the guests was art collector and founder of Blank Canvas, Leong KY, who was also stranded in Penang at the time.

He subsequently invited the couple to cook for private dinners and gallery events in Penang.

“I would say he is our ‘lockdown friend’,” Ahmad said.

When Leong found a new space for Blank Canvas in Soo Hong Lane, it was larger than he needed.

He reached out to Ahmad and suggested they use the extra space beside the gallery as a restaurant.

They initially offered to consult instead but Leong wanted them to run and manage the place.

The idea gradually took hold. Their Penang project progressed while their Kuala Lumpur plans were delayed, prompting them to focus on Gilda.

The restaurant opened on October 25 last year, with five founders: Ahmad, Aim, Leong, Alfred Cheong and property owner Dickson Lim.

Ahmad and Aim oversee operations, while the space also doubles as a showcase of artworks from Leong’s personal collection.

”I chose the name Gilda because I wanted something short, easy to read and with the character of a female name, as I noticed Melbourne restaurants tend to use female names,” she said.

She said the word is old English for golden and gold is a good thing to associate with the restaurant as in terms of food, it also refers to golden crust, the crispness of cooking, the golden standard or food that is really nice.

At Gilda, Ahmad’s food reflects the kitchens he learnt in, without restricting him to a single cuisine.

His foundation is modern Australian cooking, which he sees as shaped by the food, traditions and cultures brought by migrants.

Back in Malaysia, Southe-ast Asian flavours naturally became part of that mix.

“And safe to say the direction is more like we want to make good food, without any limitation, without any box,” he said.

One of the items on the menu is a sea bass served with Ahmad’s take on romesco that incorporates green chilli and coconut milk.

Alongside it is a kerabu-like salad with mango and edamame, bringing another combination of influences to the plate.

He said the menu he planned focused on layering of flavours with Malaysian influences.

Aim said Gilda not only offers contemporary dining but is a neo bistro with items for brunch and small plates for customers who just want to hang out with their friends and family.

Gilda is open from Thursday to Monday from 11am to 4.30pm and 5.30pm to 10pm. Reservations can be made at https://gildadining.com.

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艾哈迈德·索菲安·萨利姆 (Ahmad Soffian Salim) 最初偶然进入烹饪界，在墨尔本担任厨房助理，五年内就成为澳大利亚一家餐厅的主厨。

