For some young Sarawakians, making their mark beyond the state does not mean leaving home behind.
For chef Gerald Santhok David, 26, it comes through the familiar flavours of bunga kantan, terung asam and asam pedas, transformed into dishes that can hold their own on a wider culinary stage.
For 12-year-old singer Taylor Louise, it is the Malaysian flag beside her name when she steps onto stages thousands of kilometres away from Kuching.
Their fields are different and their journeys began differently. Yet both share something deeply rooted in common. A desire to take what they have learned from Sarawak and share it with the world.
For Gerald, that journey began at 19, when he began his career as a dishwasher in a professional kitchen.
Rather than starting out at culinary school, he learnt through experience, picking up skills from senior chefs while doing his own research to deepen his knowledge.
Years later, entering the Global Culinary Challenge Malaysia (GCCM) became a way for him to test those lessons, not just against other competitors from many parts of the world, but against his own expectations of how far he had come.
He emerged with a gold medal in the Hot Cooking Seafood Open Category and first runner-up in the Global Individual Practical Hot Cooking Seafood Main Course.
The result, however, was preceded by plenty of time spent away from the spotlight.
Gerald had to juggle his regular work with competition preparations, often staying back in the kitchen after his shifts to practise. Along the way, he had the guidance of Chef Roazane Isabell, Chef Wincent and Chef Vera Chin of Bee Gastronomy Sdn Bhd.
“It’s kind of tiring for me, but just like what people say, practice makes perfect.”
When the competition finally arrived, Gerald was not only bringing the skills he had built over seven years. He was bringing flavours that had been part of his life long before he became a chef.
As an Iban, he incorporated ingredients such as bunga kantan and terung asam into his dishes, alongside an asam pedas-inspired sauce.
“These are the ones that we always use at home.”
For him, using those ingredients was also a way of showing others that Sarawak has flavours and produce that may be unfamiliar outside the state, but can be given new life through creativity without losing what makes them distinctive.
It is an approach reflected in his culinary philosophy, “Where Local Meets Fusion”.
To simply put, the idea is taking something rooted in tradition and giving it a new expression.
“For me, every plate is not just food. It is a small piece of where I come from, and a reflection of how far I’ve come.”
Taylor’s journey began with something more fundamental — finding a way to express herself.
She had a speech delay as a child, and singing became one of the ways she learnt to communicate and find confidence.
What began as a natural love for music gradually grew into a passion. She took vocal lessons, performed at small events and eventually found herself busking on the streets of Kuching.
For a young performer, those street performances offered an unusual kind of classroom.
There was no formal stage or familiar audience.
Just strangers passing by, giving her the chance to learn how to connect with people through her voice and that early confidence eventually carried her much further from home.
In 2024, Taylor represented Malaysia at the World Championships of Performing Arts in Los Angeles, where she won a gold medal and became a Division Champion.
She has since performed and competed overseas, including in Europe, and has sung at the Royal College of Music in London and Carnegie Hall in New York.
Her next opportunity will take her to London this September for an in-person producer audition for Britain’s Got Talent.
Yet for Taylor, the further she travels, the more conscious she becomes of where her journey began.
Growing up in Sarawak, she said, has taught her to appreciate its different cultures, languages and traditions. More importantly, the encouragement she received from her family, teachers and the wider Sarawak community gave her the confidence to pursue opportunities far from home.
Whenever she performs overseas, she makes a point of saying where she comes from.
“Whenever I perform or compete overseas, seeing the Malaysian flag beside my name always makes me proud,” she said in an exclusive interview with Sarawak Tribune.
“It reminds me that I’m not just carrying my own name with me. I’m also carrying a little piece of home wherever I go.”
For both young Sarawakians, what lies ahead is not simply about going further.
Gerald hopes to continue exploring local ingredients, flavours and culinary heritage, with the ambition of introducing Sarawakian and Malaysian cuisine to wider audiences.
Taylor hopes her own journey can encourage other young people to dream beyond what they think is possible, while remembering that their beginnings do not have to define the limits of their future.
“I hope that young Malaysians will have the courage to dream, even when those dreams feel very big or very far away.”
Their stories are different, but their message is shared.
One carries Sarawak through the flavours on a plate; the other carries it through music and performance.
And as Malaysia celebrates Merdeka, both show that making the country proud does not require young Sarawakians to leave their identity behind.
Sometimes, it means simply taking a little piece of home with them wherever they go.
