Lroy Lim, Head Chef , Willow Kuala Lumpur

Lroy Lim

Lroy Lim, head chef at Willow restaurant in W Kuala Lumpur, tells of his journey in becoming a chef and what he likes to do when he has time off.

What do you do and how did you get into the industry?

I am the head chef at Willow Kuala Lumpur. I decided to be a chef when I was 15. However, I did not join the culinary program right after high school. I am very picky with my food as well since I was a kid. I went into actuarial science first, but after a year doing it, I realised it was not something I see myself doing day in and out sitting at a desk. Thus, I decided to change the program I was in to join the culinary program. From there, I went to Switzerland to pursue a culinary degree at Cesar Ritz. As my parents suggested, if I want to do European cuisine, I should go there to learn.

Please share with us an interesting story from behind the scenes.

Generally, things are not very interesting at work. If it is, it usually just means trouble. The best thing to happen would be a nice smooth service with no issues or hiccups. Most of the time, the most interesting thing that happens is solving last-minute issues that pop up. Or coming up with a completely new menu in two weeks to pull off for the restaurant opening.

What’s a food memory from your childhood or travels that stands out?

It was in Barcelona; a restaurant called Tickets. They served modern molecular tapas. My entire meal and experience there was very interesting as I have never had it anywhere else in terms of food, service and style.

What’s the best/ worst part of your job?

The best part is doing what I love. I love to cook, come up with new dishes and the adrenaline from service time that I think you will not find in any other job. Trying out new flavours and being creative when it comes to creating dishes is the freedom that I enjoy having.

The worst part of the job for me would be dealing with unreasonable guests. The hours can be gruelling, and it is a very physically demanding job which I knew when I joined the industry. The hardest thing to deal with is guests who think they are always right as they are the paying customer. To some extent, I do agree, but the lack of respect for people in the industry is something that I do not enjoy; to be judged by people who know less about food than the chefs.

What’s your favourite food and beverage pairing?

I have a sweet tooth; thus so far, my favourite pairing for food and drinks is sauternes with a strawberry dessert.

What’s one of the wildest things you’ve seen behind the scenes?

The best thing would be to read Kitchen Confidential. Pretty much everything is there. I have seen cooks getting burnt by the head chef for making silly mistakes, which is not really crazy to me being in this industry. The industry brings out the dark side in people. At some point, you either survive it, or you break. But thankfully this is not something that I have seen in Malaysia so far.

The perfect day off would be…

My phone not buzzing for a day, not having any appointments or meetings and just time off to myself to do anything that I want.

A day in the life of a Lroy Lim is…

Starting in the morning, around 9 or 10am. Setting up the stations then preparing for lunch. Go through lunch service then break down and clean. Prepare meals for the staff and get something to eat. Continue preparing for dinner and go through dinner service. Clean down and then go home. We usually finish around 11pm. Some days are shorter, and some days are longer. The longest I have ever worked was starting at 9am finishing at 3am then starting again at 6am until almost midnight. There was one crazy time where we were super busy and worked two weeks straight morning till past midnight nonstop.

What do you do for fun?

I play computer games and watch movies and videos on YouTube.

What’s something you’d like people to know about being a chef as a profession?

This is not an easy job to do. If you do not have a drive or passion for it, generally you won’t last long in the industry, or you end up stagnant. The cost and capital are high to run an F&B outlet, but then the profits are marginal by the end of the day. Many people think running a restaurant is easy, but many factors come to play.

What’s your view on the food/drink scene in KL?

I think there are more exciting and new places coming up. I see more people exploring when it comes to food. There are still ways to go in terms of the industry culture here in the country.

Find more interviews similar to this one with chef Lroy Lim here. And, stay up to date with the latest food and beverage happenings in KL here.