Contestants turned up bright and early with $100 worth of groceries to start cooking up a storm.

WMF Marketing Director, Karin Chan, chatted up the contestants as she made her rounds during the judging process. Her son, Isaac, tagged along and was a bit of a culinary whiz himself.

Contestants used WMF Perfect Premium Pressure Cooker to create their culinary delights. The German brand is synonymous with quality kitchenware and cookware, and allowed contestants to save time during the high-pressure cook-off.

OUE Social Kitchen, our official venue sponsor, provided the perfect backdrop to our competition on the day.

Contestants had just two short hours to present their culinary creations. The atmosphere was filled with excitement as they rushed to plate up their dishes.

Hudband and wife team, Darwin Gosal and Ng Wei Chee, created Taiwanese Beef Noodles.

Wei Chee said she was pregnant with her second child and had an intense craving for these noodles so she decided to try and recreate the Taiwanese dish at home.

Mother and daughter team, Yeo Wan Ling and Chow Seow Hui, served up Peking Duck-inspired Burgers.

The duo crisped up some duck skin in the oven for a healthy take on this Chinese delicacy. They then added these crispy bits to their ‘pulled’ duck burgers for some extra crunch!

Dion Xu and Ng Kai Ling were a pair of friends who presented the judges with their 8 Wonders in Ginseng Chicken Soup.

Wholesome and flavourful, Dion and Kai Ling, were inspired by Korea when brainstorming ideas on what to cook for the competition.

Coupled up and raring to go, Ankita Patil and Sushil Patil, plated up Pakistani Lamb Dalcha with Saffron Bhagara Rice.

Soft and tender, their lamb was bursting with spicy flavours that had the judges swooning.

Husband and wife pair, John Wong and Hazel Oh, served up Braised Brisket in Red Wine Shallot Sauce.

They used cauliflower instead of potato mash to top their brisket, which gave a lovely light texture to the dish.

Friends, Yeo Min and Lin Si Tong, prepared a bowl of Bun Rieu Cua (Vietnamese rice noodles in a tangy crab-pork soup, with pork rolls and fluffy egg).

They were inspired by this comforting dish during their time in London!

Chef Sawarto took his judging very seriously. The expert chef honed his trade at a slew of five-star hotels in China, where he also judged a few cooking competitions so his standards were extremely high.

WMF Marketing Director, Karin Chan, was heartened by the show of camaraderie on display. “More than just passion, what delighted me most was seeing friends, family, husband and wives, and more come together to cook and produce wonderful results,” she said.

In the end, John Wong and Hazel Oh, were crowned the winners of the cook-off and walked away with:

• $1,000 cash
• 1 WMF Atria 24pc cutlery set worth $209
• 1 WMF Perfect Premium Pressure Cooker worth $499
• Opportunity to showcase their recipe in an exclusive video featured on our website (Ed’s note: Keep you eyes peeled for this!)

Want to recreate their winning dish at home? Now you can!

Braised Brisket in Red Wine Shallot Sauce

FOR THE BRISKET
1 kg Cubed beef brisket
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 cup beef broth
1 cup red wine
1 tbsp vegetable oil

FOR THE SAUCE
8 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1-1/4 cups red wine
3 cups beef broth
6 fresh thyme sprigs
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour

FOR MASHED CAULIFLOWER
700 grams riced cauliflower
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
GARNISHES
Baby Kale
Promogranate
Sliced zucchini

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
FOR THE BRISKET
1. Seasoned brisket with salt & pepper
2. Add vegetable oil to pressure pot and brown briskets
3. Add red wine and beef broth, bring to boil
4. Cooked for 45 mins under ring 2
5. Removed and shred briskets

FOR THE SAUCE
1. Melt 5 tbsp of the butter in a saucepan.
2. Add shallots and cook over medium-low heat until soft and translucent.
3. Add the wine, beef broth, thyme sprigs, salt, pepper and sugar, and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by about half.
4. Separately make buerre manié with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl and soften in the microwave, if necessary. Add flour and mix into smooth paste.
5. Once wine mixture is reduced, seived and return to sauce pan under low heat. Whisk the buerre manié , a teaspoonful at a time, into the simmering liquid, and simmer for a few minutes, until the sauce is thickened. Set aside.

FOR MASHED CAULIFLOWER
1. Sauté the cauliflower with butter & salt
2. Just barely cover the cauliflower with water.
Boil until tender.
3. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid for mashing or puréeing.
4. Purée cauliflower with hand blender, add liquid (4) till desired consistency

The other finalists didn’t walk away empty-handed either. For their efforts, they received:

• 1 WMF Atria 24pc cutlery set worth $209
• 1 WMF Perfect Premium Pressure Cooker worth $499

Well done to all involved! Here’s to many more opportunities for bringing people together through their love for cooking. If you’re hoping to become an at-home masterchef, check out our selection of Domestic Diva awards winners here that offer you the best in food and home.

Don’t forget to sign up for Domestic Diva Circle to receive cooking trips, exclusive invites to new restaurants and new products sampling