Photography: Sarah Khoo
Friday, the 14th of November 2008.
Of raw carrots, minced strawberries, and chawanmushi.
Ephraim's Cookoff
Guys v. Gals
note to the faithful reader: captions for each photo are underneath, not above, the photo.
Enter the guys (most of 'em not in this photo), the girls (brimming with confidence, in their element), and the despondent cell leader (exaggerated fictitious self-pity) who found out that the kitchen isn't big enough to accommodate a sudden attendance spurt in Ephraim.
You-know-him and you-know-her with the judging form.
Ruth Tham trying to operate a stove she wasn't supposed to operate (both teams only get two portable gas stoves).
Guys forced outside, considering the space restraints (it was quite fair actually: the outside floor is pretty clean and it's more spacious than the kitchen). The guys worked very, very well together, everyone with their own jobs, under the command of Head Chef Elisha Low. (Just ignore that part where three guys were frying one sausage at the same time.)
Future chef Benjamin Tham peeling potatoes, Eulene and Eunice there in the background spying on 'em guys.
You-know-him and you-know-her with the judging form.
Ruth Tham trying to operate a stove she wasn't supposed to operate (both teams only get two portable gas stoves).
Guys forced outside, considering the space restraints (it was quite fair actually: the outside floor is pretty clean and it's more spacious than the kitchen). The guys worked very, very well together, everyone with their own jobs, under the command of Head Chef Elisha Low. (Just ignore that part where three guys were frying one sausage at the same time.)
Future chef Benjamin Tham peeling potatoes, Eulene and Eunice there in the background spying on 'em guys.Time for a SPECIAL GUEST to crash the cookoff...
Nope, wasn't him.
Him, more like. Tassiedevil Daniel Teoh, fresh from the airport. Came all the way just to join in, and ended up being a judge. An Ephraimite through and through. Either that or he's just a greedy jerk.
10:10p.m. in the gals' corner and we see FOOD. Sushi filled with fake crabsticks (they're actually made out of fish) and omelette.
10.15p.m. and the judging starts. Judges are, from left: Pastor Victor, Gordon Ramsay/The Naked Chef, domestic goddess Nigella Lawson, and Chef Wan.
Him, more like. Tassiedevil Daniel Teoh, fresh from the airport. Came all the way just to join in, and ended up being a judge. An Ephraimite through and through. Either that or he's just a greedy jerk.
10:10p.m. in the gals' corner and we see FOOD. Sushi filled with fake crabsticks (they're actually made out of fish) and omelette.
10.15p.m. and the judging starts. Judges are, from left: Pastor Victor, Gordon Ramsay/The Naked Chef, domestic goddess Nigella Lawson, and Chef Wan.
And, just for the fun of getting all you people who weren't there jealous and to make your mouths water with the thoughts of the following sumptuous home-cooked food, here's what was on the menu:
Guys
1. The X-Drink: Bizarre mix of minced strawberries, sprite and orange. Failed to impress the discerning judges. Turned them off, actually.
2. Coke float: Coke with ice-cream on top. Nothing much to shout about, really.
3. Cheese-baked rice: By Jin Ji. Fry rice, top with cheese, bake. Not bad. Not bad at all.
4. Mucha Cheesy: Mac 'n' cheese, basically. Pastor complained that it had a Mexican name but was an Italian dish, which was kinda misleading.
5. Mashed P. ala Ben: Awesome name, but kinda tasteless if you're not eating from the top, as Nigella discovered. (P. stands for Potato, if you're still lost.)
6. Eggy-eggy Chicken Chop: Deep-fried chicken chop with potato chips and some miscellaneous veggies (the kind you always get with Western Food cooked by a hawker).
Gals
1. Lychee sorbet: Basically lychee blended with ice and a spritz of lime juice. Presentation was below average, but it tasted wayyy above average.
2. No-waste appetizer: Its very name makes it sound like leftovers, and yeah, it was leftovers of what they used for the sushi. Bits of omelette, crabstick, carrots, lime juice and whatnot all mixed together in a small bowl, creating what was surprisingly a pretty good concoction. Good for the conscience of any eco-warrior, too.
3. Chawanmushi: Like the one you get in Sushi King. Steamed egg with crabstick and mushroom. A total hit with the judges; Nigella wanted one whole bowl for herself.
4. Macaroni & cheese: Your basic mac 'n' cheese (again!) baked in the oven. Quite okay, though Pastor sensed that something wasn't quite cooked in that dish...
5. Sushi: Sushi rolls (maki) with crabstick (kanikama) and sweet omelette (tamagoyaki). Fairly nice, for amateur sushi chefs.
Eulene striking a pose.
Guys
1. The X-Drink: Bizarre mix of minced strawberries, sprite and orange. Failed to impress the discerning judges. Turned them off, actually.
2. Coke float: Coke with ice-cream on top. Nothing much to shout about, really.
3. Cheese-baked rice: By Jin Ji. Fry rice, top with cheese, bake. Not bad. Not bad at all.
4. Mucha Cheesy: Mac 'n' cheese, basically. Pastor complained that it had a Mexican name but was an Italian dish, which was kinda misleading.
5. Mashed P. ala Ben: Awesome name, but kinda tasteless if you're not eating from the top, as Nigella discovered. (P. stands for Potato, if you're still lost.)
6. Eggy-eggy Chicken Chop: Deep-fried chicken chop with potato chips and some miscellaneous veggies (the kind you always get with Western Food cooked by a hawker).
Gals
1. Lychee sorbet: Basically lychee blended with ice and a spritz of lime juice. Presentation was below average, but it tasted wayyy above average.
2. No-waste appetizer: Its very name makes it sound like leftovers, and yeah, it was leftovers of what they used for the sushi. Bits of omelette, crabstick, carrots, lime juice and whatnot all mixed together in a small bowl, creating what was surprisingly a pretty good concoction. Good for the conscience of any eco-warrior, too.
3. Chawanmushi: Like the one you get in Sushi King. Steamed egg with crabstick and mushroom. A total hit with the judges; Nigella wanted one whole bowl for herself.
4. Macaroni & cheese: Your basic mac 'n' cheese (again!) baked in the oven. Quite okay, though Pastor sensed that something wasn't quite cooked in that dish...
5. Sushi: Sushi rolls (maki) with crabstick (kanikama) and sweet omelette (tamagoyaki). Fairly nice, for amateur sushi chefs.
Now that you know the above, to make you totally wish you were there (if you weren't), here's photos of the judges judging (well yeah, fishers fish, bakers bake, firemen fire, so judges judge) the food, and the competitors too:
Eulene striking a pose.And, as if Eulene's confident pose with a hint of cockiness was next to predicting the future... the nfkwqpdk won, by a pretty slim margin.
Ah, yes. Gibberish. Unintelligible by all you readers, who still have yet to face the fact that we..
.. ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
Now, as I was saying:
And, as if Eulene's confident pose with a hint of cockiness was next to predicting the future... the girls won, by a pretty slim margin.
Ah, yes. Gibberish. Unintelligible by all you readers, who still have yet to face the fact that we..
.. ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
And ate.
Now, as I was saying:
And, as if Eulene's confident pose with a hint of cockiness was next to predicting the future... the girls won, by a pretty slim margin.
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