DEAR FANS
I am MOHAMED IMTIAZ AZEEZ the senior editor and English document architect of COOKING WITH LLOYD a very popular cookery book. In fact I was the Executive Sous Chef working next to Executive Chef Lloyd Opatha at the Galadari Hotel where I served with dedication for 19 long years and we have been friends for many years. I first met Lloyd (celebrity Chef of Swarnavahini) in Doha Qatar working for the Qatar General Petroleum Corporation (QGPC) off shore operations, life at sea was really interesting and here I learnt the art of Middle Eastern food. I started my humble beginnings in 1970 at the Confifi beach Hotel then moved after five years to Hotel Sapphire in Colombo. After a short stint here I went in search of greener pastures and joined the Riyadh Intercontinental Hotel and having worked for five years joined the Lanka Oberoi Colombo after nearly three years went to Qatar (QGPC) and then returned to Sri Lanka and joined the Galadari Hotel fine dining kitchen. After my retirement from Galadari Hotel I worked as a senior cookery lecturer at the Win-stone school of culinary art and from here moved to the Queens cafe at Mt. Lavinia a new property which was really challenging and soon this place became popular. After two years I moved to Global Towers Hotel Colombo as the Executive Chef and soon teamed up with the staff and raised the standards to challenging and competitive heights. Today I am happy to work from home as a consultant Chef and then decided that I should pass on knowledge to others FREE OF CHARGE as money is not everything in life. My pages may, most of the time be simple dishes but the difference is I am introducing gas saving and quicker methods as time and money have become two very important components in today's context. I have had the rare opportunity of working under nearly 15 foreign Chefs. Concluding with best wishes and hope everyone enjoys the simple but cost effective tasty dishes, my recipes are time tested. Would love to receive comments of either nature to keep myself at peak. I have four sons who never wanted to follow my footsteps most probably due to long hours of work, sometimes I hardly get to seem them, due to my shifts. Three of them are graduates, Software Engineer, Accountant and two are marketers. The youngest is adamant to graduate whilst working and studying. I have four grand children. I am not boasting but simply sending out a message to all parents to encourage their children to reach the highest pinnacle of their lives while clinging on to their Religion or Philosophy. I did earn good money from COOKING WITH LLOYD and planned the second edition but somehow or other I decided it is worth reaching a Million audience free of charge rather than earn a Million Rupees. I have a passion for cooking and remain confident that each and everyone would experiment with my time tested recipes and enjoy every bite. I am thankful to my nephew AAKYL HANIFFA for the encouragement and support in setting up this page and to my son BILAL who did the fine tuning. Sorry for this lengthy write up done with a good intention THANKS