By Mariam Al Awadhi
DUBAI – “Inspiring, passionate and risk-taking,” said the chef Bader Najeeb Al Awadhi when asked to describe himself in 3 words.
Indeed, risk-taking he is; to be born in a society where ‘the kitchen is women’s domain’ is believed, it was courageous of him to transgress the mores and say I have passion for baking and I want to be a chef.
Al Awadhi was only 13 years old when he first discovered his passion. It all started when he decided to help his mother in the kitchen, preparing cakes and desserts for neighbors and relatives.
“I decided to help her and mess around the kitchen, but it turned out into a passion, it backfired but in a good way,” said the young chef.
Soon after that, Al Awadhi bought cookbooks and browsed cooking videos to harness all the required skills to form the basis of his recipes.
“I improved myself first by my mother, then books, and YouTube was my biggest inspiration. As well as many YouTubers that I used to watch when I was bored,” said the self-taught chef.
Al Awadhi is strangely interested in desserts rather than any type of food, which is a bit rare for males of his age. For what he believes, desserts are the best way to end any meal, and any meal that ends without a dessert is pointless.
“When you get someone a burger or flowers as a gift, they go ‘wow’, but when you get them a dessert, they will be like ‘oh my god that tastes good’, so it places a longer impression,” said Al Awadhi.
Regardless to what Al Awadhi might create as his own recipe, it will always hold the Emirati touches. He loves to work with Emirati fusions and mix different cuisines together as well.
“For example when I have French éclairs, I would add a single touch of Emirati ingredients such as cardamom or saffron, and it changes the whole dish around,” said Al Awadhi.
Al Awadhi has been sharing all his recipes on Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Where he creates cookery videos and edit them on his own, while having special themes for his videos on YouTube channel, With ChefB. Al Awadhi says that Snapchat is his favorite since he can have direct interactions with people.
“In Snapchat you get an instant feedback, and that is what I love about it. Especially when I am cooking, at the same time they would ask questions on the dish. Now I have found out that while I am cooking they are actually cooking with me, and that is very nice,” said the chef.
Regardless of his young age, Al Awadhi succeeded at establishing his name among many other professional chefs. It was a breathtaking moment for Al Awadhi when he stood alongside America’s favorite cake decorator Buddy Valastro, to judge a cake decoration competition at Emirates Palace in 2014.
“When I received an email that Buddy is coming to Dubai and do you want to be at his show? I went crazy, and then later I received another email saying that they want me to judge with him, I think I fainted at that moment, but it was unbelievable,” he said with a laugh.
Nothing worth having comes easy, and that was the case with Al Awadhi too. Haters’ brickbats that he received at the beginning of his journey were about to stop him continuing his dreams for baking, but he is glad that he did not.
“The more haters you have the more successes you have, and right now I have changed the perspective of many people including my own parents, so I think I am in the right path.”
For Al Awadhi, cooking always came before studies. He would be found cooking while studying during exams.
“In the kitchen, I am in my comfort zone, so I do go to baking to feel comfortable when I am stressed during exams,” said the passionate chef.
“Listen to people who criticize you and then prove them wrong, and create more haters, the more haters you have, the more successful you are going to be,” said the aspiring chef motivating youths to follow their dreams.
About the Author
Mariam Al Awadhi is a sophomore at Zayed University majoring in Multimedia Design. She possesses a strong appreciation for art, photography, books and history.
This story was originally published on May 26, 2015. It was re-uploaded on Dec. 25, 2020.
