My date with POWER 98FM and Chef Francois

October 29, 2013

MasterChef is a U.S. competitive cooking reality show, open to amateur and home-chefs. It debuted on July 27, 2010. I didn’t catch any of the seasons until last year. I was attracted to one of the contestants in Season 3, and she is none other than Christine Ha. Her courage and perseverance impressed me very much, as she fought to the end even though she had some physical disabilities due to her loss of sight.

With her ‘never-say-no’ fighting spirit and against all odds, she was the eventual winner and won the title of MasterChef in Season 3.

There are three judges in the show and they are Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot. Among the three, I like Gordon Ramsay the most...

I got hooked on the MasterChef series and it also developed my interest in cooking. I did a comical picture via bitstrips of me as a chef... Hahaha!!

I was so thrilled to meet up the DJs (Hubert and Sonia) from The Power Breakfast Show of POWER 98FM and of course our main host of the evening, Chef Francois (Chef-Owner of French Restaurant, Absinthe) for the cooking workshop.

Upon entering the ToTT Cooking Studio, it made me feel as though it had a small resemblance of the MasterChef Kitchen. To be honest, I felt so happy, and I really need to thank POWER 98FM for granting this little wish of mine...

Chef Francois Mermilliod always enjoyed dining out with his family when he was a teenager. At the age of 15, he enrolled into a respectable culinary institution in France. And today, with over two decades of working experience in top kitchens in Europe, Australia and Singapore. Francois Mermilliod is the chef-owner of re-owned French restaurant, Absinthe which located at Boat Quay.

Chef Francois is friendly in person and he rendered his patience to us during the whole cooking event. He taught us how to cook classic French dishes...

~ First dish, Prawn Chorizo ~

I de-shelled the King Prawns, cut them into halves, and seasoned them with salt and black pepper. I then proceed to sauté the prawns quickly in a very hot pan with olive oil for 20 seconds, and added Sliced Garlic and Diced Shallots for 10 seconds. Deglaze the prawns with white wine and add in water.

Add the Spicy Chorizo and let it boil for 30 seconds, after that, remove the Prawns and Chorizo from the pan (to prevent from over-cooking).

On a medium heat, add in the Cold Butter and Furikake and whisk until the sauce thickens, then turn off the heat.

Lastly, put back the Prawn-Chorizo in the sauce and add in Sliced Chives and pine nuts. Mix well and garnish with salad and serve hot.

My partner of the night, Ryna...

Next was my entree, the Roasted Quail with Parma Ham and Mushroom Stuffing, Celeriac Mash

Sauté the Diced Mushroom for 2mins with some olive oil, add in Chopped Garlic and season with salt and pepper. Lastly, add Chopped Parsley and Butter and let it cool down.

Put some mushroom stuffing in the de-boned quail and roll it together with the Parma Ham and cling wrap like a sausage and simmer in water for 6-8mins.

After 6-8mins, remove the cling wrap and pan-fry the quail roll all around for a few minutes, and allow the roll to rest.

Deglaze the frying pan with the white wine, and add in veal stock and cream. Slice the Quail Roll and serve with Celeriac Mash.

I did the plating myself as I learnt from some episodes of MasterChef... Hahaha!!

Sonja from POWER 98FM and her Quail Roll

To conclude the cooking session, we made dessert, Chocolate Fondant...

Melt the chocolate with butter over bain-marie. Beat the eggs and sugar for 5mins till foamy with an electric mixer.

Add the chocolate mix and a little flour and mix well. Lastly pour the mixture into a well-buttered mould filled 75% and bake for 7-8mins at 220 degree.

Let it rest for 2mins for the fondant to set after the baking is done, and turn upside down on a plate to remove the mould. Serve with ice-cream.

Time for photos galore!!

Jess Baby with Hubert Tang from POWER 98FM (breakfast show)

Jess Baby with Sonja from POWER 98FM (breakfast show)

Finally a photo of me with Chef Francois Mermilliod...

I was thrilled when Chef Francois Mermilliod declared us (Ryna and I) as the overall winners for this cooking session event and we won vouchers from ToTT.