(Photos: HungryGoWhere.com)
Although Gordon Ramsay may have lost the Hawker Heroes challenge, the celebrity chef gained more favor with Singapore fans, winning them over with his kind, gracious, hospitable and friendly nature.
If you thought the Hello Kitty craze was insane, wait ‘til you’ve survived the mobs and the queuing for Hawker Heroes; a queue that started forming as early as 1am the night before to get a chance to sample three local dishes – Chicken Rice, Laksa and Chilli Crab.
Despite all the tension build up over the challenge, we’ve not heard or seen Gordon Ramsay lose his cool for one second — something that would surprise anyone who’s seen Hell’s Kitchen or any show where he’s shown his infamously fiery temper.
The Michelin-starred chef may have lost the SingTel Hawker Heroes challenge by just a six per cent difference but he’s been more than a good sport through it all.
Held at Newton Circus Food Centre on July 7, 2013, SingTel Hawker Heroes challenge saw the Singapore hawker team emerge victorious, as voted by 1,000 attendees who ate their way through the three dishes.
“The laksa got my a** kicked, the chicken rice (too),” admited Gordon Ramsay, when the journos crowded over for some words with the chef. “If you want real food in Singapore, get it from the hawker stores.”
A day earlier at Katong Laksa, Ramsay had commented that “the secret here is the blend — how they get that fragrance. And they start out fresh every hour. I thought it was going to be good, but I didn’t know it would be that good!”
Ramsay did however, win the prize for the best chili crabs of the night. Ramsay’s crabs were chewy and springy, with an unexpectedly spicier tomato sauce, whereas Jumbo Seafood’s crabs had felt a bit more mushy than usual; perhaps the stress had gotten to the hawker chef this time.
Gordon Ramsay was down-to-earth, meeting and greeting his fans. Even after being mobbed countless times since touching down in Singapore this week, Ramsay was still up for more up-close encounters with his very fanatic fans.
He stopped to pose for photos with admirers, shaking hands with them and even personally serving some lucky fans in the queue for the Hawker Heroes dishes.
Even when the competition was done and dusted, Ramsay was more than happy to meet fans. Ramsay has gotten many more fans smitten, with his extraordinarily friendly and gracious celebrity behaviour.
