interview: VIP Today

Date: July 8th 2011 2:30 pm

Note: Steven looks incredibly youthful and very charming.  How did he stay so youthful -- good genes or the secret recipes in his upcoming book?

Galore of screen caps on steven-ma.org

Topics touched on include:

Apprentice Chef
Hosting
Sentinel
New book
Interests: Badminton, photography, biking.

Host: Welcome everybody to Today VIP. Today special guest is someone I usually called Steven,  Ma Zai, but not any more, now it's Big Chef Ma.  Ma Chun Wai.

S: Oh, you flatter me. 

H: Big Chef, big chef.

S: Si Hing, Si Hing (elder colleague brother) Nei hou, nei hou! (How are you?)

H: Lately very impressive,  your Apprentice Chef, wah, truly garnered very high ratings.  Inevitably, others discover you have another facet to you.

S: Actually, I think that the audience likes to AC is really because of the candidates. In that they were very riveted; these candidates are all professional chefs

H: They are all experts

S: Moreover, they are all executive chefs. What's more they are challenged to present a dish within 3 minutes.

H: The first portion is 3 minutes? There must be some behind-the-scenes not shown to us?  Do you have any special stuff to share with us? That within the 3 minutes, they just couldn't complete anything.?

S: Actually they were truly nervous.  Observing them I feel they were really nervous. They scrutinized everything in the kitchen because theirs are arranged differently from this one.  The stoves are different.  So could see them taking it all in.  Their brains frantically analyzing everything.

H:  Analyzing the space and positioning - like how to save 2 seconds from the 3 minutes.