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07 May 2017

A Malaysian data analyst A wins episode 12 of Gordon Ramsay’s new competitive culinary show in Britain - Culinary Genius

Malaysian wins Culinary Genius accolade with grandma’s recipe


Full of concentration: Yong in action during Episode 12 of the Culinary Genius programme over ITV network.
Full of concentration: Yong in action during Episode 12 of the Culinary Genius programme over ITV network.
 
PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian data analyst cooked up more than just data when she whipped up a dish to win in an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s new competitive culinary show in Britain.
Michelle Yong, 27, won Episode 12 of Culinary Genius, a Studio Ramsay production currently airing over ITV network.
Yong, who has been based in London for seven years, cooked Sweet Sour King Prawns, a recipe inspired by her late grandmother.
“I had so much fun that day and to receive this accolade of Culinary Genius is such an amazing feeling,” the Kajang-born woman told The Star Online.
She had auditioned for the programme, which was looking for outstanding amateur cooks passionate about cooking. The competition only allows cooks who have never worked professionally in the food industry before.
Yong, who has been working as a data analyst in the video game industry for the past five years, was chosen after demonstrating her knowledge in various types of cuisines and love for cooking.
Each hour-long episode of Culinary Genius sees nine amateur cooks head into a wrestling ring-style studio to do culinary battle. There are 20 episodes altogether.
A different professional chef will preside over the kitchen each week, demonstrating two of the tasks for the competitors as well as the TV audience.
Yong said she was honoured to have her cooking acknowledged by Phil Vickery, a Michelin-starred celebrity chef in Britain, adding that it was tough going up against other talented people in a stressful environment.
Contestants had no idea what ingredients they would get for prep or cooking so everything was spontaneous, she said.
“The finalists only had two minutes to discover what’s available and choose their ingredients. We weren’t allowed to go back to the pantry after this time was up,” said Yong, who was also part of The Star’s BRATs Young Journalist Programme in 2008.
Yong, the eldest of three siblings, said although she had something else on her mind, the ingredients were not available.
So, she had to improvise and used the ingredients to create a dish similar to the chilli crabs her grandmum had made when she was a kid.
“I used to gorge on this until I couldn’t move. So, I was confident that I could get the chef to fall in love with this dish as I had.
“To complete cooking and plating within 25 minutes was challenging though,” she said, adding however that no one could compete with her late grandmother.
While Yong is unsure what lies ahead in her culinary journey, she said there was always more to learn.
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Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/05/07/malaysian-wins-culinary-genius-accolade-with-grandmas-recipe/#pAIKCGa5hiXrmldg.99

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