Alvin Leung on Masterchef Canada

Ah yes, another reality show kicks off a Canadian version.

So far, and in chronological order (I think), we have seen Canadian Idol (defunk after six seasons), So You Think You Can Dance Canada (defunk after four seasons), Big Brother Canada (second season will air in March), The Bachelor Canada (in between seasons 1 and 2) and The Amazing Race Canada (second season in the works). Oh, and does the Real Housewives of Vancouver count? After two seasons, it is “on hold”.

Of this glut of reality shows, only SYTYCD Canada  and The Amazing Race interest me. I won’t deign to watch Big Brother or The Bachelor but did, admittedly, watch all of RHOV – like in the background and I got increasingly annoyed with myself during the second season.

We are super happy with the results (i.e., the winners) of the first season of The Amazing Race and did NPY tear up just a little? Because even if the production quality of the Canadian versions suffers a bit compared to the American counterpart – a story that tears at your heart will continue to do so.

Which brings us to Masterchef Canada that premiered a few days ago. We have watched all seasons of the Masterchef, US version because what is more entertaining than watching normal (amateur) people do what you do (cook) but under a great deal of pressure? :D We’re excited to see how the country is represented when the finalists are decided as NPY is inclined to name the show Masterchef Toronto. They certainly do not hold a monopoly on good amateur chefs!

Okay, fine. The judges are kind of Toronto-centric but we can expect to see some celebrity chefs hailing from different cities. Like Vikram Vij’s, I can almost guarantee, from Vancouver. And, um… I can’t name any other Canadian celebrity chefs! Maybe Iron Chef Rob Feenie and Top Chef Canada winner Dale MacKay?

I’ve been to Michael Bonacini’s O&B Yonge & Front for brunch and Claudio Aprile’s origin restaurants came into my radar for delicious brunch but I never got around to it.

The “wildcard” judge is Alvin Leung whose two Michelin starred restaurants, Bo, are located in Hong Kong and London (UK) with focus on fusion and molecular gastronomy. A newer restaurant, MC Kitchen in Hong Kong, serving modern comfort food, sounds more up our alley. And his new healthy food franchise Beautifood might be the most affordable! :P

The moniker “Demon Chef” seems to be a label he applied to himself and he coined/named his cuisine X-Treme Chinese. I think I would simply like to read about it. Like a Bo dish called  “Sex on a Beach” which involves an edible “condom” made out of a konjac and kappa on a beach made of mushroom; the “condom” is filled with a mixture of honey and ham…. (from Wikipedia).

It will be fascinating to learn more about Alvin Leung, the so-called “enfant terrible” of the Hong Kong culinary scene, throughout the season. Already intriguing details include that while he was born in London, he grew up in Scarborough so still has roots in Canada and cheers for the Leafs :P. We also learned he has an engineering background and thus bonded/mentored a hapless new engineering grad who was auditioning.

 Image from ctv.ca/MasterChefCanada