Cook Like a Chef 2.0 - 1 ª Season

To begin, Chef Ardington delivers clear and conversational tips and tricks for improving basics like Scrambled Eggs and French Omelettes. Next is a professional chef's approach to poaching eggs to create an amazing Eggs Benedict; including an egg-yolk sauce-making lesson for her lemony hollandaise. Eggs are the foundation for another sauce in the Spaghetti alla Carbonara, for this dish, the eggs are combined with savoury pecorino cheese, crunchy bits of cured pork, toothsome spaghetti, and black pepper with surprisingly satisfying results. Finally, home cooks will certainly appreciate her pro tips for preparing the restaurant classic, Crème Brûlée; made with whole vanilla bean, rich, creamy custard, and finished expertly with a blow-torch toasted sugar shell.

Join our host, Chef Natalia Machado as she introduces us to her favourite techniques for using a wide variety of versatile, savoury tomatoes. First up? Tomato Water; fresh, ripe tomatoes are blended with aromatics, then carefully strained to release a clear, flavour-packed liquor. The leftover seeds and skins are dried to make a tasty Tomato Powder. Both preparations come together for Tomato Grilled Shrimp with Chimichurri. Provençal Tomato Tarte is built on a perfectly flaky crust, layered with Dijon, gruyere cheese, fresh herbs, and topped with a rainbow array of heirloom tomatoes. Next, she makes Oven-Dried Plum Tomatoes packed in extra virgin olive oil. A shaved ice Tomato Granité is composed of ripe tomatoes, watermelon, simple syrup, and fresh mint. Finally, raise a toast with her handmade Caesar Cocktail, made with tomato water, clam juice, spices, vodka, rimmed with tangy tomato powder.

Chef Wong, our highly skilled chef, and host delivers an outstanding version of the classic Chinese duck preparation, Peking Duck. He doesn't skip any of the many steps needed to deliver juicy, tender, and flavourful meat along with the crispiest possible skin. Yes, he uses odd things like bicycle pumps, bamboo skewers, a "smoking gun", a vacuum sealer, and broom-straw; but he also shows us universal tricks for anyone to present perfect duck, offering informed advice on several proper techniques, such as blanching, basting, roasting, and frying. Other creations in this duck themed episode include a simple and wonderful pan-seared Maple Duck Breast with Rosemary and a Jerked Duck Confit that is a heavenly hybrid of his Jamaican-Chinese upbringing and his classical French training.

Our host, Chef Derek, opens the action by preparing a mouthwatering brined, stuffed, and Grilled Double-Bone Pork Chop. His Sous-vide Pork Tenderloin is next, perfectly tenderized using the modern but accessible 'sous-vide' method, then finished in a pan with vermouth, rosemary, and butter. Patatim is a wok-fried, braised, and glazed pork shank originating in Chinese-Filipino community, accented with just a few brief hints of that country's Spanish cooking tradition. Chef Dammann presents his Porchetta with Tonnato next; whole pork belly is butterflied; dressed with garlic, herbs, and lemon; then rolled, tied, and roasted; and finally, sliced and served with his own olive oil-packed tuna mayonnaise.

Chef Katie starts with whole striped sea bass, then walks us through the basics of handling, selection, and butchery. She sets the fillets aside and uses the trim and bones to make 'Fumet', a light fish broth. The fillets return for a demonstration of proper pan-searing technique served simply with a bright spritz of lemon. The fresh fillets are also cubed and tossed with fresh citrus juice, chillies, and cilantro, for her Ceviche Peruano. The Fumet returns for a seafood chowder loaded with ham, shellfish, potatoes, and cream. Next, whole fish grilled with North African 'Dukkah' spices and dressed with aromatic Chermoula. Her final presentation is a stunning parchment paper wrapped 'love letter' from France, in her anise-scented Striped Bass en Papillote.