The tireless pursuit to critical acclaim and for the world to understand his genius, Fatheen is never truly content with any wins. It’s always, on to the next. Perhaps the proudest moment of his career to day arrived in the year of 2017, where he was, quite deservingly, chosen as the Master of Seasoning in Dubai at an internationally renowned event organised by Knorr. This win was exceptional in its nature because of the rigorous competition in place as Fatheen was pit against the leading chefs from eight Asian and Middle Eastern countries. No Maldivian is yet to achieve a feat similar to this on a scale of this much and that says a lot about the perseverance that Fatheen is known for. Apart from this even, he has far more silverware to make a claim as one of the, if not the most, influential chef in the Maldives like a silver medal in the Great Chefs Competition in China, a bronze medal at the same event for 3rd place overall and several other golds, silvers and bronzes to adorn his trophy cabinet in the Hotel Asia Exhibition & Culinary Challenges over the years.
Apart from being exceptionally hardworking and an affinity for experimentation, Fatheen is extremely capable in managing overwhelming kitchen responsibilities while also having a keen eye for business. Today, after years of dreaming, scheming and sleepless nights of plotting the right course, he stands at the helm of his own restaurant, ‘Oishii’; a Japanese restaurant situated in HulhuMale, the sister city of the capital city, Male’. This is a crowning achievement for an individual who started out with big dreams in a small country, and it goes to show how impactful a shadow can be cast by just about anyone if they’ve got a fierce determination, a will to never quit, and in this case, a pair of sharp knives with an eye for just the right taste to go with it.