When Chef Nizar was still at school, like most young people, he had dreams about what he would do. One of them was to be a pilot and fly fighter jets. Life took him down a different path, though, and now he’s flying high in the kitchen at the beautiful Pearl Restaurant at Jeeva Santai Villas, as the head chef. 

He spoke to mylombok recently about his career in food and he’s obviously happy about how it all turned out.

When did you first become interested in food?

When I graduated from senior high school, I struggled a little with what to do, and the kind of work I wanted. My first thoughts were about how to get an easy job. I decided to go to the Hotel School in Senggigi to study for a Diploma. I chose a year-long course in Food & Beverage, which was different from the other departments. That’s when I became interested in food. It wasn’t ‘easy’ after all. In fact, I found it very challenging in the kitchen but I like a challenge.

Was there a particular moment when you decided to make cooking your career?

After I’d finished studying, I did 6 months of training in the kitchens at the Sheraton. It was after I’d passed my training session that I decided I wanted to become a chef. My parents fully supported my decision and so I started to focus on getting a lot of experience in as many places as I could.

Can you tell us about some of those places?

First, I spent some time at the Oberoi – working in the kitchen. Then I went to Gili Trawangan and worked at The Beach House from 2009-2012, as Senior Chef and then at Hotel Ombak Sunset  for two years as chef de partie.

I flew to Darwin, in Australia, and stayed a year there, working as a chef. And then back to Lombok where I was at the Kuta Indah Hotel for eight months. I spent the next few years, as sous-chef or head chef, in Asia, the Maldives, in Kuta at Bamba and at Gili Sands, Trawangan. 

During this time I also worked with the Jeeva Group in Lombok – at Jeeva Klui for four years as sous chef, at Jeeva Mandalika and, for the last two years, at Pearl Restaurant at Jeeva Santai, where I am now head chef.

How would you describe or define your cooking style?

My cooking style is very detailed. In my dishes, I like to combine foods from all around the world; I guess you’d say it’s fusion.

Tell us about the concept for your menu at Pearl Restaurant.

I’d describe it as a combination of Mediterranean, Arabic and local dishes, featuring meats, poultry and seafood as well as vegan and vegetarian options.

Which dish do you most enjoy cooking?

I really enjoy preparing my aromatised duck confit: it’s slow-cooked, tender and delicious.

I also like salt-baked whole fish. It’s cooked very differently and the non- traditional baking style gives it a taste and a texture that are different, too. 

Which dish do you think is the guests' favourite?

Mostly they enjoy the Mediterranean dishes. They love the goats cheese salad, the mezze platter and, of course, the aromatised duck confit.

Do you have a favourite ingredient you like to use for cooking?

I like cooking with traditional ingredients, so if I had to choose just one I would say cumin. The flavour and aroma are strong and you only need to use a little to make a dish flavourful.

What are your 'must have' kitchen gadgets?

Although it’s not really a gadget, the grill is my favourite. With grilling, you can achieve a taste that’s very different from frying. The taste is unique and flavoursome and there’s no oil used.

What do you like most about your job?

I especially like leading my team to reach our standards. One of our standards is consistency – the taste  and the presentation of each individual food should be the same each time.

What's the biggest challenge?

Achieving our aim of keeping everything consistent is our team’s constant challenge. Another challenge for me is training my staff to make sure this happens.

What do you like most about living and working in Lombok?

I love to live here, partly because it’s my hometown and because I work here for the Jeeva Group. It’s a good organisation; we have great benefits and they really look after us.

What do you like to do in your free time?

When I have free time, I like to spend it with my family. We go on day trips – to Sembalun, for example, in the northern mountain area of Lombok.

What food do you really like? And is there anything you would never eat?

I really like the traditional Rijstafel. In English it means ‘rice table’ and it’s a complex meal with rice, of course, and lots (and lots) of different side dishes to go with it.

I won’t eat Indonesian pare. It looks like a wrinkled cucumber and it’s a really bitter vegetable, which is why it’s known as ‘bitter melon’ or ‘bitter gourd’, and I don’t like it!

Are you the cook at home?

Sometimes I take over in the kitchen at home – but not all the time. My wife does a lot of the cooking, too; she’s very good at it.

Apart from creating delicious food, what are the most important qualities a successful chef has?

I think it’s important to have passion and a strong will. As a chef, you need to learn new things all the time and have the passion to keep on learning. You also need to have the strength of will to trust yourself.

Who is your favorite celebrity chef, and why?

I would say it’s Marco Pierre White. He’s a chef and restaurateur from the UK. He’s always very strict and doesn’t accept excuses when people do the wrong thing in the kitchen.

Do you have any tips for beginner chefs?

The best and most useful advice is to keep learning – whether it’s new techniques or new skills. In other words, don’t ever think you have learned everything there is to know. Because you haven’t.

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