Chef Norman Musa

Born 20 November 1974 in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia Career : Head Chef for Malaysian restaurant Ning in Manchester. 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 is a Manchester Chef of the Year finalist, Race Chef for the Lotus Racing Formula One™ team and a member of the Prestige Magazine Malaysia’s Top 40 Under 40 List 2010 In April, he launched the Malaysian edition of his book in Kuala Lumpur, to the delight of the TV networks and local press that covered the event and profiled him, and in May he joined Gordon Ramsay filming in Malaysia for his Great Escapes series to be screened in 2011. Between and following races he returned to Ning, leading cookery classes and appearing at food festivals, including Taste of London where he met Rick Stein and conducted cooking demonstrations that drew a large crowd. His book signing and media tour of Malaysia in September generated further interest. His other talents include traditional Malay dance, having previously performed for HM Queen Elizabeth II and other Commonwealth Heads of State; interior design and fashion (the restaurant staff uniforms and restaurant decor being his creations); and contemporary floral arrangements. He is planning to open a Ning restaurant in London in 2011, and is in active discussions with TV producers in Malaysia and the UK. Together with his business partner Andy Spracklen, Ning are setting up a joint venture company in Malaysia to handle media interest in him and to promote Malaysian food.