SINGAPORE, Feb 11 — When a guy offers to cook for you, you don’t say no.

Especially, not when that guy is Ben Yeo.

So, when the popular variety show host, eatery proprietor, and Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre (SHATEC) graduate volunteered to don an apron and flip some woks for us, we jumped at the chance to have someone cater (get it?) to our every gastronomical whim and fancy.

We decided to get him to whip up four interesting recipes for us to try at home. True to form, the multi-talented Yeo put on his chef’s hat and came up with thoughtful creations for our every craving. This being the final one, we decided to give our foodpreneur a different sort of challenge: Our colleagues in the newsroom wrote ingredients on pieces of paper, and Ben had to come up with a dish using three ingredients picked at random. Here’s what he came up with.

BEN’S DISH: Bacon, Kimchi And Cheese Canapes

We’ll admit it. We just wanted to make things difficult for Ben. But luck was on his side – he got three ingredients that can join hands and dance in a circle.

“I think bacon and kimchi would go well together. And cheese goes with anything,” said Ben, who, it turned out, was all ready to party. “I have party food in mind,” he said, coming up with this recipe for “a fusion between canapés and mini pizzas”. “It should be something easy to do at home and share with friends. You can use it for parties or even take it along on picnics.”

Kimchi, we learned, has a special place in Ben’s heart. “Once, I had the chance to learn how to make kimchi from a granny in Korea,” he said. “It was quite an experience. You can only make kimchi in the winter, so it was really, really cold. And they get up at 6am to make the chili sauce.”

But as far as experimenting with the pickled vegetable dish goes: “I’ve done bacon and cheese dishes before, but not kimchi, so this is something new for me. We will find out whether it tastes good!”

Epilogue: We tried, like, every single canape – because we had to be sure. And it tastes good. Kamsahamnida, Ben!

BACON, KIMCHI AND CHEESE CANAPES (Serves 3 to 4)

Ingredients

150g mozzarella cheese

100g emmental cheese

4 slices wholemeal bread

5 slices of bacon

150g kimchi

Chopped spring onions for garnishing

Directions

Preheat oven to 120º Celsius.

Deep fry 2 slices of bacon until crisp. (Alternatively, bake or pan-fry bacon.) Chop into bits.

Cut each slice of bread into quarters.

In a blender, blend kimchi into paste.

Cut 3 slices of bacon into small pieces.

Spread the bread with kimchi paste and top each slice with bacon and mozzarella.

Bake for 5 to 10 minutes.

Top with Emmental and torch until cheese is melted and golden.

Sprinkle with bacon bits and garnish with spring onions. — TODAY

Special thanks to The Providore Cooking Studio and Electrolux