Can they wok the wok?

News

Noella Pio Kivlehan

02 July 2005

Cuisine It was chop sticks at 30 paces as London leisure agents donned aprons to find out who will be this year’s Property Chef of the Year. Noella Pio Kivlehan reports

It’s 9am and 20 of London’s top leisure agents gather at the newly opened dim sum eatery, Ping Pong, on Great Marlborough Street in London’s Soho.

An expectant buzz fills the air as fingers are flexed and taste buds primed in preparation for the cook-off that will determine the seventh Property Chef of the Year – the competition co-sponsored by Davis Coffer Lyons and Estates Gazette.

The event is split into three stages: cooking; cocktail making; and a quiz. After demonstrations from dim sum chef Wai Leung Ho and bar manager George Matzaridis, the contestants are ready to go.

Big fingers fiddle furiously with small parcels – and in some cases squashed tennis balls, rather than delicate dim sum parcels, are the yield. Chef Wai Leung Ho has his doubts as he surveys the rows of unfortunate pork shumai. Some of the crispy duck parcels fare no better. Few points to certain teams.

Leaving the searing heat of the steamy dim sum area, contestants venture on to the bar. Preparing the Grape Capirovska cocktail – ice, limes, grapes, grapefruit juice, sugar, and vodka – clearly help alleviate the stress of cooking. To ensure the stress is totally eased, some contestants practise making and drinking the cocktail – repeatedly.

The cocktails also relieve the pain of the quiz, which covers questions on China. Not many of the agents are able work out exactly where a female member of the imperial family would keep her pekinese (her sleeve). It is a tough 20 questions for the contestants.

At the final cook-off, tension is high. The three finalists – Berkeley Simmons Davis, Knight Frank and an amalgamation of Christie & Co and EGi, are informed of their solemn task. They must serve their fellow contestants, shout their orders in Cantonese, and cook the food – all in eight minutes.

Twenty minutes later, the food is served after a mad race to the tables. The results are announced. Stealing the crown from last year’s champion, Knight Frank, was Berkeley Simmons Davis, who receive prizes from noodle chefs Abdul Abdelhalim and But Wing Keung.

● Ping Pong was opened in early May by Kurt Zdesar, former general manager of Nobu, London’s famous sushi restaurant. Zdesar is looking for more sites throughout greater London.

Cuisine It was chop sticks at 30 paces as London leisure agents donned aprons to find out who will be this year’s Property Chef of the Year. Noella Pio Kivlehan reports It’s 9am and 20 of London’s top leisure agents gather at the newly opened dim sum eatery, Ping Pong, on Great Marlborough Street in London’s Soho. An expectant buzz fills the air as fingers are flexed and taste buds primed in preparation for the cook-off that will determine the seventh Property Chef of the Year – the competition co-sponsored by Davis Coffer Lyons and Estates Gazette. The event is split into three stages: cooking; cocktail making; and a quiz. After demonstrations from dim sum chef Wai Leung Ho and bar manager George Matzaridis, the contestants are ready to go. Big fingers fiddle furiously with small parcels – and in some cases squashed tennis balls, rather than delicate dim sum parcels, are the yield. Chef Wai Leung Ho has his doubts as he surveys the rows of unfortunate pork shumai. Some of the crispy duck parcels fare no better. Few points to certain teams. Leaving the searing heat of the steamy dim sum area, contestants venture on to the bar. Preparing the Grape Capirovska cocktail – ice, limes, grapes, grapefruit juice, sugar, and vodka – clearly help alleviate the stress of cooking. To ensure the stress is totally eased, some contestants practise making and drinking the cocktail – repeatedly. The cocktails also relieve the pain of the quiz, which covers questions on China. Not many of the agents are able work out exactly where a female member of the imperial family would keep her pekinese (her sleeve). It is a tough 20 questions for the contestants. At the final cook-off, tension is high. The three finalists – Berkeley Simmons Davis, Knight Frank and an amalgamation of Christie & Co and EGi, are informed of their solemn task. They must serve their fellow contestants, shout their orders in Cantonese, and cook the food – all in eight minutes. Twenty minutes later, the food is served after a mad race to the tables. The results are announced. Stealing the crown from last year’s champion, Knight Frank, was Berkeley Simmons Davis, who receive prizes from noodle chefs Abdul Abdelhalim and But Wing Keung. ● Ping Pong was opened in early May by Kurt Zdesar, former general manager of Nobu, London’s famous sushi restaurant. Zdesar is looking for more sites throughout greater London.