Toastmasters: Overindulgence is Good for a Change

by Jamilah Samian

Can you overindulge in gastrointestinal delights and devour every bit of tasty morsel in a multicourse meal and still remain as healthy as ever? Yes, you can.

How do you go on a food binge that lasts for three straight hours and not gain an ounce of fat? That's exactly what the second meeting for MIM Toastmasters 2009 was all about.

Fine dining began at 9.30 am sharp, with Toastmaster K. Geetha dishing up the Appetizer to tickle everyone’s taste buds with a simple invocation. Then came Chef d’ Meeting, Advanced Communicator Silver (ACS) Ahmad Fakhri Hamzah, aptly dressed as a chef from head to toe. Ahmad caught everyone off guard when he struck the top of the rostrum with a ladle. The standard gavel had been put on hold for a day. Ahmad talked about how Dr Ralph C. Smedley, Toastmasters International founder, concocted a recipe on how to be a good speaker at the basement of an apartment in Santa Ana, California in 1924.

Move aside, gavel. Here comes the ladle.

Next up was Restaurateur Lee Sai Keong, Acting President. Instead of delivering the usual Presidential Address, Sai Keong asked each member of the audience to respond to the question: "Do we EAT TO LIVE or LIVE TO EAT?"

The audience then feasted on a delectable round of table topics whipped up by Toastmaster Alia Nadhirah Ahmad Fakhri who, with an apron smartly tied to her waist, was Maitre d' Table Topic. True to the occasion, Alia came up with dainty ideas to go with the flow: "The best dish you ever made", "You're a waiter at a restaurant and the customer says, 'There's a fly in my soup!' How do you react?", and "The best meal I ever had."

The Entertainer of the Day, Daniel Teh, had the audience in stitches with his down-to-earth humour before the 20-minute coffee break, when those present helped themselves to aromatic nasi lemak plus a healthy dose of networking and fellowship.

For the main entree, three main courses were served:
- Chef de Cuisine Anne Yuen presented Menu No. 6 from the Advanced Communication & Leadership (AC&L) Manual.
- Chef de Cuisine S. Krishnan did Menu No. 8 from the Communication & Leadership (C&L) Manual.
- Chef de Cuisine Jamilah Samian did Menu No. 3 from AC&L. Jamilah was voted Best Project Speech Speaker of the Day with her speech entitled "Cost of a Miracle."

(L-R) Past President Mark Ho, TM Lee Chor Kee, ACS Ahmad Fakhri, Vice-President (Education) Lee Sai Keong, CC Jamilah Samian, CC Richard Hoy, ATMB Abu Bakar Bapoo

The Cuisine Critics, Word Nutritionist, BAHtender, Time Inspector and Chief Chef all had their say in the end. What a great way to end a sumptuous meal!

"This meeting was an experiment," Ahmad says. "I wanted to do something out of the ordinary. I thought: Why not create a unique atmosphere, say, once a quarter, to spice things up?"

The idea to set up a restaurant setting for a meeting had been percolating in his mind for months and took several days of research. "I looked up some of the terms frequently used in the culinary world and coined the rest. You can do it with a fair amount of creativity."

With his role as Chef d' Meeting (Toastmaster of the Day), Ahmad accomplished a Specialty Project and is one step closer to becoming an Advanced Communicator Gold.

"I began with the end in mind: Enrichment of vocabulary, being able to move beyond our comfort zone and dabbling with unfamiliar territory. I wanted the audience to use as many senses as possible in brewing words and phrases that evoke emotions, sights and smells peculiar to the culinary realm," he says. "It's in line with the theme of the day: CULINARY ARTS."

"It's also to tie in with Chinese New Year, when gastronomy is an important element in enhancing friendship and amity among family and friends," he says. "It's food for thought for other Toastmasters clubs. If you find the usual Toastmasters meeting becoming a tad too mundane, it's worthwhile to cook up something fresh and engaging."

Prior to the meeting, the audience was given a list of phrases and words they were encouraged to use like "spice up", "digest the message", and "garnish."

The guests found it stimulating, too. "It was a success because of the preparation," says Daniel Teh, who doubled up as Chief Chef (General Evaluator).

What's next?

"We'll see if we can come up with Law & Order, ER (Emergency Room), and The Art of War," says Ahmad.