Kuala Lumpur (The Star/ANN) - South Korean celebrity chef Edward Kwon is back in Malaysia and he's twice as excited to be here.
Kwon is set to host two dinners for customers of Maybank and selected guests this Friday and Saturday at Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur.
The 40-year-old chef started his culinary career in 1995 as an intern at the Ritz Carlton in Seoul, South Korea, and then transferred to San Francisco's Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay in 2001.
This is Kwon's third visit to Kuala Lumpur. The dashing chef, whose Korean name is Young-min, was last here in early June to launch EdVentures in Asia.
The 13-episode regional food travelogue, which aired on Life Inspired TV, was a collaboration with Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd and presented by Malayan Banking Bhd.
Often described as Asia's Jamie Oliver and South Korea's Gordon Ramsay, Kwon arrived here yesterday afternoon in high spirits.
"I'm really looking forward to hosting the dinners on Friday and Saturday," he said yesterday in an interview at Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur.
"Malaysians are very adventurous due to their multi-cultural background, and very receptive towards fusion cuisine."
Kwon has cooked for the likes of Madonna, Tiger Woods and former US president George W. Bush.
The menu will be a combination of traditional Korean dishes infused with Malaysian flavours inspired by his EdVentures show. All the ingredients, in fact, are sourced locally.
"I'll be using items like tamarind, galangal and kaffir lime leaves," he said.
Kwon, who recently opened two new restaurants in South Korea, hopes to open one in Malaysia.
Starting today, the former head chef at Dubai's seven-star Burj al-Arab Hotel will be preparing the dishes for the exclusive dinner events, which will be attended by some 400 guests, including Maybank's top credit card spenders and VIPs from Maybank, Star and Li TV.
This month will also see the launch of Kwon's own range of kitchenware here. Malaysia is the first country outside South Korea where the EK Cookware will be available.
The first two series introduced here are the Edwardpan non-stick fry pans and Trudy stainless steel pots. They go on sale on September 17, with special offers for Maybankcard and American Express Card members.
