I’ve never watched reality cooking shows but I always imagined that MasterChef judges would be aloof and, frankly, a bit full of themselves.
That was until I met Johari Edrus (aka Chef Jo), the main judge in the Malaysian version of the show. Chef Jo is a disarmingly humble and soft-spoken man, and he approaches his work with admirable discipline.
One such example is with his Instagram account
(https://www.instagram.com/iamchefjo/). I assumed for the longest time that he must have a team of digital marketing assistants and professional photographers manage it for him – his Instagram page is consistently and regularly updated with beautiful photos accompanied by in-depth descriptions of the food. It wasn’t until this interview that I found out he takes all the photos (with his “old, crappy phone” as he calls it) and writes the prose himself.
I’m not sure how he finds the time to post on social media daily, since Chef Jo does, in fact, have a day job – several, in fact – he runs a restaurant, produces, markets and distributes his own brand of ketupat palas (triangular compressed glutinous rice in palm leaves), and does public cooking demonstrations.
Watch the replay of my Food Fame interview with Chef Jo to see what he has to say about his latest restaurant project and also what advice he has for those looking to succeed in their food business –
Food Fame is my free Facebook group for current and aspiring food business owners who are looking to become successful and get noticed without hiring expensive PR and marketing teams. Join us here –