CHEF WITH A MISSION
By Cheryl Lim
Most, if not all, Malaysians love food. There is something about a well-prepared hot meal that draws people together to the table after a long day. There, they are free to share engaging life stories, encourage one another, laugh and build memories for many more days to come.
While food is meant to sustain and keep us healthy, for some people, it is a gift in more than one way. This is the case with James Tean, the man behind Life chilli sauce and some other popular food brands. For him, food is his life’s work.
Early food forays
It all began in a food factory where he once worked as a mechanic, simply observing the food being processed. One day many years ago, he was called in to taste a mixture of flavours the factory was developing.
“They told me my feedback was helpful,” he shared over dinner at a local Nyonya diner.
“From then on, I was made a food product taster for the factory,” he continued. It was the start of something new and exciting for soon after, James began experimenting with flavours and creating recipes. An early concoction was a garlic chilli sauce mix.
“It turned out well. People who tried it asked me to sell it,” he laughed.
And so he did, making the mix in his own kitchen, single-handedly bottling it. The early recipe experienced some setbacks when the first batches went bad. But James’s hardworking, resourceful nature would not allow him to give up. He turned to people he knew in other food factories, and they taught him what ingredients to put in to prolong the shelf life.
Today, the chilli sauce continues to be sold as Life chilli sauce.
When the sales of Life chilli sauce took off and steadied, James sold the brand to concentrate on other ventures, which include a health supplements company (Purigene), bak kut teh workshops (he hails from and lives in Klang) and now an instant porridge product which he plans to market and sell on a larger scale in the near future.
The label that he started in 1996, “Tean’s Gourmet” (carrying a host of curry paste and mix), had been performing well under his oversight. The turning point came in 2010 when he had to make a choice on whether to scale the business, which meant increasing his investment in it, or sell it off. When he was offered a good price for the business, he sold it.
He had never regretted selling his business as it meant that he got to start new ones. He did just that, creating a new label called “Uncle James”. This is presently the brand under which he produces and sells local pastes, such as black pepper and char siew sauce, and a white pepper condiment.
“My son now manages this business,” he shared.
Strong entrepreneurial spirit
James is fearless when it comes to testing boundaries and breaking new ground.
“As a businessman, you cannot afford to be afraid of failure,” he reckoned.
He has managed to build successful brands simply from understanding the value Malaysians place on their staple foods. He understands that beyond serving up a good and tasty dish is the value of being able to serve it up on a consistent basis.
This can only be achieved if he has successfully proven a tried and tested formula – a recipe – that works and can be easily replicated so long as the instructions are followed.
This equipping element of his work also sets him apart from the pack. By involving his own creations in the process, he is essentially choosing to share his trademark secrets at practically no cost to the public.
Although this does not make good business sense, it certainly makes God sense to him.
Most people would have retired at 72, but James still lights up at the thought of pursuing new food ideas.
He tells of the beginnings of his latest creation: scallop porridge. “I was experimenting with scallop one day, mixing it into rice, which resulted in this porridge. It tasted excellent, so much so that people kept telling me to sell it.”
As with the bak kut teh workshops, James hopes to also conduct porridge workshops as a way to equip people, especially those in need of extra income, with marketable cooking and business skills.
Character before success
Character development has formed a large portion of James’s success as an entrepreneur and food specialist.
“The key, no matter what your vocation, is to be hardworking, serious and passionate about what you do while maintaining a good attitude of humility to learn as much as possible,” he advised the younger generations of today.
James himself did not build his food businesses in a day. There were some character adjustments he needed to make in order to get onto the path of success.
“At one point in time, I did three jobs simultaneously. Once, while working as a seller in one of them, I overheard some people talking about me. Their words were not very flattering. They said: ‘What a pity! How can someone with such a bad temper ever succeed in business?’
“I changed completely after that,” he shared. “Now I pray for those whose actions threaten to anger me.”
Surmounting challenges has also been made possible by James’ stubborn desire to remain positive and honest in all he does.
One life-changing experience made him decide to serve God wholeheartedly.
“I had this health condition that required me to go through the same surgical procedure many times, and it still couldn’t be cured. I was at the end of my tether. Suddenly, out of the blue, I heard that my brother-in-law once had a friend who suffered from the same condition. He went to a particular doctor and was cured.”
This same doctor would later treat James, who recovered from the condition a month after the surgery.
“God saved my life,” James said of the harrowing experience, which caused him a lot of physical pain.
“I told Him I’d do anything for Him, anything at all.”
Recipe for joy
While James has always found a way to market his creations appealingly and achieve a certain measure of success, he has also used it as a way to minister to society’s less advantaged groups.
The strategy behind his bak kut teh workshops, while achieving a level of publicity for the brand, is also a way to assist single mothers to build steady livelihoods for their families. The bak kut teh workshops, which usually span two days, not only involves coaching on the art of dish preparation, but also the art of turning it into a business.
By equipping single mothers with both cooking and business skills, he is essentially helping them to hedge against economic volatility and inflationary hikes.
As a businessman, earning big bucks and leaving behind a large estate are not crucial. What matters are that his necessities are met, and that he can be of useful service to the Lord.
A big element of this is keeping himself fit and healthy. He takes pleasure in exercise, and one of these avenues is the Praise Dance ministry he leads. And he is very disciplined about his food portions. “Please stop eating even before you are full,” he advised. Little wonder that he has an enviable body of a man half his age.
The gifts and talents that God has entrusted us with are meant to be used for His glory. For many of us, the marketplace is the place where we get to use the precise tools and talents He has given us.
Since God has given James a special gift with food, he has been joyfully using it to create delicious recipes while actively seeking ways to help the disadvantaged.
Asian Beacon: Oct – Dec 2018 (Vol 50 #4, p14-15)
