In the flesh, the 24-year-old chef looks younger than his age, almost boyish. However, his life is more colorful than that of most people his age.

When working as a dishwasher at a small restaurant in Australia, he never thought he would become what he is today, let alone the co-author of a successful cookbook. Bachelor's Banquet, Seductive Recipes for Intimate Dining is Indonesian Maxi and Singaporean Nicholas Lim's first cookbook, and it hit the bestseller section at the Kinokuniya bookstore in Singapore. The book is also available at major bookstores in Jakarta.

Their story and cookbook have been featured in various Singaporean media, including The Straits Times, Appetite Asia, Time Out Singapore, Skin Magazine, Men's Folio and www.razor.tv.

Maxi's clients are food enthusiasts, both Indonesians and expatriates.

"I'm a very lucky person and God has been kind to me," he says humbly.

Max, as he is fondly known, grew up in Indonesia, Singapore and then Australia, where he began in the professional kitchen as a dishwasher and food-runner at the age of 15.

"I needed extra money to have fun with my friends, so I worked as a dishwasher. Later, besides washing dishes, I also cooked for the restaurant's guests," he says.

After all, cooking was part of his daily routine at his home in Australia, where he lives with family. His mother, the home cook, was not passionate about cooking.

"Sometimes our food was too salty or too sweet for my liking, so I decided to cook for the whole family instead. Fortunately, they liked my dishes," Max smiles.

After graduating from Curtin University with a business degree, he decided against graduate school and opted for a career in professional cooking.

"Career-wise, my parents were very supportive of my decision. I chose New York City because it's like the capital of Michelin restaurants and every top chef wants to be there," Max says.

In the Big Apple, he attended the French Culinary Institute in 2007 and started work at the Mandarin Oriental's Restaurant Asiate. Under chef Nori Sugie, he learned modern Japanese cuisine with a twist of classical French techniques. Then he worked at celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's Maze, dabbling in eclectic American cuisine under chef Andy Cook.

Later, Max became chef de partie at Ramsay's prestigious eponymous restaurant located at the London Hotel in New York - a two-star Michelin restaurant and one that any chef worth his salt knew would boost his curriculum vitae.

His favorite chef remains Marco Pierre White, the English chef-cum-restaurateur.

"He earned his first Michelin star at the age of 26, and that was impressive," Max says, adding that by 33, White had been awarded Michelin's highest ranking, three stars, but then decided to give them up.

Indeed, having the prestigious Michelin stars brings a lot of stress, as it is better never to have any stars than to have one taken away from you. The whole team must perform at the highest level they can at all times - food will be trashed if they are not perfect according to the haute-cuisine standards that Michelin enforces.

In 2009, after working for two years at the two-star restaurant, Max was sick of fine dining.

"I felt burned out. I was working 12 hours every day and it got monotonous because I had to the same routine day after day," he says.

"At the end of the day, I felt tired of having to keep the Michelin star, which can be taken away anytime from the restaurant if something goes wrong. Nothing should be criticized, perfection is always necessary and expected, and every little detail counts."

The pressure was unbearable and he wanted to do something different, away from the glamour of star-rated restaurants. Hence he decided not to renew his work visa and bid farewell to chef Josh Emmett, who wrote him a glowing recommendation.

With US$5,000 in his pocket, Max went to Japan and fulfilled his curiosity for street food.

"I completed various stages at izakaya and ramen houses in Tokyo and Osaka," he says.

But without a work visa, Max could not receive a salary; that was no damper, though, as he could observe the chefs at work while he washed the dishes.

When he ran out of money, he returned to Jakarta.

"I've always wanted to visit Europe, so naturally I wanted to work in a ship cruising around Europe," Max says.

By a twist of fate, one of his acquaintances called and asked him to cook for her family at their home because her mother wanted to taste food cooked * la Gordon Ramsay.

"She said I could charge her as much as I wanted," he smiles.

Afterward, when Max shopped for kitchen utensils at Pantry Magic, he met Rianto, the store's owner. Having heard of Max and his working experience, Rianto proposed that he gave cooking classes at the store. Pleasantly surprised, Max happily took up the chance to share his culinary skills.

From that moment, his fate was sealed. As his networking and list of clients grew, he decided to stay in Jakarta - after all, his family also live in Jakarta.

His dream is to open a restaurant and make fine dining more accessible by charging prices that are more reasonable than at other restaurants of the same level.

"In the next five years, my real aim is to give everyone a fine-dining experience," he says.

"For instance, everyone should know the taste of a truffle; they should be able to eat that expensive mushroom at least once in their lifetime."

His recipe for success?

"Focus, be passionate about your work and be humble; don't get a big head, as everything we have in life can be taken away from us," he says.

"And always cook with love, like you'd cook for your mother. I love my mother very much," he adds.

Max says he owes people to help spread words of his business through word of mouth.

Well-heeled families - including celebrity couple Indra Bakrie and his wife Debby, as well as Irwan Danny Mussry, the prominent figure in Indonesia's high-end timepiece business - make up some of Max's clientele.

His charm also helps him get along well with his clients. He always entertains the guests with his cooking skills and sense of humor.

"At Gordon Ramsay's restaurant, I learnt the importance of entertaining the guests and making sure they had a good time at our place," he says.

Still, soto Betawi, Chinese Hokkian lo mie and Padang food are his favorites because of their taste and role as comfort food, reminding him of his childhood and happy times that he shared with his family, including his late beloved grandfather.

"My favorite foods are the ones I used to eat as a kid."

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