Festive food fun in the kitchen

SINGAPORE - It was all hands on deck for the six pairs of domestic helpers and their employers in the CATS Classified and Nation Employment joint promotion - Kitchen Champions. The cooking contest held today called for a collaborative effort between employer and domestic helper to whip up a special dish for the year-end festivities. It was held at ToTT Store's cooking studio.

Mr Desmond Chin, Chairman of Nation Employment, said: "This event is aimed at promoting a good relationship between employer and employee, and looking at the work done today, everyone is a winner. The food is excellent too!"

Mr Chin was one of three judges. The other two judges were Ms Hedy Khoo, Correspondent, The New Paper, SPH and Mr Kim Soo Nan, Head, Advertising & Promotions, CATS Classified, Marketing, SPH.

The dishes were judged on flavour and taste, teamwork, overall presentation, creativity and relevance to theme.

The three pairs of winners were:

• Rosalind Howe, 51, and her helper San Maw, 25, from Myanmar. Their dish was Ribeye Steak.
• Joanne Chua, 41, and her helper from Indonesia Sugiyati Misdi, 32. Their dish was Turkey and bacon roll.
• Kelly Neo, 23, and Juliet Natividad, 41, from the Philippines.

Their dish was The three winning pairs each won $500 cash for the domestic helper and a 16BG iPhone 5C (worth $848) for the employer.

Ms Joanne Chua said: "This is the first time I'm taking part in a cooking competition. Both of us came up with this new dish, which is essentially a western dish, but using Asian ingredients. Actually, this is only the fourth time we're cooking this."

The three consolation teams are:

• Kwang Kim Gee, 49, and her Indonesian helper Yuni Awaliyah, 33. Their dish was sambal prawns.
• Rose Ho, 55, and her Filipino helper Catherine Antivo, 36. Their dish was fried rice bounty.
• Anne Yeo, 68, and her Indonesian helper Kuntariyah, 36. Their dish was fresh crepe with durian mousse.

They each won a consolation prize of $150 cash for the domestic helper and a hamper worth $200 for the employer.