Chances are if you’re addicted to Instagram and Tiktok like basically, everybody, you’d probably have come across Ilya or as he calls himself, The Rockin’ Deliveryman. Besides bringing to light the reality of being a food delivery rider (#NoShame, it’s a choice of occupation) or cooking up chunks with Chunking, Ilya’s new lease of life sees him as a competitor on MasterChef Singapore Season Three.
Far from being a season filler (you know the type), Ilya himself was the winner of the DBS food scrap challenge and without biasness, we’re rooting for him. Here, he takes us through the filming, his feelings, and his future plans.
Hello Ilya, how’s it going?
Hello! Going great, but of course everything can be better.
You know, when I was watching Episode One of MasterChef, I thought it was quite hilarious how chill you were. Are you like this in real life?
I think it’s a fair reflection. Besides, I hate fake b*tches and what you see is what you get. Though I did “kena” scolding for being too cool in a later episode, [laughs].
But beneath this cool exterior is an expectation I have of myself. That’s probably what my reactions conveyed in the first two episodes when I was called up as one of the Top Five. Good is never good enough and there’s always something better to be achieved.
With high scores for your Sate Lilit Stuffed Squid, is this perhaps, a dish you’re planning as a highlight for your future food establishment?
Possibly. It was a superb lilit which was superbly lit. Besides, everyone loves a good stuffing, no?
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To be honest, when you say your strengths are “fusion” and “flavour combinations”, that’s a little vague. But I’ve noticed that your eye for plating and innovation is incredible. What is the “Ilya” flavour then?
Fusion leads to confusion that can lead to profusion. I try to avoid using that term for my food altogether. Instead, I hope to reinvent Malay flavours by creating things that taste familiar but are visually mindf*cking.
Or on the flip side, something that looks familiar but screws up your tastebuds which were expecting something more “regular”.
Food waste is such a thing now. In fact, I know a lot of restaurants do a “closed loop” which is to say, leftovers become compost. What’s your own take on being environmentally conscious while you cook?
When we do grocery shopping for my small family of three (for now), we try to do away with excessive purchases. We’ll get just enough for the next few rounds of cooking, and we try to incorporate everything that we have.
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Also, we’ll share some groceries with my Mom. Like, what am I to do with 389 pieces of pandan leaves when I need like just three, no?
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What exactly is Kueh Chang? And most importantly, how do you do it differently?
Most popularly eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, the Kueh Chang aka Zongzi is essentially a traditional Chinese rice dumpling with various fillings. There are not many Halal options around and my Mom handed down her recipe to me.
So our Changs (or Chunks) are slightly different. We season them with Rendang instead of five spice and occasionally, we’ll do variations of the Chunks according to different season including Tom Yam, Laksa, and Asyura, to name a few.
Circling back to MasterChef, one of the things most people like is that it’s very “real” which is to say, it doesn’t feel as heavily produced as other reality shows. What do you think your character arc and trope is on the show? What does your wife think too?
It is too real. Especially the cuts and burns and the joy and tears. Being away from family with the added exhaustion of the show kind of put some of us on the edge.
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My wife honestly believed I was not ready to compete you know, in a competition where cooking is the main shiznit. So, she was surprised at the fact that I received the coveted white MasterChef apron. She thought I was lucky to get into the Top five in episode one. So when I got Top Five again in episode two, she thought I was damn lucky.
I did go from “I just want to be on TV” to “I want the title so bad” but not to prove her wrong, because that is more tiring than cooking itself.
Lastly, out of curiosity and this is a question I like to ask people for the first time: what was the #1 song on your Spotify most-played last year?
Tough choice. It’s a toss-up between “Drive” by Incubus and “Fly Away” by Lenny Kravitz.
Once you’re done with this interview with Ilya, catch MasterChef Singapore Season Three every Sunday, 9:30pm on meWATCH and Channel 5 from now till third July or click here to catch up with our May 2022 issue.
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