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SINGAPORE: When he is not trying to survive only on Guinness stout for a week in Ireland or challenging champion oyster shuckers in the United States for his latest television show "Glutton for Punishment" quirky celebrity chef Bob Blumer likes to taste the local flavours of the places he visits in his travels.
And he did just that when he was in Singapore recently to prepare for the United Nations Development Fund for Women's (UNIFEM) benefit dinner to raise funds for women in Aceh.
"If you can't tell by my breath, I just had fantastic popiahs (spring rolls)with extra garlic," he said, adding that he particularly enjoyed the unique, robust flavours of hawker food in Singapore.
"I just love flavours like it punches you in the face and as you are struggling off the floor, it knees you in the groin, that's my kind of flavour," Blumer said.
That is quite an interesting way to describe flavour but it is not that big a surprise as the eccentric chef's first love is ice hockey, a testosterone driven sport where physical scuffles are commonplace.
"I wanted to be a professional ice hockey player, but that didn't quite work out," he said.
While Blumer's ice hockey career may have crashed and burned, his career as a chef has taken off spectacularly. He made a name for himself with his crazy antics on television such as using an iron to prepare a grilled cheese sandwich and once cooking salmon in a dishwasher.
To promote his third book "Off The Eaten Path: Recipes for Adventurous Cooks", Blumer even bought a trailer and remodeled it to look like a giant toaster on wheels, complete with two eight-foot tall slices of 'toast' stuck to the roof. He named it the Toastermobile and it has quickly become the centerpiece for his television show.
To date, Blumer has done three series of cooking shows and released as many cookbooks. He has come a long way since he released his first book "The Surreal Gourmet: Real Food for pretend Chefs" in 1992.
"In the beginning, I didn't really know how to cook," he said, adding that meeting and speaking with other chefs, wine experts and food suppliers taught him a lot.
"The past 17 years have been a real education for me."
Despite being known for his imaginative methods of cooking familiar food, Blumer is surprisingly pragmatic with his money. Success has not made him any less thrifty. His upcoming show will even revolve around cooking the best meal for the least amount of money.
"I'm such a cheapskate at heart. In fact, we were going to call the new show 'Bob Blumer: The World's Cheapest Host'," he said with a chuckle.
- CNA/ha
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