5 questions with Jackie M

How long have you been at Marrickville Markets

I've been there since day 1....how long ago was that!!!

We know you have your ever faithful weeklies, but what has been one of the biggest orders or most unusual questions you have had about your food

Both Marrickville Markets & Orange Grove Markets attract a lot of shoppers with special dietary requirements and sometimes it's not as clear cut as vegetarian vs non vegetarian.

For example, I once had someone ask for a Char Kway Teow (stir-fried rice noodles) that was vegetarian, but then specified if I used seafood that was alright as long as the seafood didn't have legs.  I assumed prawns would be out of the question, but apparently they were ok.  

I still can't figure out what he meant by "legs" on seafood.

There are so many different shades of each category dietary needs that instead of trying to be all things to all me, I've adapted by introducing a range of Curry Pastes so my customers can decide if they want us to use free range/organic, vegetables, fish , white or dark meat etc.  That way thy can also "legitimately" claim to have prepared dinners themselves, albeit with some assistance from my products!

I have also recently started to teach people how to cook via my Cooking Workshop Masterclasses, videos, blogs and my soon-to-be-launched free mobile app.  That way they can take the skills and apply it to their own dietary needs.

What did you do before becoming the Queen of Malaysian Cooking and why the change?

I was an IT consultant for around 8 years, doing contract work mainly within the financial sector and merchant banking industry.

I was based in London in the late 90's and coming back to Australia in 2001 (post Y2K "scare" was over).  Contract work became scarce and I didn't want to go fulltime, so I figured it was the right time to get into something I really love: Malaysian food which I'd missed since leaving my home country back in 1984.

My parents got their start in Malaysia selling street-food so in some ways I see it as taking up their mantle, though I am sure they would have much preferred if I had stayed within a "safe" career.

You run an incredibly successful restaurant, conduct master classes and more, yet you remain part of market life

I sold my restaurant several weeks ago!  I'm now based in a commercial studio in Darlinghurst where customers drop in to pick up our frozen curries, Grab-N-Go meals, curry pastes and also other Malaysian spices mixes and Carotino red palm fruit oil.

I've started a CBD delivery service of our on-line orders now that I am right in the heart of the city and I also run internet broadcasts and mini Malaysian cooking workshops from my studio.  It's all very new (we only launched a few weeks ago!) but I'm very excited about this venture.

I hope to remain a part of Market life for as long as my business is around.  It's where I got my start and it's a great medium for me to be able to experiment with new dishes and offerings with relatively low overheads.

Plus being able to interact directly with my customers means I get to know first-hand what they are after.

How does Noah cope with fame & fortune, given he is (without a doubt) the number one operator of Jackie M

The first week I brought him to market he was stressed from the heat, noise & smoke having just been discharged from Westmead Hospital after spending 7 months of his life there.  

Since then he's grown to love it.  I can tell because he can't stop grinning all the way in the van en route and absolutely thrives on the social interaction with other market stall holders and with our customers.

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And that's is just a smidge of the world known as Jackie M Malaysian Cuisine!  Her food is from the heart which is why it is SO good and from all accounts as do you.