KUALA LUMPUR: Over the years, Chef On Wheels has gained a reputation for being Malaysia’s “caterers to the stars”, having catered for concerts by artistes such as Ed Sheeran, Metallica, Mariah Carey, Shawn Mendes and Bruno Mars.
However, the Covid-19 outbreak has led them to shift their focus to helping regular Malaysians in need.
Chef On Wheels owner Seet Wai Song, together with his wife Christine Chua, has embarked on a mission to provide meals for those affected by the the pandemic.
Following the Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the spread of Covid-19, Seet said a number of kind souls had inspired him to start a meal sponsorship programme.
Through the Sponsor-a-Meal (SAM) initiative, Seet and his wife have fed frontliners in hospitals, set up soup kitchens for the homeless, as well as helped students stranded in their dormitories.
“Good Samaritans who want to donate in cash or kind will get in touch with us. We will cook the meals and deliver them during the MCO period.”
Seet and his team have, since the MCO came into effect, delivered meals daily to medical staff in Hospital Kuala Lumpur and Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
The meals, he said, were delivered to the hospitals’ frontliners who worked the night shift, as these people had zero to little food options during their shift.
Safety and hygiene, said Seet, were given priority.
The staff in the central kitchen have been trained to adopt good hygiene practices and are kitted out in gloves, face masks and aprons when preparing food.
“We cannot take any risks when it comes to health and cleanliness, especially during times like this,” Seet said.
However, he said, they were experiencing difficulty in sourcing for items to cook, as well as ensuring there were sufficient face masks and gloves for his team.
“We have a shortage of many things.
“Sometimes we go to the supermarket to buy ingredients to prepare food, and there aren’t enough supplies. If the people can help with this, it would be great.”
Chef On Wheels is no stranger to contributing aid during crises. Being a Red Crescent Society member, Seet said his team had, on numerous occasions, been deployed to assist those in need.
These included sending the company truck which is equipped with a fully functioning kitchen, to flood-stricken areas in Johor, Kelantan and Penang.
Seet has seen an outpouring of goodwill and kindness from Malaysians who are keen to help with their cause.
“We’ve had so many Good Samaritans reaching out to us to donate food. We are deeply grateful for their kindness.”
Having been in the food and beverage industry for almost 30 years, Seet urged others to help those who may have been overlooked.
“Some are well taken care of while some are not. We are doing our best within our capacity. Perhaps others can help out with the lesser-known places.
“Do let us know about those who want to help so that we can get in touch with them.”