Shafeeq Ismail: A Life Fueled by Food and Passion
Shafeeq has spent his life pursuing his passion for food, despite his parents’ hopes for a more academic career.
Growing up in South India, he was fascinated by street food vendors while waiting for the school bus. Each day brought a different vendor, and he was captivated by their craft—especially when he managed to sample their cooking.
His father, a retired Army officer, instilled in him discipline, while his mother, a retired nurse, taught him the art of selecting quality ingredients. Grocery shopping with her was a lesson in precision—learning how to pick the best vegetables, fish, meat, and even coconuts, whose quality must be judged without seeing inside.
In Indian culture, obeying parents is expected, and becoming a chef was not the ideal path for him. Though not particularly academic, Shafeeq had a knack for numbers and briefly pursued an accounting degree. However, he soon realized his true calling lay in food. Convincing his parents was a challenge, but his father eventually advised, “If you want something, go for it. Don’t go halfway, or you will die.”
Discipline, timing, and preparation—values shaped by his father’s military background—became the foundation of his culinary journey.
Outside the kitchen, Shafeeq has a love for cricket and table tennis. He credits table tennis with sharpening his hand-eye coordination, a skill crucial in the fast-paced world of cooking. Shafeeq spent seven years honing his craft in luxury hotel kitchens, working on an incredible scale. He recalls one event where 60 chefs served over 20,000 guests in a single sitting. Seeking broader experiences, he then spent five years cooking in the Middle East, nine months in Spain, and six months in London.
He and his wife moved to Christchurch after the earthquakes when she received a scholarship to study here and “I just had to follow her,” he says. But he also saw potential in the city saying “When something falls, it eventually comes back stronger, and Christchurch is proof of that.”
Through research, he noticed that 95% of Christchurch’s food offerings were similar, with little experimentation. However, he believes it is important for a chef to understand the palette of the city first because you can’t just go and change it. That takes time, research and carefully introducing people to new food experiences.
Before opening his first restaurant on New Regent Street, Shafeeq built a strong customer base working as a chef at Town Tonic on Lincoln Road. When he launched Story, he changed the menu daily for two years, attracting a loyal local following. Now he likes his chefs to challenge and work to create an experience his guests cannot easily reproduce at home. He then opened Odeon with a menu that was inspired by the Mediterranean dining culture and has successfully operated this for two years.
We asked him about the future of his career and the food industry. He acknowledged the influence of social media and emphasised the need to elevate the food experience, making the presentation as important as taste, driven by a new generation of diners who share all their dining experiences via social media.
He now spends his time mentoring his chefs, passing on knowledge by helping them understand seasonal ingredients and to deliver a big-city dining experience in a still-growing city. He believes food is medicine and the importance of growing, processing, and properly preserving food is an important skill that will have significant value in the future and to always be thankful and respectful for what we receive.
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