Former MasterChef star Adam Liaw defends Khanh Ong’s Vietnamese inspired dish – after judge Jock Zonfrillo said Asian food ‘doesn’t lend itself to fine dining’
MasterChef: Back to Win judge Jock Zonfrillo controversially claimed that Asian food ‘doesn’t lend itself to fine dining’ during Sunday night’s episode.
The 43-year-old made the remarks after Khanh Ong presented a Vietnamese inspired dish during a fine-dining challenge.
After the episode aired, former MasterChef contestant Adam Liaw defended Khanh’s dish and said ‘Asian cuisines are full of fine dining’.
Former MasterChef star Adam Liaw (pictured) defended Khanh Ong’s Vietnamese inspired dish after judge Jock Zonfrillo said Asian food ‘doesn’t lend itself to fine dining’ on Sunday
‘Ever wondered why some Chinese restaurants are called “[Name] Seafood Restaurant” even though they serve other things? That means fine dining,’ Adam tweeted.
He added: ‘A “seafood restaurant” in Cantonese nomenclature means that the chefs and ingredients are supposedly of a higher standard.’
‘Asian cuisines are full of fine dining. Kaiseki, Confucian cuisine, Thai/Vietnamese court cuisine, almost any regional cuisine in China, Peranakan food… It’s just that the Eurocentric conceptualisation of Michelin, World’s 50 Best etc. constantly ignores it.’
Adam’s tweet comes after Jock sparked backlash following his questionable remarks about Asian food on Sunday night’s episode.
Supportive: After the episode aired, Adam hit back at Jock and said ‘Asian cuisines are full of fine dining’
When contestant Khanh Ong decided to stay true to his Vietnamese roots for a fine-dining challenge, Jock, 43, controversially said that Asian food ‘doesn’t lend itself to fine dining’.
Outraged viewers of Channel 10’s competitive cooking show flocked to Twitter to label the chef’s comments ‘ignorant and highly problematic’, while others called for the ‘Eurocentric definition of fine dining to be dismantled’.
When given the option to create a fine-dining dish that represented any country, Laura Sharrad and Emilia Jackson chose France, while Khanh went with Vietnam.
Criticism: This comes after contestant Khanh Ong (pictured) decided to stay true to his Vietnamese roots for a fine-dining challenge and Jock controversially said that Asian food ‘doesn’t lend itself to fine dining’
However, the choice didn’t go down too well with Jock.
‘Jock [is an] absolute dinosaur at 43. Sorry you had to listen to such patronising crap, Khanh. I know YOU know that there isn’t an Asian cuisine w/o millennia of exquisite refinement behind it. How ignorant,’ one person wrote.
‘I find it highly problematic that on tonight’s MasterChef, Jock thinks that Asian cuisine and “fine dining” are mutually exclusive and the other judges appear to agree,’ another tweeted.
MasterChef continues Monday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten
‘I find it highly problematic!’ Jock (pictured) sparked backlash following his questionable remarks about Asian food