Best known for his winning stint in Lifestyle Network’s cooking competition show “Clash of the Toque-en Ones” and as host of his own series, “Curiosity Got the Chef,” Sharwin Tee is easily one of the most recognizable reality TV stars on cable TV today.
Chef Sharwin has evolved right before his viewers as “Curiosity Got the Chef” slowly transformed from a straight cooking show to something more lifestyle-oriented over the course of seven successful seasons.
“As I grew older, the show grew with me. We started doing travel to get more inspiration but basically, the show is always based on a curiosity of mine. It’s either I’m creating my curious recipe or I’m looking for something that piques my curiosity. I’m always learning something new or trying to find new ways to do things,” he told InterAksyon during his recent launch as brand ambassador for Casillero del Diablo premium Chilean wines.
Although he’s obviously not very comfortable with his celebrity chef stature, Chef Sharwin, who has become an accomplished restaurateur over the years following his win on “Clash of the Toque-en Ones,” admits that the main reason he continues doing “Curiosity Got the Chef” is to simply “teach people how to cook.”
“That’s the main reason why I’m doing this. To get people to understand that it’s easy to cook. That they should not be scared of doing it,” he pointed out.
Because of his ever curious and adventurous nature, inspiration is something that is never missing from Chef Sharwin’s work.
Known for his perpetually cheerful demeanor, he likes to experiment with recipes of hearty dishes that are deliciously familiar and easy to pair with any side dishes that go with a hot cup of coffee or a glass of wine.
“Learning about new dishes is a source of inspiration for me. Much of what we featured in the show are the products of the travels that I do. The more I travel, the more flavors I get. When I combine what I learned from my travels allows me to create some exciting, original recipe.”
But even as Chef Sharwin likes to travel a lot, he has remained very partial to Filipino dishes and to pair them with Casillero del Diablo’s wide array of wines was something he initially thought of as a challenge.
“A Filipino dish isn’t the one that pops up into our mind when we think about wine and food pairing because they are not classically served with wine, but with Casillero del Diablo’s wide array of wines, this wasn’t the case,” he argued.
Casillero del Diablo, with its wide selection of wine varietals like Merlot, Chardonnay, Shiraz Tinto, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chile’s famous Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon, gives you an opportunity to experiment and know “which wine will really suit and should be paired with the taste of a Filipino food.”
Since Filipino dishes remain among his specialties, cooking his recipes with Casillero del Diablo was one of the best ways he could make the pairing work. His Pulled Pork Adobo Nachos and Spicy Mussel and Clam Binakol was among the hit dishes during the launch.
Revealing more about the new season of “Curiosity Got the Chef,” Chef Sharwin said he and his team intend to learn more stories about Metro Manila where the food has gotten a lot more exciting as of late.
“My goal is to understand food from a specific area and the stories behind them. I love stories and that’s what drives me. I think that’s how one learns about the people and more about a particular culture. Hopefully, we can accomplish this through our show,” the Chef concluded.