Norman Musa

Norman Bin Musa (born 20 November 1974) is a Malaysian chef and restaurateur, based in Manchester, United Kingdom. Born in Butterworth, Penang in Malaysia, he is the creator, co-owner and Executive Chef of Ning restaurant.

Chef Norman Musa

Life and Career^[1]

Norman is a Malaysian Malay. He was raised by his parents in a kampung called Sungai Nyior in Butterworth. Following his secondary education, he gained a scholarship to study quantity surveying at the University of Portsmouth from 1994. After graduation in 1997, his first job as a quantity surveyor was in Bournemouth, Southern England before relocating to London in 1999. In 2003 he moved to Manchester, where he continued to practice as a quantity surveyor.

In 2006, he planned, designed and developed a restaurant with his business partner Andy Spracklen. He took a temporary break from his career in quantity surveying to do so. The restaurant, called Ning and located in the Northern Quarter, opened for trading in December 2006, focusing on Malaysian cuisine and Thai cuisine. Norman acted as Head Chef at the restaurant, even when in 2007 he returned to his day job as a quantity surveyor. As the restaurant business took off, he eventually left his career in quantity surveying in 2009 to work full time at Ning.

Biography

Norman is a self-taught chef who is heavily influenced by the cooking and recipes of his late mother. During his time as a student, he often relied on her advice and mentoring by telephone.^[1]

Prior to establishing Ning restaurant in 2006, his multiple talents extended to performing traditional South East Asian dance. On one occasion he performed for HM Queen Elizabeth II and other Heads of Commonwealth States at Westminster Abbey.^[2]

In 2007 he established a cookery school at his restaurant, hosting regular classes in Malaysian cooking for the general public.^[2]

In June 2009 he made his first live television appearance on Malaysian television, interviewed about his life, career and restaurant on the breakfast show Malaysia Hari Ini on TV3. He has since appeared on several other programmes on Astro Awani, NTV7 and TV9.

During summer 2009 he wrote a book on Malaysian cuisine which was designed to introduce his native food to Westerners. The book, Malaysian Food, was self-published in the United Kingdom by his company in October 2009. An updated edition specially designed for the Malaysian market was published in April 2010.

In 2009 Norman was shortlisted for the Manchester Chef of the Year Award at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival. His restaurant Ning was also shortlisted for Manchester Restaurant of the Year.

In February 2010 he made his first appearance on British television, demonstrating his Nyonya Lime Curry recipe to Rachel Allen on the show Market Kitchen on the Good Food Channel.

From March 2010 to August 2010, Norman was chef to the Lotus Racing Formula One team, touring with them to the Grand Prix motor races around the world.

In May 2010, he took part in filming in Kuala Lumpur for the 2011 series of Gordon's Great Escape with Gordon Ramsay.

In June 2010, he made his debut at the popular Taste of London event in Regent's Park where he demonstrated recipes in the cooking theatre of the Malaysia Kitchen pavilion.

During Autumn 2010, he also undertook live cooking demonstrations at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival and North West Food Lovers Festival, and led promotions for Malaysia Kitchen at Selfridges and Waitrose.

In November 2010, he was announced as one of Malaysia's 'Top 40 Under 40' by Prestige Asia magazine^[3].

In April 2011, he was featured in Unreserved lifestyle supplement of The Malaysian Reserve newspaper.

During Spring and Summer 2011, he toured food festivals in the UK & Ireland, including Tewkesbury, Chester, Dublin and Cardiff.

On 27 July 2011, the first episode of 13-part cooking show A la Carte hosted by Chef Norman Musa, aired on NTV7 in Malaysia, marking his debut TV series^[4].

In November 2011, he featured on MasterChef Malaysia's Celebrity Chef Challenge and shared one of his own signature dishes^[5].

Books

Malaysian Food, ISBN 978-0-9563772-0-3 Malaysian Food (Malaysian Edition,) ISBN 978-0-9563772-1-0

Television Appearances^[6]

Malaysia Hari Ini, TV3 (Malaysia) 5 June 2009 Nasi Lemak Kopi O, TV9 (Malaysia) 24 January 2010 Awani Pagi, Astro Awani 25 January 2010 In Person, TV3 (Malaysia) January 2010 Market Kitchen, Good Food Channel 16 February 2010 Buletin Utama, TV3 (Malaysia) 10 April 2010 Apa Apa Aje, TV3 (Malaysia) 22 April 2010 The Breakfast Show, NTV7 23 September 2010 Ala Carte, NTV7 July to October 2011 (13 episodes) MasterChef Malaysia, Astro Ria 7 November 2011

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Malaysian Food (Malaysian edition), ISBN 978-0-9563772-1-0
2. ^ ^{a b} Malaysian Food, ISBN 978-0-9563772-0-3
3. ^ http://www.eatoutmagazine.co.uk/online_article/UK-chef-makes-Malaysia_s-_Top-40-Under-40_-power-list/12507
4. ^ http://www.malaysiakitchen.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=34&Itemid=69
5. ^ http://www.astro.com.my/masterchef/
6. ^ www.malaysianfood.tv

Persondata
Name	Musa, Norman
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	20 November 1974
Place of birth	Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia
Date of death
Place of death