PETALING JAYA, Aug 18 — Sustaining passion can sometimes be an uphill battle, but for home cook Leah Choy, 13, the answer is simple.

"I live to eat, and the more I want to eat, the more I want to cook,” she told Malay Mail.

"I love food because it always changes; every time you do something different to a dish, it usually gets better.

"There’s also a lot of experimenting (involved), so I also like the ‘science’ aspect of it.”

Choy, affectionately known as "Chef Leah”, is no ordinary home cook.

At just four-years-old, the young chef began baking and selling cupcakes to raise funds for her sister Adele’s medical treatment.

At just two months, Adele was diagnosed with microcephaly and quadriplegia cerebral palsy; both life-long conditions characterised by seizures as well as problems with movement.

Since then, Melaka-born Choy has racked up a string of achievements that even adults may be envious of.

She won the Tuanku Bainun Young Changemakers Awards 2015, released her first book Chef Leah with a Big Heart in 2018, and continues to host cooking workshops for both adults and children.

While she made her name as a baker, Choy has since been expanding her culinary horizons.

"It’s a switch that gives you a bit more freedom,” she said.

"With baking, you always have to be very precise with the measurements, you can’t just add ‘a pinch more’ (of an ingredient) because you’ll change the whole dish.

"But with cooking, if I’ve ‘experimented’ too much, I can still make adjustments along the way.”

Healthy cooking for children

Choy was in town yesterday to perform a live cooking demonstration as part of KidZania Lumpur’s "KidZ & Health” initiative.

Explaining her process of developing her simple and healthy burrito recipe (featuring diced chicken with a tomato-based salsa with orange and coriander), Choy said that it was important for children to learn about nutrition at a young age.

"Then it’s easier to stay healthy as they grow up,” she said, adding that she herself was a "rabbit” when she was younger.

"I was that type of kid who could just eat a head of boiled broccoli like a drumstick!”

She also dished out her teen perspective for parents trying to get their children to eat healthier.

"If they like stir fry, you can try cutting up the vegetables into very small pieces, or puree vegetables into soups.

"I think you have to get them curious about food, and show them that if they don’t try something new, they won’t know how it tastes,” she said.

Running till August 28, the KidZ & Health initiative aims to raise awareness on health among children by framing topics such as nutrition and fitness in an accessible and hands-on manner.

KidZania Kuala Lumpur operates like a mini-metropolis made for children, where they can roleplay as adults in various professions, and has its own city-state "amenities” such as hospital, police station, and supermarket.

"It’s not often that kids would be able to see for themselves what a health check-up entails or how it works for instance,” said Mara Whittaker, the designated Mayor of KidZania Kuala Lumpur.

"Our whole concept is to allow children to learn and nurture their minds independently, through exploration in a safe and fun environment.”

"I think many parents appreciate how much extra curricular knowledge can aid learning, and help children develop a broader understanding of life.”

In a way, this reflects Choy’s own development as a chef ― an aspiration she plans to develop into a full-blown career.

The culinary future

Being a home-schooler, Choy hopes to complete her International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) in the next two years before heading off to culinary school.

In the meantime, she’s working on two more books; a cookbook inspired by her grandmother’s Nyonya heritage, and a more personal one about her life so far.

Choy also hinted at another non-culinary pursuit that she feels strongly about ― being an advocate against sexual harassment and body shaming.

"I want more children to understand these issues; so if they ever get attacked (in this manner), they’ll be able to identify why it’s wrong.

"I want more kids to be able to say that these things are not okay,” she said.

She added that being positive and open to new opportunities are the traits that have helped stay focused on her long-term goals.

"It’s like, I always focus on the good things people say about my food,” she said.

"I do learn from the bad comments too, but if you only focus on the negative things, only you will become negative yourself.”