Exclusive Interview with Sarah Benjamin Huang, Kitchenhoarder blogger and Asian Food Channel host

{Exclusive Interview with Sarah Benjamin Huang, Kitchenhoarder blogger and Asian Food Channel host} 

Sarah Benjamin Huang, the renowned local chef and Asian Food Channel host was recently at the launch of Kellogg’s Breakfasts for Better Days® at Whampoa Community Club, Singapore to conduct a live food demonstration on creating healthy breakfasts.

Sarah demonstrated and showcased one of her recipes, Kellogg’s Cheesy Corn Omelette. We are very impressed with her live demonstration as Sarah has shown to us how easy it is to make a delicious healthy breakfast. 

Our Parenting World team has the honour of interviewing the lovely Sarah Benjamin Huang (SBH) to find out more!

1. Can you share with us how did you come up with the name Kitchenhoarder for your blog and why did you decide to start a food blog?

SBH: Kitchen Hoarder came to me because I was addicted to buying kitchen equipment and cookbooks! I wanted to put all my new recipe inspiration and kitchen tools to good use, so I decided to start a blog to document all my experimentation in the kitchen!

This was when I was in university in Scotland, and I started cooking seriously. Because I missed Asian food, I also started learning how to cook Asian food, which I had always had at my beck and call in Singapore previously. Starting the blog made me fall in love with cooking even more!

2. When did you start to develop a passion in cooking and where did you get your cooking inspiration from?

SBH: I started cooking at a very young age, because my parents always encouraged me to cook for the family. Even at 5 years old, they let me start playing around in the kitchen. But my cooking inspirations come from my mixed heritage and my travels. I’m Peranakan-Hakka-Chinese and British, so I love to take recipes from my cultures and combine them with other cuisines and techniques.

3. What’s your favourite recipe from your blog?

SBH: My favourite recipe is probably the roast fig pavlova. I love to bake and make desserts, and this recipe was the classic Australian dessert of pavlova, but given a slightly Moroccan twist with some spiced flavourings and roast figs. It was unexpected but delicious!

4. How did you become a TV host? What are the joy and challenges that you faced as a TV chef and host on the Asian Food Channel (AFC)?

SBH: In 2014, I took part in Food Hero, a talent search competition organised by Asian Food Channel. Much to my surprise, I actually won, and since then, I’ve been lucky enough to make Cooking and telling stories about food my full time job. I’ve filmed two season of my show, Cooking For Love (which is on every Thursday at 9pm on AFC!) and that’s been something I’ve enjoyed so much. My co-host, Nik and I get to meet different families and cook up a feast for them each episode, and the variety of stories and different cuisine we had to tackle was really fun. The challenge of filming is just the hours! Sometimes we can go from 4am all the way to 10pm at night. It’s definitely not the glamorous job most people think it is, but I love it!

5. Can you tell us more about the recipes you created for Kellogg and what’s the inspiration behind the recipes?

SBH: What I’ve always loved about Kellogg’s Corn Flakes is the savoury-sweet aspect of it. It never overloads you with sugar, like some other cereals, and you can actually taste the corn. I wanted to bring that out by using the Corn Flakes in recipes that highlight its flavour and also its crunchy texture. My Kellogg’s Cheesy Steamed Loaf is slightly sweet but still savoury with the addition of ham and cheese. The soft texture is perfect for Asians like us, because it kind of reminds you of steamed bao in the morning. My favourite recipe using Kellogg’s is the roast cauliflower. This is something you could find in a brunch place, and it tastes so good but is so simple to do! Best part is, you can make a batch of it easily so you can invite friends over for brunch!

6. Lastly, what would you like to say to our readers about the importance of having breakfast and anything else you would like to share with us?

SBH: To be honest, I never used to eat breakfast until I started working in TV! Now I know that I need breakfast to function at my best in the mornings. When I start my day with a healthy, satisfying breakfast, everything just seems a bit sunnier and happier. Now I can’t do without breakfast!

Thank you for taking our interview! 

To find out more about Sarah and follow her recipes, please go to her blog at http://www.kitchenhoarder.com/