And I thought I hadn’t learned enough from her, whereas all the other cuisines I could explore on the internet, buy cookbooks, magazines, whatever, and play around with – but traditional Cantonese cooking, for me, my mum held that up there – and I was like, I can’t replicate that.” “I found it quite hard to go down that route,” Lee admits. She started exploring all kinds of different cuisines (many of which she would go on to showcase on Best Home Cook) but she admits she initially steered clear of Cantonese food. “In Chinese culture, praise is not a thing… But I got a nod, which meant a lot – that is praise in itself.”Īfter her mother died, Lee’s confidence in the kitchen grew – largely because she was forced to take on the cooking role, feeding her 15-year-old brother and seven-year-old cousin. So did Lee’s festive meal get the seal of approval? “She just nodded,” Lee says. I think it was one of those things where she was prepping me for the future, strange as it sounds, because within two months she passed away very suddenly.” “She came back and forth from our house, just to check I was OK, but she let me at it. I cooked over 40 of my family members Christmas dinner – so it was a baptism of fire, but she obviously believed in me that I could do it. “So I took on that challenge at the age of 16, the Christmas before she passed away.
#Calories in chicken chop suey how to
“She literally went, nope, I’m going to show you how to use the industrial oven and how not to blow up the kitchen with the gas wok – then you’re on your own. Lee remembers the December before her mother died, when her mum refused to cook the Christmas meal – leaving it down to her. When my mum passed away, I pretty much took on the role of mum, so I had to properly cook.” It’s OK to say I can cook, and I know what I’m doing in the cuisines I’m showcasing – because I’ve loved cooking from the age of 16. She adds: “Pretty much when I won Best Home Cook, I was like OK, I can cook. However, Lee, 38, describes winning Best Home Cook as “life-changing”, saying it has “opened so many doors”. The other stuff, as much as it seems really glossy, it doesn’t pay the bills.” I’m still a chartered accountant, I still have my accountancy business – that’s what brings in the money. Lee is still an accountant by trade, saying: “If you ever meet me, I will always say I’m an accountant who cooks, because that’s my day-to-day job.