‘I just wanted to be on TV’: Meet the food delivery boy hailed for improving Malay cuisine on MasterChef Singapore, Lifestyle News
Ilya Nur Fadhly may have cracked the top five in season three of MasterChef Singapore, but there’s one critic he’s yet to win over: his wife.
“My mum thought I was ready so she told me to try for the show, but my wife still thinks there’s work to be done,” the self-taught food delivery man and chef said good-naturedly. 36 years old at AsiaOne.
As for his own motivations for being on the show, he jokes, “I actually just wanted to be on TV lah.”
Ilya gets serious adding that the moment he officially received his apron – meaning he had arrived at the show – was defining for him. It was then that he really felt the gravity of the competition and set his eyes on the prize.
“Nothing else mattered,” Ilya tells us. “I didn’t want to be second, third, fourth. I wanted the title.”
Iron food delivery guys with pride
The fiercely competitive chef was eventually eliminated in the eighth episode, but left on a bittersweet note, with chef Bjorn Shen praising his performance: “In my opinion, no one in Singapore has elevated Malay cuisine to the same caliber as you Finished.”
His standout dishes included a beef chwee kueh, which earned him $3,000 in a single challenge, Bananalala, a creative take on the classic goreng pisang, and Prawn Cooked Black, a dish inspired by sotong masak hitam with prawns in a baby octopus broth.
Ilya also became the only contestant to make it past the first half of the season without landing in a knockout round.
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When we talk to Ilya it’s a few months after the elimination – most of the last season was saved last year – and he’s optimistic about the outcome.
“All I can say is that I’m pretty proud that I managed to do what I did,” he says.
Aside from his TV ambitions, Ilya shares that one of his goals was also to tackle stereotypes that delivery people are “uneducated” or “not doing well at home”.
A former education consultant, Ilya quit his job during the pandemic after the company implemented pay cuts.
He started working as a food delivery boy while looking for a job, but eventually decided to work full time when he found it paid even more than his previous job.
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Although some make judgments and assumptions about delivery people, Ilya tells us he’s “not ashamed” to wear his uniform.
“You’ll be surprised to learn that most of these cyclists are either highly educated or have their own business, and it’s just a part-time job to supplement their income,” says Ilya.
And then there are also the incredibly hard-working runners with multiple jobs, he adds.
He has a cooking “food project”
Ilya himself has his own hustles – he helps his mother with her halal business bak chang and also sells its own line of handmade motorcycle helmet bags (yes, the man also sews).
Of course, he also has a “food project” in the works, he cryptically tells us, though he shares that he’s still saving up and raising enough money for it.
But fans of his work on the show can rest assured that Ilya will continue his mission of bringing Malay flavors to the world of fine dining.
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“There are a lot of things Malaysian households cook that not many people know about. Sometimes another Malay may not even know about it,” says Ilya, adding that he hopes to spread his culture through food.
Showing off some of his comfort foods such as fried rice and kacang phool (a stewed bean dish), Ilya promises a unique take on these classic dishes.
“It will look different, but it will taste familiar. Or maybe it looks familiar, but when you taste it, it’s something else there.”
