Ping Coombes | |
---|---|
Born | Ping Wan 19 February 1981 |
Occupation | Chef |
Years active | 2014–present |
Spouse | Andrew Coombes (m. 2006) |
Children | 2 |
Website | https://www.pingcoombes.com/ |
Ping Coombes is a British cook and winner of 2014's MasterChef competition broadcast on BBC One. [1] [2]
Coombes is of Malaysian Chinese heritage and was raised in Ipoh, Malaysia. [3] Although she was surrounded and influenced by wonderful food around her, she drew her inspiration from her mother. [4] She moved to the UK to study at Oxford in 2000. Only after arriving in the UK did she begin to experiment with Malaysian food. She lives just outside Bath with her husband Andrew and their daughters Alexa and Luna and divides her time between Bath and London.
Before joining MasterChef, Coombes worked as an assistant hotel manager for a private hospital. [4] After being made redundant, Coombes entered MasterChef to do something fun. [5]
Her final menu was to prepare a three-course meal for judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace. Coombes' winning menu consisted of:
Since winning MasterChef in 2014, Coombes, working under the name Ping's Pantry, has made several appearances at food festivals and various restaurants. She launched street food classes in Fulham in 2017.
In November 2015, she was appointed Consultant Chef for the Ping Pan-Asian group in November 2015. The first restaurant called Chi Kitchen is situated within The Selfridges Kitchen at Selfridges department store in Oxford Street, London. There is also the Ping Pan-Asian delicatessen in the Selfridges Foodhall. [6] [7]
She has also appeared in John Torode's Malaysian Adventure and has been guest chef on popular daytime talk shows such as This Morning , [8] and Sunday Brunch. She was invited to appear as a guest judge on MasterChef 2019. [9]
Coombes became Malaysia Kitchen Ambassador in 2016, promoting Malaysian food and cuisine around the UK and abroad.
Her first book Malaysia was published in May 2016. [10]
Thai cuisine is the national cuisine of Thailand.
Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multi-ethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. The remainder consists of the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, the Peranakan and Eurasian creole communities, as well as a significant number of foreign workers and expatriates.
Nasi lemak is a dish originating in Malay cuisine that consists of fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is commonly found in Malaysia, where it is considered as the national dish. It is also a native dish in neighbouring areas with significant ethnic Malay populations such as Singapore and Southern Thailand. In Indonesia it can be found in several parts of Sumatra, especially the Malay regions of Riau, Riau Islands and Medan. It is considered an essential dish for a typical Malay-style breakfast. Nasi lemak is featured as a national dish in most of the country's tourism brochures and promotional materials.
Malay cuisine is the traditional food of the ethnic Malays of Southeast Asia, residing in modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the Philippines as well as Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Singaporean cuisine is derived from several ethnic groups in Singapore and has developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes in the cosmopolitan city-state.
Ipoh has a significant food scene with many hawker centres and restaurants. It has dishes derived from Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine.
Peranakan cuisine or Nyonya cuisine comes from the Peranakans, descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Indonesia, inter-marrying with local Malays. In Baba Malay, a female Peranakan is known as a nonya, and a male Peranakan is known as a baba. The cuisine combines Chinese, Malay, Javanese, South Indian, and other influences.
John Douglas Torode is an Australian-British celebrity chef and TV presenter. He moved to the UK in the 1990s and began working at Conran Group's restaurants. After first appearing on television on ITV's This Morning, he started presenting a revamped MasterChef on BBC One in 2005. He is a restaurateur; former owner of the Luxe and a second restaurant, Smiths of Smithfield. He has also written a number of cookbooks, including writing some with fellow MasterChef presenter and judge, Gregg Wallace.
MasterChef is a British competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2005 as MasterChef Goes Large. The revival featured a new format devised by Franc Roddam and John Silver, with Karen Ross producing. In 2008, the name was changed back to MasterChef but the format remained unchanged.
Gregg Allan Wallace is an English broadcaster, entrepreneur, media personality, writer and former greengrocer. He is known for co-presenting MasterChef, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, alongside celebrity chef John Torode, on BBC One and BBC Two. He has jokingly referred to himself as "just the fat, bald bloke on MasterChef who likes pudding". He has written regularly for Good Food, Now and Olive magazines.
The first season of the American reality competition show Top Chef Masters was broadcast on Bravo. It is a spin-off of Bravo's hit show Top Chef. In the first season, 24 world-renowned chefs competed against each other in weekly challenges. The program took place in Los Angeles. In the season finale that premiered on August 19, 2009, Rick Bayless was crowned Top Chef Master.
The fourth season of Top Chef Masters was announced on May 24, 2012. Food and travel journalist, Krista Simmons, and features editor of Gilt Taste, Francis Lam, join James Oseland and Ruth Reichl as new additions to the judges' table. The season premiered on July 25, 2012 with 12 award-winning chefs competing in weekly challenges to win $100,000 for their charity and the title of Top Chef Master.
Nasi padang, sometimes referred to as Padang rice, is a Minangkabau dish of steamed rice served with various choices of pre-cooked dishes originating from West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is named after the city of Padang, capital of the West Sumatra province. A miniature banquet of meats, fish, vegetables, and spicy sambals eaten with plain white rice, it is Sumatra's most famous export and the Minangkabau people's primary contribution to Indonesian cuisine.
Romy Gill MBE is a British-Indian chef, food writer, author and broadcaster. She was the owner and head chef at Romy's Kitchen in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire. In 2016 she was appointed an MBE in the Queen's 90th birthday honours list. Romy has amassed a number of television and radio appearances, including presenting, co-presenting and judging roles. She regularly contributes to national and international publications, including The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph.
Tom yum or tom yam is a family of hot and sour Thai soups. It is a soup that normally includes shrimp in a hot and sour serving. And it has a strong flavors in Thai food offer that make them very popular. The name "tom yam" is composed of two Thai words. Tom refers to the boiling process, while yam means 'mixed'.
Ayam goreng is an Indonesian and Malaysian dish consisting of chicken deep fried in oil. Ayam goreng literally means "fried chicken" in Malay, Indonesian and also in many Indonesian regional languages. Unlike other countries, Indonesian fried chicken usually does not use flour as its main ingredients, instead it uses turmeric and garlic as its main ingredients.
Sarawakian cuisine is a regional cuisine of Malaysia. Like the rest of Malaysian cuisine, Sarawak food is based on staples such as rice. There is also a great variety of other ingredients and food preparations due to the influence of the state's varied geography and indigenous cultures quite distinct from the regional cuisines of the Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is famous for its multi-ethnic population. As the homeland of many unique communities, Sarawak has a variety of cuisines rarely found elsewhere in Malaysia. The uniqueness of Sarawak well depends on its ethnic groups. Every native group in Sarawak has their own lifestyle, traditions, cultures and also foods. Sarawak cuisine is less spicy and has a subtle in taste. It uses fresh seafood and natural herbs like turmeric, lemongrass, ginger, lime and tapioca leaves. These ingredients are not only easily available, but also add a hint of aroma, texture and freshness to the delicacies. Food is one of the most cultural identities for native groups in Sarawak with each ethnic group having their own delicacies. Among the Iban, popular foods include tubu (stems), tuak and pansuh. The Malay have bubur pedas (porridge) and kek lapis Sarawak ; the Bidayuh have asam siok and sup ponas Bidayuh. The Melanau make tebaloi, sagu and umai and the Orang Ulu are known for garam barrio, kikid (broth), tengayen, and urum giruq (pudding).
Anna Haugh is an Irish chef, restaurateur and TV personality.