You can learn to be a chef from the Internet, says Hong Kong's Nicholas Tse
Hong Kong singer and actor Nicholas Tse, who recently took on Canadian celebrity chef David Rocco in a new FOXLife Original series, feels that it’s possible to be a self-taught chef.
“I think that as with everything else, you can teach yourself how to cook if you’re willing, especially with information so readily available on the Internet,” the 37-year-old told Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore in an email interview.
“They (aspiring chefs) must be willing to learn, not give up easily and have a natural curiosity for new things,” the actor-turned-chef added.
He and Rocco travelled to five locations across Macau, China, the Philippines and Malaysia for Celebrity Chef: East vs West.
The duo were judged on their ability to recreate dishes from local celebrity chefs, such as Chef Bobby Chinn and Chef Wan.
Recounting the experience, Tse said he found the different cuisines equally tough to prepare, adding that “the blindfolded tasting makes things so much harder”.
“When you taste a dish with your eyes closed, a lot of weird ingredients pop into your head, and it’s not easy to recall most, not to mention all, of the food ingredients you put into your mouth,” Tse said.
He added that as the show went on, he just used his taste buds to guess the main ingredient. “For the rest, I guessed them with my hands, such as grains like rice, quinoa, and couscous, which are really similar to semolina flour.”
Tse felt that it was a close fight between himself and the 47-year-old Rocco, though the first episode shot in Macau gave him a slight advantage.
“I spoke the language and probably knew a little more about Macanese cuisine than David did,” he said about the challenge in the Chinese territory.
Tse, who entered the entertainment scene in shows such as Young and Dangerous: The Prequel, Gen-X Cops and A Man Called Hero, also has his own cooking show in China, Chef Nic.
“Celebrity Chef: East vs West” currently airs on Sundays, 9pm on FOX Life (Singtel TV Ch. 301 | StarHub TV Ch. 501). It will also stream at 9.30pm on FOX+ as well and will air on Nat Geo People (Singtel TV Ch. 255 | StarHub TV Ch. 412) from 16 May onwards, every Wednesday at 9.30pm.
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