Chef Pete Sok served up a win on Chopped Canada.
It was the combination of his three dishes — fruit chew candy marinated abalone salad, black bean flour pancake with goat crumble and mini pear pot pie with saffron sauce — that put him over the top in the kitchen.
In Bro-Down Showdown, Pete, 36, competed against his brother Dany Sok, 30, and two Ottawa brothers Bijou and Imrun Texeira. The episode aired on Sunday on the Food Network.
Pete will use the $10,000 in winnings to take his parents Chan Nan Sok and Soyi Vong on an all-inclusive vacation or a trip to their home country Cambodia.
“I knew I had a chance because I had great feedback from the judges but they looked at all three rounds,” said Pete, who owns Sophear Restaurant and Bar in Red Deer. “I learned anything is possible with hard work. Use your imagination and go with it and be true to yourself. Put out the food that you love and put out the best perfect dish to your ability.”
On the show, the competing chefs whipped up dishes using mystery items in a basket for three rounds — appetizer, entree and desert.
A chef was chopped after each round.
The younger Sok was chopped after his entree dish — goat caper patty with peppermint patty sauce — failed to please the judges’ taste buds. Dany said his goal was to make it pass the appetizer round.
“It was a big relief that I was able to go to the second round,” said Dany, who owns Bamboo Hut in Sylvan Lake. “I am pretty competitive. I don’t like to lose but sometimes to win, you have to lose. It can make yourself better by challenging yourself more.”
There was more brotherly love than sibling rivalry. Pete noticed his brother was struggling and he was tempted to lend a helping hand.
But in the end, he just encouraged Dany verbally.
Dany said his brother deserves the win considering everything he has put into his career.
“It’s a great feeling. I think he deserves it with all his hard work and his dedication,” said Dany. “I feel good that he won. If we both lost I wouldn’t feel that good.”
Dany said he wants to work on his creativity in the kitchen with continuous learning. But don’t expect to find a goat caper patty on the menu anytime soon at the Bamboo Hut.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com