PETALING JAYA: If some guys are clueless about cooking, how about baking?
Now, TV3 is coming out with a brand new reality cooking show called Hero Oven which seeks to find the best pastry chef among its 32 all-male contestants.
The 30-minute show which will air starting Aug 2 will see them compete against one another on every aspect of baking. They will also be tested on their knowledge and creativity in imparting local ingredients such as bunga kantan (torch ginger) into their pastry dishes.
“In one of the episodes, we gave our contestants bunga kantan and told them to come up with a certain type of pastry. Nonetheless, the contestants impressed me with their skills. One of them made really tasty custard filling with bunga kantan,” said Singapore-based chef and fine food consultant Sarah Samsul Ariffin.
Sarah, together with local celebrity chef Fikree Aznan (of TV3's Dapur Panas fame); and singer and actress Kilafairy will host the show. They will also serve as resident judges.
"When we talk about cooking shows, automatically images of women come to mind. But with Hero Oven, we want to change that perception and show our audiences that our regular Joes can bake equally well.
"Our contestants come from various backgrounds. Some are professional chefs working at hotels and restaurants while the rest simply enjoy baking,” said the 25-year-old when met at Sri Pentas here, yesterday.
Meanwhile, Hero Oven producer Haizren Mohd Esa said the show is an entirely new concept.
"The premise of having all-male contestants in the series of bake-off is very promising. We have celebrity male chefs like Fikree who can whip up some of the best dishes but we don’t have a celebrity pastry chef of our own. I think the show is a good start. The winner of Hero Oven will get to host his own show later."
Its executive producer Mohd Samsairol Che Aman said that having men bake on the show may just get female viewers to tune in.
Hero Oven airs every Tuesday, beginning Aug 2 at 11.30am on TV3.