Winners of Mediacorp’s first multi-language cooking competition to vie for ultimate championship in King of Culinary – The Final Showdown!

Winners

Profiles

ராஜா கைய வச்சா (“Raja Kaiya Vecha”)

Gopica ‘Rasathi’ Rasiah

The Global Gastronome

Born in Singapore but having lived around the world, in Australia, England, Indonesia and the United States, Rasathi is a global gastronome. From her time living abroad, Rasathi found her love for all-things culinary and picked up on various cooking styles.

A counsellor and part-time actress by day, Rasathi is also a single mother. She often experiments with different ways to whip up tasty and interesting dishes for her daughter, and gets creative with the use of spices, which brings out the best flavours in her creations.

King of Culinary provided Rasathi with the opportunity to cook for a new audience and allowed her to explore and test different palates.

Raja Kulinari

Zakiyah Jaleel
The Spice Whisperer

A warrior in and out of the kitchen, Zakiyah overcame the odds and beat pancreatic cancer in 2021. Despite the hurdles she faced, Zakiyah bounced back and regained her confidence and love for cooking. To step out of her comfort zone, Zakiyah challenged herself and signed up to participate in Raja Kulinari.

After learning the ropes when she was only 10, Zakiyah developed a love for cooking. During her bout with cancer, Zakiyah found cooking to be therapeutic and it allowed her to rediscover her love for all things culinary.

Zakiyah walks the talk in sustainable cooking and is known on Raja Kulinari for not wasting any of her ingredients. Unassuming and humble, Zakiyah holds the record of being the only homecook to have triumphed over all three mentor chefs!

三把刀 (“San Ba Dao”)

Tran Thi Ngoc Anh Hue
The Neighbourhood Gourmet Cook

Hailing from Vietnam, the stoic Hue first moved to Singapore to further her knowledge in the hairdressing field, where she subsequently met her husband. A warm and loving mother of two, Hue has also proved to be a powerhouse in the kitchen.

She emanates the kampung spirit – she opens up her flat to welcome her neighbours and their children in throughout the day and frequently serves them her delicious culinary creations.

Known for her love and joy for cooking, Hue has struck a chord in those around her as she showcases her strategic and impressive cooking techniques.

Hue first heard about King of Culinary on the radio. Fuelled by her passion for cooking, together with encouragement from her helper, Hue signed up for三把刀 (“San Ba Dao”). She strives to share what she calls ‘old people’s tastes’ from her hometown through her comforting and soulful foods.

Host

Profile

Hossan Leong

Affectionately known as ‘Singapore Boy’, Hossan Leong is a consummate performer whose repertoire includes directing, singing, dancing, acting, stand-up comedy and playing the piano in theatre, on screen and radio.

Through his work in A Singaporean in Paris and No Regrets: A Tribute to Edith Piaf, the ‘Singapore Boy’, who is fluent in French, has found fame internationally and played an instrumental role in bridging cultural relations between Singapore and France. His efforts were recognised and he was conferred Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication in 2011.

In 2014, Hossan hosted the 49th National Day Parade in front of a 27,000-strong live audience which reached two million others on screen. Internationally, he has numerous appearances under his belt, having performed in Bangkok, Boston, Brunei, Chicago, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, London, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Sydney and Hong Kong, where he gave a TEDx talk in May 2021. Hossan has also conceived and directed various regional and international productions, including the 2004 World Gourmet Summit and APAO Congress 2006, and continues to provide creative direction for corporate and government projects.

Today, Hossan continues to delight audiences through his extensive creative involvement in local theatre productions and nurtures the next generation of theatre practitioners by providing them a platform to showcase their skills through his company Double Confirm Productions.

Judges

Profiles

Daniel Ang

Writer behind the popular DanielFoodDiary.com (DFD) for over a decade, Daniel Ang first started food blogging in 2008. Since its humble beginnings, DFD has grown to be one of the leading food sites in Singapore, clocking over four million page views per month.

Referred to as the ‘bao-ka-liao’ (do-it-all) guy, Daniel juggles all aspects of food blogging, from the eating to photography, videography, writing, editing and almost everything else.

Among his accolades is being the ‘Top Food Influencer in Singapore’, which he won at the 2017 Influence Asia Awards. He has also been invited to join various judging panels including the prestigious Epicurean Star Award.

When not blogging about food, Daniel is lecturer and mediator, and… always trying to lose weight.

Haikal Johari

Haikal Johari is the helming Executive Chef at Alma by Juan Amador, a leading restaurant which has clinched the prestigious One Michelin Star consecutively since 2016.

Haikal is a distinguished chef with an impressive culinary career, having worked in some of the region’s finest restaurants such as the acclaimed Water Library restaurant in Bangkok, which he played a role in establishing.

With vast skillsets and experiences, Haikal brings with him a combination of Asian flavours and influences, from fresh Japanese ingredients to Thai spices, which he incorporates into the menu at Alma by Juan Amador, resulting in exceptional and mouth-watering European dishes with a unique Asian twist.

Petrina Loh

Morsels’ chef-owner Petrina Loh has come a long way after leaving her private banking day job to fully pursue her culinary passion and love for food and wine. A top in her graduating cohort from the prestigious California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, which runs the Le Cordon Bleu programme, Petrina was also mentored by esteemed chefs, such as Mark Sullivan and Walter Abrams, during her training stint in the United States.

Upon returning to Singapore in 2013, Petrina founded Morsels, which took the local food scene by storm, and quickly found fame for her creativity and food ethos. In March 2017, Morsels won big, bagging the ‘Restaurant of the Year’ and ‘Chef’s Choice (Western)’ awards at the World Gourmet Summit’s Awards of Excellence 2017. More recently, Petrina was awarded ‘Chef of the Year (Female)’ at the World Gourmet Summit 2022.

She has also starred in numerous English and Chinese programmes on screen including Masterchef Singapore Season 3, Buzzing Hawkers, Fresh Off Japan, Hey Chef 2 and What’s in the Fridge.

Petrina is a firm believer of ‘you are what you eat’ and constantly strives to serve up food that not only excites one’s palate but also nourishes oneself. She continues to pursue her passion and hone her craft by travelling to various countries and visiting restaurants, makers, brewers, factories and farms to learn more about food, preparation techniques and agriculture.

Mentor Chefs

Profiles

Chef S. R. 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.

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.

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.