Wok Stars Episode 9

Face-Off!
Screengrabs from XinMSN

Its the grand finals! But its a 2-part special so thankfully we still get to savour Wok-Stars goodness for one more week!  It’s down to Kenneth against KS, and they will cook their signature dish for 30 guests.  Up for grabs is the grand prize of S$30,000, and the opportunity to run their own hawker stall in a Koufu foodcourt without rent for a year.

Each of the resident judges was paired up with one of the finalists; Chef Willin mentored KS while Chef Alvin was with Kenneth.  KS shared his dream of turning his passion for cooking into a career, and I guess this is really everyone’s dream, to be able to do what you love for a living :)  for me, thinking about it further, I enjoy cooking but I do not think I will enjoy cooking the same dish everyday because it will become too routine.  I think this is also why Master Chef US Season 4 winner Luca Manfe hosts “Dinner with Luca” sessions instead of working in a mainstream restaurant kitchen?

Anyway, back to Wok Stars - Kenneth discussed with Chef Alvin on how to enhance the flavour of his bak ku teh risotto dish.  Building on Kenneth’s idea of using beef instead of pork ribs, Chef Alvin suggested using chocolate to go with the dish, as well as stuffing tau kua with cheese in place of you tiao.  This turned up the “fusion” factor in Kenneth’s dish and in my opinion made it a lot more unique than KS’s, in terms of concept.

Kenneth’s motivation was to find a short-cut to owning his own F&B business.  While he enjoyed cooking, he felt that cooking for $2,000 a month as an employee was too little, and hence wanted to use the $30,000 prize money to start his own business.  Sad to say, money is necessary for many things, be it eating, accommodation, paying bills, and so while it doesn’t sounds very idealistic, it is a realistic statement.  I am sure that there are those who are happy to just to be able to cook and not worry about the cash, and these are the people I respect most.  They also say that money follows the passion, but it really takes a big leap of faith to be able to do so.

And they say for those with the balls to take the leap, they land in a giant wad of cash
Screengrab from Hubspot

Wok Stars Episode 8

Battle of the Top 4
Screengrab from XinMSN

Its down to the top 4 competing to be the next Wok Star, and they are one step away from the Grand Finale.  Episode 8 kicked off at Emily Hill, where contestants had to show off their creativity once again by coming up with an egg dish within one hour.

Wok Stars Episode 7

The Wok Stars series is clearly getting more exciting, as the cooks demonstrate their improving cooking abilities as well as their creativity.

**Warning: Spoiler Alert**

Episode 7 of Wok Stars began at the JEM Koufu foodcourt, where the challenge was to be a hawker's apprentice for a day and handle lunch service.  To me this was very thought-out, as the cooks got to practice being the real deal and at the same time get experience from established chefs in the business.  Viewers also got the benefit of catching a glimpse into the work that goes into preparing food in the different stalls.  It was really interesting to learn that there were three pots to cook fishballs which cooks have to juggle during service, and to watch the techniques involved in braising chicken :) :)

Two Choppers to mince meat - Karen Mok Style (below)

Screengrab from XinMSN and Youtube