8-year-old Estie Kung rules the kitchen against adult chefs in new cooking show
8-year-old Estie Kung is the youngest contestant in Man vs Child: Chef Showdown as she tests her skills in the kitchen with adult chefs (Photo: Sherwin Castillo)
By Kyle Malinda-White
Do not mess with Estie Kung. She may look like an innocent child but inside the kitchen, the 8-year-old turns into a consummate chef, giving out orders and whipping up dishes like a professional.
The youngest contestant on the new cooking show “Man vs Child: Chef Showdown” even jokingly guessed one of Yahoo Singapore’s questions even before this reported started asking her.
“Where did you learn to start cooking? My mother,” Kung casually mentioned.
Nothing seems to faze Kung, not even a mini slip-up in the kitchen when she was in Singapore on 19 Jan (Tue) to compete against Justin Hammond, the head chef of local izakaya bar Neon Pigeon in a man-versus-child cookoff.
After the skin from her pan-seared salmon stuck on the pan, she threw the skin away and continued searing her salmon until it had a bright-pink consistency. It clearly showed in the dish - the exterior was crispy while the inside was still tender and soft.
Kung’s problem-solving skills also translate to the show. She said that in a challenge where she had to make lobster devilled eggs, she forgot to add celery to the filling so to use the required ingredient, she garnished the dish with celery leaf instead.
“(I have an) advantage because they underestimate me. (They) under-Estie-mate me. I look so small and adorable,” Kung joked, as she sizes up her competitors who might dismiss the abilities of a child chef.
Don’t force your children to be like me: Kung
8-year-old chef Estie Kung holds the fort in the kitchen against Justin Hammond (left), head chef of local izakaya bar Neon Pigeon, in a man-vs-child cookoff (Photo: Kyle Malinda-White)
There are some disadvantages to being a child chef: she can’t reach the spices on the top chef. However, Kung takes it all in her stride, especially when it came to asking her mother if she could step into the kitchen to learn how to cook.
“I begged them. I was just like, ‘Please, can I touch the raw chicken?'” sid Kung coquettishly, batting her eyelashes and pouting her lips.
Kung’s assertiveness shines through as she aims to conquer the world of cooking and she believes confidence is the most important asset any chef must have.
“If you’re not confident when you try to make a hamburger or a peanut butter sandwich - if you give up and you can’t make that, then you can’t even be a chef,” she said.
However, there are days when - just like any person - Kung’s confidence takes a dip. She turns to her parents in times of need and counts herself lucky to have a supportive family.
She elaborated, “When I’m about to cook a dish and I am talking to my dad backstage, he always says, 'It is nothing you haven’t done, and nothing you don’t know, so why are you so scared?'”
Ultimately, Kung believes it is passion that led her to learn how to become a chef but she believes parents must not force their children to be child prodigies.
“I don’t want any parents out there forcing their kids to be like me. If you want your kids to be like that, you’ve got to see if that’s what they want because the kids will have to do it,” she advised.
Kung knows she has a long journey ahead of her, which is why she can confidently say that she has not created the perfect dish yet. What is the one dish she wishes to conquer?
“Sushi. It’s so difficult. It’s technically impossible to me, the cutting is so exact. I think it’s as difficult as ripping a piece of paper in half in a completely straight line.”
With her gumption and drive, it is only a matter of time before Estie Kung rules the kitchen as an adult chef.
Man vs Child: Chef Showdown premieres 26 Jan (Tues), 7pm on the Lifetime channel.
