AFC's Latest Original Production: Great Dinners of the World

Asian Food Channel's (AFC) latest original production, Great Dinners of the World, launched on 13 December 2011.  Set in culturally and historically rich Scotland and France, this six-part luxury travelogue features Asian-inspired cuisine, esteemed alcoholic treats such as Royal Salute Scotch Whisky, Martell Cognac and Champagne G.H. Mumm.

From left: Malcolm Goh, Sherson Lian, Sho Naganuma & Johnny Fua

Four rising stars of the Asian culinary scene - Sho Naganuma, Malcolm Goh, Sherson Lian and Johnny Fua - are teamed up to create meals showcasing their signature Asian delights for their European guests of honour. The good news for these young chefs is that they get to visit enchanting castles and chateaus in France and Scotland, in addition to gaining a deeper appreciation for the alcohols through brewery visits. The bad news is that they have never worked together before. As if that wasn't tough enough, they will also need to adjust to a new environment in every episode, learn about ingredients that are unique to the area and sometimes incorporate them into the dinner menus.

Concise bios of the chefs below (surf to Asian Food Channel for more information) :

Chef Sho Naganuma

Executive Chef at Hide Yamamoto - Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

Chef Naganuma is a strong believer of using only the finest and freshest produce in his dishes. His food philosophy and style of cooking is innovative and unshackled by conventions. He serves contemporary interpretations of traditional Japanese fare.

Chef Johnny Fua

Executive Chef - Tanzini Restaurant, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tough-looking Malaysian Chef Johnny has a background in architecture and he incorporates his experience here with clean lines when plating dishes. He focuses on expanding natural flavours and retaining the distinctive identity that each ingredient possesses.

Chef Sherson Lian

Malaysian cooking show host

Malaysian-born Chef Sherson Lian has worked in the food industry for a decade and also starred in various popular television programmes in Malaysia. He was a guest judge in reality programme Dapur Selebrity and host of a Malaysia's lifestyle cooking show 5 Rencah 5 Rasa.

Chef Malcolm Goh

Culinary Executive/Supervising Chef & Competitions Trainer, Berjaya University

Multi-award winning Chef Malcolm recently bagged a silver medal representing Berjaya University at the Hong Kong International Culinary Classic 2011. With close to a decade's experience in cooking, Malcolm now shares his passion for food with his students in his current role.

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I was given a preview DVD of the first episode late last week. However, I fell ill over the weekend, had a busy work week and finally found the time to watch the program this morning. The synopsis is below:

Episode 1- The Ultimate Tribute Ducal’s Dinner Cooking dinner for royalty is no easy feat, and the task becomes even more daunting when trying to cook it in a small home kitchen! The Duke of Argyll has extended an invitation to his closest friends for dinner at the famed Inveraray Castle in Scotland. Will Japanese chef, Sho Naganuma, who is visiting Scotland for the first time be able to lead the team to cook a feast fit for a Duke? Or will his Japanese inspired dinner menu fall flat? When armed with questionable fish, a small portable charcoal grill and a mulched up sea urchin, the odds seem to be against him!

Like most Singaporeans, I love to travel and eat. The programme hit the sweet spot for me as I was treated to beautiful scenery, a look inside the kitchen and the dining hall of a charming castle but more importantly, I was thrilled to watch how Chef Naganuma adapted to the curveballs that were thrown at him. Talk about thinking fast on his feet and knowing how to coax the best flavours out of the available ingredients. Do catch the programme as its interesting to see how the team of 4 work together to create dishes that tease the palates of their European guests.

Episode 2- 1824 Malts That Started It All Our four Asian chefs are on the trip of a lifetime to cook in Scotland. The chefs are feeling down in the dumps on the way to the Glenlivet distillery. Thinking that the day can’t get any worse, they arrive at the venue to find that it doesn’t have a working kitchen! Faced with the challenge of having to trolley their dishes from one building to the next, Malaysian chef, Malcolm Goh decides to take charge of the situation. Little does he know, he has just ended up with the short straw.

Repeat of Episode 2

11.00 am Sunday, 18 December 

4.30 pm Sunday, 18 December 

11.00 pm Sunday, 18 December 

Great Dinners of the World New episodes premiering every Tuesday and Thursday at 10.00pm

* All images courtesy of Asian Food Channel & Fulford PR