Now Everyone Can Be a Food Entrepreneur

Now Everyone Can Be a Food Entrepreneur. Shinsegae Mamee Launches Foodservice products to help food operators save time and cost while maintaining authentic flavour and taste.

(From Left to Right)

Jennifer Chee , Ketua Bahagian Perkhidmatan Makanan Shinsegae Mamee

Datuk Wira Pang Tee Nam, COO MAMEE-Double Decker

Tan Sri Pang Tee Chew, CEO MAMEE-Double Decker

Felix Pang Hee Zhong, Chief Operating Officer Shinsegae Mamee

Chef Faizul Hazly Ghazali, Executive Chef Shinsegae Mamee

Kuala Lumpur: Mee Goreng, Nasi Goreng Kampung and rojak buah are synonymous with the food industry in Malaysia and a well-managed food business can be lucrative and may be able to springboard the "Bottom 40%" (B40) community into higher income bracket.

The B40 group consisting of blue-collar, low income graduates and low-income graduates, housewives and retirees with a median household income of RM3,000 a month.

In conjunction with the launch of its new Shinsegae Mamee Foodservice convenience products for food operators, Shinsegae Mamee organised a panel session with stakeholders such as GIATMARA, Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran Muslim Malaysia and Shah Alam City Council to discuss the options available for aspiring food entreprenuers to succeed.

At the panel session, GIATMARA Chief Executive Officer Haji Jamal Nasir Othman said there is a need for 91,000 skilled workers in the Food & Beverage by 2020.

“It is estimated that about 1,000 aspiring chefs enroll in GIATMARA F&B courses each year. So far, GIATMARA has trained 10,570 chefs. At GIATMARA, we hope that these trained chefs can work be trained to manage their own businesses,” he said adding that Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKLW) has taken the initiative to encourage entrepreneurship by introducing programs such as Mobilepreneur & Mobile Truck as well as Rintis Niaga (incubator) program through GIATMARA.

“It is a very good government policy in propelling the B40 community into the M40 (Middle 40%) and T20 (Top 20%),” Jamal said.

(From Left to Right)

Chef Faizul Hazly Ghazali Executive Chef Shinsegae Mamee

Dato’ Chef Ismail, Mamee Chef and Malaysian Tourism Ambassador for Gastronomy

The GIATMARA CEO also said that strategic cooperation with industry players is important to ensure that the quality of trainees produced is based on the current needs.

He added that GIATMARA is keen to work with Shinsegae Mamee given that the recently launched Shinsegae Mamee Foodservice products are attractive and are able to help GIATMARA trainees in terms of cost savings and time while maintaining the authenticity taste and flavour.

Also speaking at the panel session was Shinsegae Mamee Executive Faizul Hazly Ghazali who said that cooking ability alone is insufficient in helping a chef to succeed in the food business.

(From Left to Right)

Md. Zawawi bin Md Isa, Ketua Seksyen Komposit Bahagian Perlesenan, Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA)

Chef Faizul Hazly Ghazali, Executive Chef Shinsegae Mamee

Jamal Nasir bin Othman, CEO GIATMARA

Omar Farook Ali bin Seeni Abdul Kadir, Jawatankusas (Hal Ehwal Majlis Setempat) Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran Muslim Malaysia (PRESMA)

Dato’ Chef Ismail, Mamee Chef and Malaysian Tourism Ambassador for Gastronomy

“To be successful in the food entreprenuer, the chef needs to be able to manage time and cost effectively while maintaining the quality of the food served,” Faizul said.

Inspired by the three key success pillars, Shinsegae Mamee released 10 convenient products for the food service operators. The products are made with natural ingredients and do not contain added flavorings and preservatives.

"When we hear the convenience products, the first perception that comes to mind would be ‘not authentic'. But many successful chefs have taken short cuts in the kitchen by using convenient products to save cost and time.

“However, the convenient products used should be of high quality to preserve the authenticity of flavours,” Faizul said.

The Shinsegae Mamee executive chef also added that Shinsegae Mamee Foodservice is trying to change that perception ensuring that no added flavourings and preservatives are used in the products so that food operators are able maintain the authenticity of taste while saving time and cost.