A boy called Little Chilli — how flavour and migration led to unexpected love

Tony Tan’s parents pinned their hopes on him when they sent him from home in Malaysia to Melbourne to become a white collar professional in the 1970s. There he found “funny smelling cigarettes”, a lovely man called Terry and a destiny he couldn’t escape.

Tony was exposed to deep, rich flavour and the precision of cooking from a young age.

His mother was a chef in Malaysian colonial kitchens and Tony would often accompany her to work, where he would sometimes receive a single golden, dripping roasted potato, or pinch the meat from a leftover kitchen carcass.

He was a precocious child — known as Little Chilli — always wanting to know how certain cooking techniques worked. 

His parents didn’t want him to follow them into the world of food, so they sent him to study at university in Melbourne, with hopes that he would ascend to the world of white collar work on behalf of the family.

He had his first introduction to Lygon Street in the 1970s, and university couldn’t keep him away from the world of food.

Further information

Tony Tan's most recent cook book, Tony Tan's Asian Cooking Class is published by Murdoch Books.

This episode was produced by Alice Moldovan. Conversations' Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

This episode covers food tours, Kuantan, SBS, Shakahari, Stephanie Alexander, char siu, Tatler's, cooking school, Asian cooking class, roast chicken with soy sauce, recipes, sexual awakening, gay marriage, Trentham, regional Victoria.

To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.