The search for Mediacorp’s ultimate King of Culinary starts today!
Mediacorp returns King of Culinary in a bigger and more exciting, multilingual format!
Singapore, 15 February 2022 – Home chefs, get your secret recipes ready as Mediacorp’s King of Culinary returns - this time, in a bigger and more exciting, expanded multilingual format! From now till end of March, cooking aficionados who are looking to showcase their culinary expertise can sign up for intense cookoffs against Singapore’s well-known chefs in the journey to being crowned the ultimate "King of Culinary Kings” and win up to $20,000 in cash!
Following the success of the Mandarin version of King of Culinary Seasons 1 and 2, this popular cooking competition returns across multiple channels and platforms, to offer amateur chefs the opportunity to showcase their imagination and culinary expertise.
Over a period of 10 weeks in Phase 1, contestants will participate in three separate cooking competitions – Raja Kaiya Vecha (ராஜா கைய வச்சா), Raja Kulinari and 三把刀, conducted respectively in Tamil, Malay and Mandarin. Within each contest, participants will go through the same competition format of facing off three professional mentor chefs and their respective mentees in four rounds.
Participants will first kick off their journeys by picking a mentee to battle against, and only a win will secure the entry into the second round to pit their skills against the first mentor chef. Should they win again, they will be awarded $2,000 and the mentor chef’s knife, and face the decision of continuing the competition to battle the next mentor chef in round three, or exit the competition. If they stay and win this round, they will gain an additional $1000 and another knife, and face the same decision again in round four. Contestants who complete all four rounds will win a total of $4,000 and all three mentor chefs’ knives. The contestant who wins the most number of rounds will stand a chance to emerge as the King of Culinary and qualify for the grand finals, where they will challenge other Kings of Culinary.
Come Phase 2, the three Kings of Culinary will clash in the ultimate culinary fight coined Battle of the Kings, as they go through a series of challenges over the span of four weeks. The final winner will earn the glory of being crowned the ultimate “King of Culinary Kings”, and walk away with up to $16,000 in cash!
For the full competition format, please refer to Annex A. For the profile of the mentor chefs, please refer to Annex B.
Angeline Poh, Chief Customer & Corporate Development Officer, Mediacorp, said: “We are thrilled to launch this expanded version of King of Culinary, across our multiple language platforms, in the search for the ultimate King of Culinary Kings among Singapore’s many talented amateur chefs. So calling all cooking enthusiasts, do join our casting call today!”
Interested participants looking to have a shot at achieving their culinary dreams can apply at this website by 31 March 2022. King of Culinary is only open to those who are currently not working as a professional chef or those who have never worked as one before.
The four contests: Raja Kaiya Vecha (ராஜா கைய வச்சா), Raja Kulinari and 三把刀 (Phase 1) and Battle of the Kings (Phase 2) will be available on meWATCH and Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube, as well as on Vasantham, Suria, Channel 8 and Channel 5 respectively. For viewing details, please refer to Annex C.
For more information, please visit mediacorp.sg/kingofculinary.
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Annex A – Competition Format
Phase 1 - King of Culinary
Phase 2 - Battle of the Kings
Annex B – List of Mentor Chefs
Mentor Chefs for Raja Kaiya Vecha (ராஜா கைய வச்சா)
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Chef Anand Kumar
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With over 18 years of culinary experience, Chef Anand has had an illustrious career over the years – he has won awards with the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (World Chefs), and known for his participation in the California Raisin World Culinary Challenge and the “Workshop-Atelier” by Le Cordon Bleu Academie D’Art Culinaire De Paris, to name a few.
He is also a member of Indian Chef and Culinary Association (ICCA) and has appeared on several television cooking shows, such as Samayal Savaal (Mediacorp Vasantham).
