Who’s your sweet hero?
With TV3’s reality cooking programme Hero Oven S2 is coming to an end, Tahir Alhamzah talks to its four finalists on their chances of being crowned champion
AFTER 12 episodes, TV3’s cooking reality show Hero Oven Season 2 comes to an end tomorrow, with its four finalists — Adam, Ikhwan, Alex and Amir — competing for the last time to emerge this season’s champion.
Tune in to the channel to watch the finalists prepare three different desserts — two-tier cake, macaron tower and petit fours — according to the theme selected.
This time around, the contestants will be required to whip out delicacies for a “fun and easy” casual afternoon tea party.
Besides the glory of being crowned champion, the winner will also take home a trophy, RM3,000 and electrical goods.
Groove talks to the finalists to find out if they are ready to take one another on for one last time tomorrow.
ADAM, 26
Adam who is from Kelantan, never thought he would come this far.
“At the semi-finals last week, it felt surreal when I heard my name announced as one of the finalists,” says Adam, whose full name is Muhammad Adam Mahamed Ismail.
This was partly because he only began cooking a few years ago when living on his own.
“I learnt how to cook through the phone. When I wanted to cook something, I’d ring up my mother and ask for recipes,” says Adam who started sharing the videos of him cooking on his social media account once he got hooked on cooking.
One thing led to another and he found himself enrolling in a short course at the famous cooking school Le Cordon Bleu London.
“After returning to Malaysia, while deciding on what to do next, suddenly there was an audition for this show. Although I didn’t have much hands-on experience in pastry, I decided to give it a go,” says Adam who had his own followers on Instagram before joining the programme.
“At the moment I have no plans yet, but I’d love to do TV commercials while still continuing to share cooking videos on social media.”
IKHWAN, 25,
Muhammad Ikhwan Mustafar was glad when his superior at The St Regis Kuala Lumpur allowed him to take part in the competition.
Although he is a trained chef, Ikhwan admits he doesn’t have much experience in pastry as he works at the western banquet at the hotel located in KL Sentral.
“The only experience I had with pastry was from my student days at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) so I took this opportunity to expand my portfolio,” says the lad from Selangor.
“At my workplace, whenever I’m free I’ll watch my colleagues from the pastry department doing their work. That and my UiTM days are all the experience I have in pastry. That’s why I’m not confident of beating the other three finalists tomorrow,” says Ikhwan who plans to open his own shop where he can combine western kitchen and pastry some day.
ALEX, 29,
For this cake decorator from Sabah, taking part in Hero Oven is right up his alley.
“I’ve been in the cake decorating industry for the past six years. So when a friend suggested that I enter the competition, I just tried my luck, without hoping to get in.
“Next thing I know, I was selected. I motivated myself by aiming to be in the final,” says Alex, whose full name is Chai Chee Hung.
Asked which of the three other finalists would be his fiercest competitor, Alex says: “The one who’d be giving me a run for my money is not in the finale. Tawfik had been the one for us to watch for previously. Unfortunately, he only made it to the semi-finals.”
Alex aims to be like his idol, American pastry chef Antonio Bachour, one day.
Alex, who recently moved to Kuala Lumpur to expand his skills and seek more opportunities, is looking forward to working with event organisers.
To date, the most expensive cake he has ever sold was a RM7,000 six-tier butter cake which he took about a month to make.
AMIR, 31
This contestant from Johor is a food consultant by profession.
“The food and beverage industry is in my blood. I grew up with a mother who sells roti canai,” shares Amir Hamzah Mohamed.
He joined the competition to challenge himself to be more confident.
“Besides being a consultant, I’ve also been a trainer. While I could talk and do my thing in front of a group of people, I lack the confidence to be in front of the camera. These days, being in front of the camera can increase your income by leaps and bounds,” he adds.
Amir believes he is the underdog in the show but to have come so far is an achievement he is proud of.
“The contestants and their impressive resumes are quite intimidating. For example, Tawfik studied culinary arts in France. He basically knows everything. But I guess luck will have a hand in determining how we end up in a competition like this,” he says.
Amir wants to pursue food styling as he feels there is still a void in that segment.
tahir.alhamzah@nst.com.my