FAME AT LAST!
Watching people on TV, you never think of the amount of preparation that goes on behind the scenes, and the gift of the gab it requires ... until it was my turn that is. Although I’ve been featured on penangnettv, it’s not quite the same thing.
It all started when a call came in from the Parkroyal Resort in Penang, “Chef Wan is here to film two episodes from his Oleh Oleh Chef Wan series featuring Barbeques on “The Art of Entertaining”, I was told. “He would like to talk to you about your book.”
Well, anything for a laugh, eh, so along I trot to meet one of the most talked about, and talkative, celebrity chefs and TV personalities in the country.
Chef Mansor Hj Abdul, Sous Chef for the resort, would be demonstrating Chargrilled Lobster with Kerabu Baby Mangor, after which Chef Wan would himself be preparing an Ayam Panggang Pencok.
After the producer shouted out, “Ready ... 5-4-3-2-1), Cheffie (or so he refers to himself) started talking. And kept on talking. In fact, I swear he doesn’t stop to draw breath! Once the lobster was duly chargrilled and the baby mango duly julienned and kerabued, there was a break. Cheffie came over to continue our discussion ... or so I thought.
What he actually said was, “Helen, I’d like you to appear with me when I cook the chicken during the second part of the programme so we can tell us all about your book.” Of course, Chef, no problem, I replied calmly. Or that’s what I should have said to him.
Instead, I froze up and started panicking. Yikes! Then he casually added,“We’ll do it in Malay”! Double yikes! My Malay is pigeon at the best of times; for me to carry on a discussion about it on national TV was, to put it mildly, AAARRGHH!
Things began to take on a surreal quality when the soundman came up to fix the mike on me – until that point, I was still entertaining faint hopes that it might have just been an off-the-cuff comment and nothing would come out of it.
Suffice it to say that it wasn’t a disaster (read: I didn’t make a completely fool of myself!). I wasn’t too nervous, because Chef Wan could, as mentioned, talk the hind leg off a donkey and therefore cover any awkward silences – and more if necessary – and I oohed and aahed at what I hope were appropriate times, I failed to make use of the air time he so generously allotted me to promote the book.
(It didn’t help that just before the countdown someone mentioned that it was OK, as the thing was being shot outdoors, I had an excuse for a shiny face. That’s all well and good, but I spent half the time wondering whether the hot lights, in the already balmy afternoon humidity, were going to make me glow even more.) So much for my 15 minutes of fame, but thanks all the same Cheffie!
What was very successful though was the food: the lobster was delightful, and the chicken tres delicious, its marinade an excellent combination of creamy santan and spicy rempah. At least allow me to take a bit of credit here for the very good kacauing (stirring) that I did whilst Cheffie talked.
This particular programme of Oleh Oleh Chef Wan will be aired on TV9 on Saturday 15 March at 12.30pm. The full article may be printed by Star ... if I can persuade them to!
Watching people on TV, you never think of the amount of preparation that goes on behind the scenes, and the gift of the gab it requires ... until it was my turn that is. Although I’ve been featured on penangnettv, it’s not quite the same thing.
It all started when a call came in from the Parkroyal Resort in Penang, “Chef Wan is here to film two episodes from his Oleh Oleh Chef Wan series featuring Barbeques on “The Art of Entertaining”, I was told. “He would like to talk to you about your book.”
Well, anything for a laugh, eh, so along I trot to meet one of the most talked about, and talkative, celebrity chefs and TV personalities in the country.
Chef Mansor Hj Abdul, Sous Chef for the resort, would be demonstrating Chargrilled Lobster with Kerabu Baby Mangor, after which Chef Wan would himself be preparing an Ayam Panggang Pencok.
After the producer shouted out, “Ready ... 5-4-3-2-1), Cheffie (or so he refers to himself) started talking. And kept on talking. In fact, I swear he doesn’t stop to draw breath! Once the lobster was duly chargrilled and the baby mango duly julienned and kerabued, there was a break. Cheffie came over to continue our discussion ... or so I thought.
What he actually said was, “Helen, I’d like you to appear with me when I cook the chicken during the second part of the programme so we can tell us all about your book.” Of course, Chef, no problem, I replied calmly. Or that’s what I should have said to him.
Instead, I froze up and started panicking. Yikes! Then he casually added,“We’ll do it in Malay”! Double yikes! My Malay is pigeon at the best of times; for me to carry on a discussion about it on national TV was, to put it mildly, AAARRGHH!
Things began to take on a surreal quality when the soundman came up to fix the mike on me – until that point, I was still entertaining faint hopes that it might have just been an off-the-cuff comment and nothing would come out of it.
Suffice it to say that it wasn’t a disaster (read: I didn’t make a completely fool of myself!). I wasn’t too nervous, because Chef Wan could, as mentioned, talk the hind leg off a donkey and therefore cover any awkward silences – and more if necessary – and I oohed and aahed at what I hope were appropriate times, I failed to make use of the air time he so generously allotted me to promote the book.
(It didn’t help that just before the countdown someone mentioned that it was OK, as the thing was being shot outdoors, I had an excuse for a shiny face. That’s all well and good, but I spent half the time wondering whether the hot lights, in the already balmy afternoon humidity, were going to make me glow even more.) So much for my 15 minutes of fame, but thanks all the same Cheffie!
What was very successful though was the food: the lobster was delightful, and the chicken tres delicious, its marinade an excellent combination of creamy santan and spicy rempah. At least allow me to take a bit of credit here for the very good kacauing (stirring) that I did whilst Cheffie talked.
This particular programme of Oleh Oleh Chef Wan will be aired on TV9 on Saturday 15 March at 12.30pm. The full article may be printed by Star ... if I can persuade them to!
No comments:
Post a Comment