Having led various chef brigades across numerous hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental & other fine dining restaurants, Chef Anand is currently the Executive Chef at the High Commission of Canada, where he is responsible for creating memorable culinary experiences for the high-profile guests of the High Commissioner, along with promoting Canadian produce here in Singapore. He has also been conducting cooking classes online to stay in touch with the community. |
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Chef Bala |
As one of Singapore’s most decorated Indian chefs, Chef S R Bala has over 22 years of experience and a talent for crafting Indian fusion food with winning tastes, enticing all kinds of palates. Chef Bala has also contributed to many projects with Mediacorp, Health Promotion Board, National Environment Agency and Indian Heritage Centre to generarate awareness of the diversity of hawker and Indian food. He also advocates healthy eating by showing how food can be made healthier without losing the original taste and flavour. |
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Chef Thanabalan |
Chef Thana possesses 26 years of experience in the food & beverage industry. Since moving to Singapore in 1995, he has worked at some of the biggest names in hospitality, including the Holiday Inn, St Regis, the Intercontinental Group, Pan Pacific, Tangs Marriot and the JW Marriott. Chef Thana also exhibits a strong focus on local treats and the rich cultural heritage of various cuisines, elevated by colours, aromas, varied condiments and spices in his cooking. |
Mentor Chefs for Raja Kulinari
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Chef Bob (Shahrizal Salleh) |
Chef Bob started his culinary career as a hotel chef, honing his skills in Malay, Indian, Indonesian, Spanish cuisine, while specialising in Malay cuisine. He is also no stranger to showbiz, with numerous appearances on Mediacorp and the Asian Food Channel over the years in various dramas, sitcoms, cooking programmes and travelogues. After launching his inaugural cookbook, Aroma, in 2015, the effervescent and fun-loving Chef Bob now advocates a healthy lifestyle through a balanced tasty diet and exercise by sharing these stories on social media. |
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Chef Iskander Latiff |
Chef Iskander Latiff’s culinary career has traversed geography and cultures for over a decade, but his forte lies in experimenting with herbs and spices from Asia and marrying them with Western cuisine and techniques. His illustrious career has spanned different cuisines and countries, including at popular brunch destination Epicurious, where he was Head Chef, Senso Ristorante & Bar; the Bawa House in Sri Lanka and Aman Resorts. Chef Iskander was also a Consulting Chef in Yangon, Myanmar, for local F&B operators to help conceptualise and set up boulangeries, cafes and restaurants. As the current Chef de Cuisine at Coriander Leaf, Iskander actively conceptualises the restaurant’s menu with unique dishes. |
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Chef Khaled Shrafodden |
Chef Khaled has always loved cooking since young. He enrolled in Singapore’s premier culinary school, SHATEC and his culinary journey began from there. In 2007, Chef Khaled became the first champion for Suria’s reality cooking competition, Chef Selebriti, and since then, has perfected his culinary skills at Mandarin Oriental (Canada), a resident chef at the Asian Food Channel and is currently the Executive Chef at The Global Preschool. |
Mentor Chefs for 三把刀
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Chef Eric Neo |
Starting out as a chef at the age of 16, Chef Eric brings with him close to 23 years of culinary and catering experience across various cuisines including Cantonese, Western, Peranakan, and Asian. He was Head Chef of international buffet restaurant Aquamarine in Marina Mandarin, and was eventually promoted to their Executive Sous Chef in 2006. His expertise and culinary skills as both chef and leader have earned him extensive industry recognition, including being the team manager of the culinary team representing Singapore at the Pattaya City Culinary Challenge 2011, and leading the team to gold at the Dubai World Hospitality Championship in 2013. He has also represented Singapore for the Tiger Brands World Cooks Tour for Hunger in South Africa. As the current Executive Chef of InterContinental Singapore, Chef Eric oversees the hotel’s culinary and banqueting operations, as well as the menus of its restaurants and bars. |
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Chef Pung Lu Tin |
Chef Pung became Singapore's youngest Master Chef at only 23 and has gone on to achieve huge success over the past 40 years as a Chinese Cuisine Chef. His accolades include being the leader of the Singapore Famous Chefs Fraternity, the Hon President Award of Les Amis D’Escoffies Society, the China Golden Chef Award, and The International Master Chef of Chinese Cuisine Award of World Association of Chinese Cuisine. He was also Vice President of The International Exchange Association of Renowned Chinese Cuisine Chefs, and founded Tasty Loong in 2018.
Having led numerous teams in the prestigious World Championships, he is now a familiar figure as a judge in many culinary events. As advisor for Singapore Society of Chinese Cuisine Chefs and a culinary consultant of Restaurant Association Singapore, Chef Pung is dedicated to the development of Singapore Chinese cuisine by creating new recipes that continuously excites diners. |
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Chef Eric Teo |
As a renowned figure in the culinary world, Chef Eric’s reputation precedes him. His achievements include being a 3-time winner of the World Gourmet Summit Executive Chef of the Year, Mentor and Deputy Head Judge of Food & Hotel Asia Culinary Challenge, Culinary Auditor for F1 Grand Prix 2018, Golden Chef Abalone, Guest Chef on MasterChef Asia 2015, and the first Singaporean to be appointed President of the Singapore Chefs’ Association from 2005 - 2013. Along with a wealth of culinary experience and his infectious energy, Chef Eric has become the go-to advisor for large-scale culinary events, here and overseas. He is also the Master Mentor with the Asian Culinary Institute Singapore, helping to push the standards of culinary excellence in Singapore. |
Annex C – Telecast details for King of Culinary and Battle of the Kings
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Programme |
Date & Time |
Platforms |
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Phase 1 – King of Culinary |
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Raja Kaiya Vecha (ராஜா கைய வச்சா) |
Every Saturday starting from 20 August 2022 to 22 October 2022, 9pm to 10pm |
meWATCH, Vasantham and Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube |
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Raja Kulinari |
Every Tuesday starting from 23 August 2022 to 25 October 2022, 8:30pm to 9:30pm |
meWATCH, Suria and Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube |
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三把刀 |
Every Wednesday starting from 24 August 2022 to 26 October 2022, 8pm to 9pm |
meWATCH, Channel 8 and Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube |
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Phase 2 – Battle of the Kings |
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Battle of the Kings |
Every Sunday starting from 13 November 2022 to 4 December 2022, 9:30pm to 10:30pm |
meWATCH, Channel 5 and Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube |
