Table Talks With Charismatic Chef Fii

As a young chef, there are a few special ingredients that create a successful chef in the restaurant industry: determination, ambition and hard work. Wafiyyah Aishah Mohammed, who goes by Chef Fii is an enthusiastic 21-year-old professional cook whose work ethic encapsulates these qualities. In order to advance her own skillset, she attended the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute, obtaining an associate’s degree in Culinary Management. She has worked for highly acclaimed restaurants such as Adam’s Bagels and Paul A Grant Butcher’s Steakhouse, where she developed her gifted talent of cooking delicious steaks. To progress her personal career, she has decided to go full-fledged as a private chef. Propa Eats sat down with Chef Fii to hear more about her culinary journey and some fun tidbits about herself.

Q: How did you learn to cook?

I grew up around my grandma, grandpa and mom cooking local foods for our cafe in Munroe Road, Cunupia. Later on, I just started messing around with ingredients and going with what felt right. It always ended well, to be honest. I went on to complete my Associate degree’s in culinary management from the TT Hospitality and Tourism Institute which taught me baking, bartending, pastries and learnt the business aspect of running a restaurant.

Q: Finish this sentence: “My relationship with food is…”

My relationship with food is LOVE.

Q: So if we opened your fridge right now, what would we find?

Butterhead Lettuce, tomatoes, raw steak that is defrosting, bagels, cream cheese, butter, rosemary and ginger ale.

Q: Name a dish you always wanted to try but haven’t had a chance to make it yet?

Surprisingly, I am not accustomed to cooking local Trini food and it is definitely an area I need more practice in. This may revoke my ‘Trini’ card but I would love to master “buss upshot” roti and doubles.

Q: What for you makes a good restaurant dining experience?

The service you receive from Front of The House. There’s nothing worse than an unpleasant host.

Q: What’s your favourite dish to make?

I love making Steaks. With steaks, you can never go wrong with pan-searing it with all the delicious seasonings sizzling on the outer sear of the meat! Juicy, medium-rare and absolutely divine!

Q: You can invite three people over for dinner, dead or alive. Who are they?

My Dad who passed away nine years ago, my grandfather who passed away 4 years ago and Chef Jordi Roca.

Q: What do you want people to feel/experience when they eat a dish you made?

There’s a feeling a person gets when they sit down to eat, that first bite when it’s really really good, you feel a high level of satisfaction and you sigh a sigh of contentment and all other trouble fades, I just wanna create that magical moment for people. Fun fact, one of my closest friends hired me to make beef cannelloni for her to impress her guy at the time, safe to say she hooked him with it. That’s what I want when people taste my food.