由于疫情，他回到马来西亚后，与妻子艾姆·阿里斯 (Aim Aris) 开始从事咨询项目，最终与几位合作伙伴在槟城开设了自己的餐厅 Gilda。

Gilda餐厅的灵感源自现代澳大利亚美食和东南亚风味，提供种类繁多的菜肴，餐厅内还展示着艺术品，体现了这对夫妇的创新烹饪理念。

乔治市，9 月 13 日讯——在吉尔达餐厅腌制鸡肉和制作椰奶罗梅斯科酱之前，艾哈迈德·索菲安·萨利姆 14 年前曾在餐馆洗盘子。

对于这位机械工程专业的学生来说，这几乎是一次偶然的职业转变。他最初在马来西亚航空公司的工程部门工作，负责飞机维护和保养的规划。

2012 年，艾哈迈德和妻子艾姆·阿里斯搬到了澳大利亚墨尔本，当时艾姆·阿里斯正在那里攻读研究生学位。

由于居住地离机场很远，艾哈迈德只好在家附近找工作，最后在一家餐馆当了厨房帮工，负责洗碗洗锅。

“我们住的地方，墨尔本最好的咖啡馆之一就在我们家后面，”艾姆说。

她说，2012 年是该地区咖啡文化的鼎盛时期，也是他们第一次体验澳大利亚的餐饮业，在一些咖啡馆里，厨师会根据咖啡来设计菜单。

“这真的很有意思，也是艾哈迈德想要尝试投身这个行业的第一个契机，”她说。

进入这个行业最简单的方法之一就是从基层做起，所以艾哈迈德最初就是从厨房助理做起的。

“我热爱美食，但真正让我想要成为一名厨师的是当地优质的食材，”艾哈迈德说。

他说，当地采购的食材质量非常好，厨师们其实不需要做太多，只需要提升食材的品质，让食材的天然风味展现出来即可。

这对夫妇原本只打算在墨尔本待两年左右，但不知何故，时间却延长到了八年，因为艾哈迈德在五年内从厨房助理一路晋升为厨师，最终成为一家澳大利亚餐厅的主厨。

“我曾在不同的咖啡馆和餐馆工作，并接受了现代澳大利亚菜肴的培训，因为我对烹饪的兴趣越来越浓厚，”他说。

他曾短暂考虑过报考烹饪学校，但学费很高，而他工作的餐厅里的厨师鼓励他边工作边学习。

所以，他到不同的餐厅厨房工作来积累经验，从一家餐厅上早班到另一家餐厅上晚班。

“我连续五天从早到晚都在忙着工作，那段时间我经常同时做两份工作，因为我想学习，”他说。

他在墨尔本周围的一切激发了他的学习热情：咖啡馆、餐馆、咖啡和各种食材，这些都为他开启了新的可能性。

在努力晋升为主厨之后，随着 Aim 在 2019 年底即将完成博士学位，他们决定休息一年去旅行，并在雅加达、香港、日本和泰国开设快闪厨房和开展合作项目。

然而，新冠肺炎疫情打乱了他们的计划。

这对夫妇于 2020 年在槟城进行调研并开展一本烹饪书项目。

“我们成功地在Norm Micro Roastery举办了为期三天的快闪活动——接管了他们的厨房。然后政府就宣布了封锁令，”艾哈迈德说。

州际和国际旅行被禁止，他们继续前往欧洲的计划也被搁置。

当时，他们受邀担任餐厅顾问，协助制定餐厅菜单。

“当时，我只做过厨师，对餐饮咨询了解不多，所以我们告诉餐厅，我们会尝试一下，”他回忆道。

原本计划为期一个月的援助，由于他们参与制定菜单、协助管理厨房和培训团队，最终持续了九个月。

对艾哈迈德来说，这也是他第一次在马来西亚担任厨师。

Aim表示，由于两人在封锁期间滞留在槟城，他们决定充分利用目前的处境。

从最初的一个咨询项目开始，他又参与了更多项目，包括 2023 年在吉隆坡唐人街的一家餐厅驻场一年。

驻场经历让艾哈迈德得到了他在为别人筹建厨房时一直渴望的东西：一个可以和自己的团队一起烹饪自己食物的厨房。

后来，他们协助制定菜单计划、培训，并于 2024 年 7 月在槟城开设了 Peninsula House，之后将餐厅移交给了其团队。

在辗转于各个项目多年后，他们开始萌生了开设自己餐厅的想法。

“因为我们俩都来自吉隆坡，所以我们最初的计划是在那里开店，”艾姆说。

然而，槟城还有另一层联系在等着他们——一段在疫情期间通过小型快闪店建立起来的友谊。

宾客中包括艺术收藏家、Blank Canvas 的创始人梁国强，他当时也滞留在槟城。

随后，他邀请这对夫妇到槟城为私人晚宴和画廊活动烹饪。

“我会说他是我们‘封城期间的朋友’，”艾哈迈德说。

当梁先生在秀虹巷找到Blank Canvas的新店面时，发现它比他需要的要大。

他联系了艾哈迈德，建议他们利用画廊旁边的空地开一家餐厅。

他们最初提出提供咨询服务，但梁先生希望他们来运营和管理这个地方。

这个想法逐渐成形。他们的槟城项目进展顺利，而吉隆坡计划却被推迟，这促使他们将重心转移到吉尔达项目上。

这家餐厅于去年 10 月 25 日开业，由五位创始人共同创立：Ahmad、Aim、Leong、Alfred Cheong 和业主 Dickson Lim。

Ahmad 和 Aim 负责运营，同时该空间也兼作 Leong 个人收藏艺术品的展示厅。

“我选择吉尔达 (Gilda) 这个名字，是因为我想要一个简短、易读且具有女性特征的名字，因为我注意到墨尔本的餐馆倾向于使用女性名字，”她说。

她说，这个词在古英语中是“金色的”的意思，而“金色”这个词很适合用来形容这家餐厅，因为在食物方面，它也指金黄色的外皮、烹饪的酥脆口感、黄金标准或真正美味的食物。

在吉尔达餐厅，艾哈迈德的菜肴反映了他曾经学习过的厨房风格，并没有将他局限于单一的菜系。

他的烹饪基础是现代澳大利亚烹饪，他认为这种烹饪方式是由移民带来的食物、传统和文化塑造的。

回到马来西亚后，东南亚风味自然而然地融入其中。

“可以肯定地说，我们的方向更像是想做出美味的食物，没有任何限制，没有任何条条框框，”他说。

菜单上的一道菜是鲈鱼，配以艾哈迈德改良的罗马斯科酱，其中加入了青辣椒和椰奶。

旁边还有一道类似韩式沙拉的菜肴，配以芒果和毛豆，为这道菜带来了另一种风味组合。

他说，他计划的菜单注重层次丰富的口味，并融入了马来西亚风味。

Aim 表示，Gilda 不仅提供现代餐饮，而且是一家新式小酒馆，提供早午餐和小吃，适合只想与朋友和家人聚会的顾客。

Gilda餐厅周四至周一营业时间为上午11点至下午4点30分以及下午5点30分至晚上10点。您可以在https://gildadining.com上预订。

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