Zaleha’s Chicken Rendang from the show.
In April this year, an episode of MasterChef UK Season 14 caused tremors and shockwaves that travelled across the continent and could be felt all the way in Malaysia and its neighbouring brethren of Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei. It was probably the mightiest foodquake the region had ever experienced and its seismic aftermath was so powerful that it caused the denizens of these four South-East Asian countries to do something they had never done before: unite.
The resulting show of solidarity was a triumphant lesson in the power of food. In South-East Asia and Malaysia specifically, there may be many areas in which we are lagging behind but food is – and remains – a source of pride. So it was no great surprise that everyone in the region got behind Malaysian-born MasterChef UK Season 14 contestant Zaleha Kadir Olpin.
