Ipohite Emerged Champion of MasterChef UK Champion of Champions
Ipoh-born Ping Coombes or Ping Wan brought pride to the nation when she emerged champion of the reality programme, MasterChef UK Champion of Champions on December 31.
Ping is currently residing in Bath, England after marrying her partner, Andrew Coombes. Previously, she won the MasterChef in 2014 on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) by featuring Malaysian dishes such as the ‘Nasi Lemak Sambal Tumis Serai Udang’ and ‘Ayam Goreng Kunyit bersama Kerepek Kentang Sepanyol’.
This time, she emerged as the overall champion of the MasterChef UK Champion of Champions, also with a Malaysian-inspired menu.
She returned to the programme in conjunction with the new year celebration. This time, she competed with several former champions including 2011 champion Tim Anderson, Saliha Mahmood Ahmed (2017), Kenny Tutt (2018) and Irini Tzortzoglou (2019).
On her Instagram (pingcoombes), she described her success as a dream that came true.
“Thank you for the continuous support and kind wishes from the people in the UK and Malaysia. I am grateful to everyone.
“Returning to the MasterChef kitchen brings back so many lovely memories and it makes me happy.
“I put myself out there once again, open to constructive criticism and positive comments from the juries and I receive it with an open heart.”
One of the challenges that evening saw Ping opting for Malaysian popular dishes, Claypot Chicken and ‘Ais Kacang’ (shaved ice with a myriad of ingredients) of her own versions. For instance, her dessert featured rose-flavoured meringue and salted sweetcorn mousse
One of the juries, Gregg Wallace described the dessert as absolutely delicious while John Torode said the dish really reflected the two different sides of Ping.
According to Torode, the dishes by Ping were so appetising that the juries were at a loss for words.
Ping currently runs her own restaurant, Ping’s Makan Club at Bath, England. Besides that, she also has a cookbook titled ‘Malaysia’ with recipes of local dishes.
To learn more, check out this Instagram video by @masterchefuk.
Rosli Mansor
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