Junior Ang

Baba Junior Ang grew up in Penang, a young Baba immersed in a Peranakan milieu: the flavours of his family’s cooking were integral to his life and sparked his early love of heritage Peranakan cuisine.  Unlike other childhood hobbies, Junior’s food fascinations did not fade - they intensified. After enrolling in culinary college at the age of 18, he devoured cookbooks and invested in kitchen tools and equipment, and went on to earn a Diploma in Food Safety and a Degree in Culinary & Kitchen Management Skills from the Culinary Institute of America. Junior found in the kitchen a place where he belonged, where he enjoyed the working environment and the practice of creating tangible, edible art.  

Junior furthered his career with stints in professional kitchens in countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and the Maldives. While working in Australia, he honed his knife skills and refined his appreciation of meat cookery under Master-Butchers learning the Art of Butchery. In Japan, he apprenticed under an Izakaya Master Chef who schooled Junior in techniques of how to bring out every ingredient’s natural flavour and character, and taught him how to construct complex omakase menus. 

Thanks to travelling and working around the globe for over 10 years, Junior’s experience and skill set are broad and deep. Respectful of tradition but embracing of modern ideas, grounded in classical technique but responsive to new ingredients and possibilities, his personal gastronomy draws inspiration from artisans of every stripe – butchers, fishermen, authors, street food vendors, and culinary visionaries. Junior’s passion drives him to pay homage to the legacy of traditional cooking while also leaping over boundaries to present familiar taste combinations in avant-garde and unexpected ways.

Learn more about Baba Junior at www.babajrang.com