Local culinary aces thrilled to battle as Top Chef Canada participants
The psychological warfare between Vancouver chefs Felix Zhou and Mark Singson began long before they walked blindfolded onto the set of Top Chef Canada.
Singson, a culinary vagabond and pop-up chef owner of FAM Inc., let it slip to his friend that he had been selected for the Season 6 competition.
Zhou, executive chef of Heritage Asian Eatery, had also made the cut, but said nothing, instead teasing and congratulating Singson via text message.
“I was playing him and trolling him,” said Zhou, trading a few gentle punches with his victim. It worked to perfection.
“I didn’t see him at the airport or on my flight, so I was pretty sure he wasn’t on the show,” said Singson.
Singson’s heart was pounding with anticipation as he was led into the competition kitchen set and when the blindfolds came off and Zhou was laughing at him. Mind = Blown.
Score one for Zhou, without so much as boiling an egg.
Singson shook off the shock — “I always roll with the punches” — and gottowork.
Make no mistake, cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen, dealing with curveball challenges and intense time pressure is work.
“There were people on the show that I knew, but others that I didn’t and so you have to figure out what they can do and react to what (the producers) are throwing at you,” said Zhou.
He had practised recipes and techniques that he thought would come in handy.
“I like to plan things, strategize and know what’s coming,” he said. “I did a lot of thinking about what my final menu might be, what kinds of things can I make that are superquick.”
Of course, most of that went out the window in the heat of a battle in a kitchen with an unfamiliar layout.
“The early challenges show who can adapt better, who can find what they need in the fridge, the freezer, the pantry,” he said. “It’s a real learning curve.”
With a second restaurant opening and a second child on the way, Zhou has plenty of motivation to show well.
“I wanted to see if I could compete and show my skills,” said Zhou, who is trained in the French tradition, but grew up with Chinese cookery.
“In the end, those are the flavours you go back to and now I try to create dishes that bring back memories of my grandmother or a street stall.”
Singson has a similar fondness for the flavours of the Philippines, though his professional experience is mainly in high-end western cuisine, including Vancouver’s Anna Lena.
“There were a lot of techniques I wanted to pull off and be that guy, but you have to think about flavour first,” he said. “You tend to use what you are familiar with and make sure it tastes good.”
His background in catering gave Singson the tools to cope with new situations.
“Those curveballs fit me like a glove,” he said. “You have to start running and process your dish as you go and then finish it, and then you always go ‘I wish I had done that one thing better.’ ”
Singson sees Top Chef Canada as a fresh start after financial and romantic setbacks.
“I’ve made some mistakes and that makes me who I am right now, but I need a reset and I want to make my mom proud and put down a foundation for something,” he said.
They are sworn to secrecy by the show’s producers, but insist that “something really amazing happens,” which may or may not involve kimchee and gochujang.
It’s possible that someone learned a hard lesson about incendiary Korean condiments, but you sure won’t hear about it from these two. Well, maybe a little.
“Someone learned a lesson ... can we say that? ... maybe not ... no it’s OK,” they babbled.
True or not, if you put enough chefs in the same kitchen fireworks usually follow.
“You just have to watch the show,” they insist.
Both chefs are well aware of what a win — or even a strong showing — can mean on the national stage.
Season 1 winner Dale MacKay is building a restaurant empire and season 2 runner-up Trevor Bird is expanding his brand in Vancouver.
“I put Dale on my application as someone I relate to, working in good kitchens in London and then came back and now he is so successful,” said Zhou.
The gently menacing head judge, Mark McEwan, is also a role model for chefs who want to build heir skills and their business the right way, they said.
“You have to take everything you learn along the way and decide what kind of story you are going to write, what you want to achieve personally,” said Zhou. “I made all those fancy plates along the way, but now I take all that and make comfort food.”
Season 6 of Top Chef Canada will take 11 chefs from coast to coast for a series of quick-fire challenges and high-stakes elimination challenges starting Sunday evening, April 8, on Food Network Canada.
McEwan will be joined on the judging panel by Vancouver food influencer Mijune Pak, former Vancouver Sun and Globe and Mail writer Chris Nuttall-Smith, and restaurateur Janet Zuccarini.
The early challenges show who can adapt better, who can find what they need in the fridge, the freezer, the pantry. It’s a real learning curve.