Chef Mohammed takes cooking to another level

BAVINA SOOKDEO

“Islam means peace, and I’ve grown up with the teaching that you must always be uplifting to not only your Muslim brothers and sisters, but everyone in society.”

So says Sharaz Mohammed, a chef for more than 25 years.

Today, Mohammed’s schedule is a hectic one, as he has a lot of dishes to prepare. He has been fasting throughout the month of Ramadan, which he said is “a reminder to all Muslims how disciplined the Islamic way of life has always been.”

But being a chef surrounded by food all day and maintaining a fast must be a bit challenging, right?

Mohammed admitted maintaining a fast is difficult for him as a chef but: “Again, it’s a mindset and discipline. As Muslims you have to appreciate seeing another month of Ramadan.”

As he pointed out, during Ramadan, not a lot of food is prepared, because during the fasting period, the diet of most Muslims is limited.

But on the day of Eid celebrations, Muslims go all out with their favourite dishes.

Asked about some of the popular dishes prepared on Eid-ul-Fitr, he explained that in other Muslim countries, chicken biryani or goat biryani, roasted lamb and traditional breads are popular.

“Pide is the Turkish bread and naan is the bread popular in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan etcetera.”

In Trinidad and Tobago, the popular dishes, Mohammed says, are curried goat, stewed beef and chicken, with side dishes like mango, pumpkin, channa and aloo, rice, roti and more.

“Some of the popular sweets are sawine, khurma, halwah/sirnee, gulab jamun and roti or rice malida, which is a favourite of mine.”

In the local Muslim community, the most popular meats are goat, beef, lamb and chicken which must be halal, meaning "blessed" or "permissible" – the animal must be killed in the prescribed way and a dedication recited over it during the process. Mohammed said as a chef in the business for years, he has always advised people offering food to the Muslim community to be honest when asked if meat is halal.

Asked to share his most cherished Eid-ul-Fitr memory, he reminisced, “When I was growing up in Claxton Bay, it was a huge tradition after the Eid prayers for members of the mosque to walk in a large group following the lead of the imam. They would go house to house to share the love and celebrations. "(At) each home that we visited, the family members offered snacks, food and soft drinks to welcome everyone. It was really a memorable and joyous day.”

Mohammed has been in the food industry for over 25 years, and has worked at all levels, from dishwasher to executive chef. He has travelled to various continents in an attempt to understand the culture, traditions and cuisine of others.

Mohammed has also mentored many people in the industry: he's taken dishwashers and trained them to become cooks, chefs and business owners.

“As a young adult many years ago, I couldn’t afford to go to culinary school, so I chose the path of hands-on training, which was very difficult, demanding and involved long hours, while seeing the highs and lows.”

Thanks to this exposure, Mohammed has trained and worked alongside some of the best local and international chefs.

In the past year he started offering cooking classes to people of all ages, from professionals chefs to the average food lover, children, business owners, executives and others. Due to the success and positive feedback he received, Mohammed has since started the Chef Sharaz Culinary Academy, upstairs at Ramsingh Plaza 1 in Chaguanas.

“My goal and vision is to continue giving back my experience and knowledge over the years to enhance the culinary and tourism development of our country, the West Indies and anyone who is interested in their own development.”

Although it is a hectic day for him and many other chefs, Mohammed is happy to be celebrating today, and sent out Eid-ul-Fitr greetings to all.