KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 — We have always been known as a nation of “eaters”; we eat when we are happy, we eat when we are sad and we eat just to eat. After all, how many times have you heard Malaysians talking about what food they miss most when they are abroad?

Well, it looks like we also like watching people cook. On TV. Food shows themselves are certainly not new though. I remember watching The Galloping Gourmet with my family – on our black and white telly — back in the Seventies. (It was also the first time I heard of clarified butter!)

I guess Graham Kerr — the galloping gourmet himself – was my first celebrity chef. But now, we are spoilt for choice with Jamie Oliver, Michael Smith, Nigella Lawson, Anna Olson and Laura Calder cooking regularly for us.

Then there are the cooking reality shows/contests: I have to say I love them. Especially MasterChef Australia and Junior MasterChef Australia (those little pre-teens zipping around cooking things like celeriac remoulade, macarons, etc… freakish, I tell you!).

So when it was announced last July that the Asian Food Channel (AFC) was partnering with Malaysian luxury lifestyle group Eastern & Oriental Berhad (E&O) to search for the next celebrity chef from this part of the world, there was definitely excitement.

Now, just after three episodes of the E&O Search for AFC’s Next Celebrity Chef, the city’s foodies are already abuzz about the show, its contestants and of course, the judges – Chef Bruce Lim and E&O’s director of Group Hospitality and Lifestyle Michael Saxon.

Some people think the show is over the top – Episode 1 saw Chef Bruce throw a plate of food on the floor, then there was Episode Two where one of the contestants took off his shirt, plus we regularly see contestants quaking in their shoes when the judges critique them -- while others are enormously proud that Malaysia is so prominently featured in the show.

Is the show an unequivocal success? While it’s still early days (there are five more episodes to go), one has the sneaking suspicion there just might be a Season Two of E& O Search for AFC’s Next Celebrity Chef. In showbiz (and this most certainly does fall into that category), any buzz is good.

But Saxon, who was himself a professional chef for 26 years, said while Chef Bruce’s Gordon Ramsay-like behaviour may be deemed over the top, the intent behind the action was absolutely spot on. It’s about discipline in the kitchen, he explained.

“If you are a chef, you are the most important person in the hotel or restaurant. Your food makes or breaks the reputation of a place.” The way Saxon sees it, there is too much at stake and as a chef you only have that ONE chance to make a good impression. So, you simply cannot afford to say, “Never mind lah, try harder next time.”

He drew up some compelling scenarios why cooking professionally is a serious business: “Imagine a young couple who have saved, and saved for their big day. It may only be RM20,000 but it is all they have to celebrate their wedding. If the food is terrible, everything is ruined. Years from now, that will be all they remember of their wedding. There is no next time. They are not going to have another wedding banquet.”

Yes, Saxon may not throw a hissy fit and throw your plate of food on the floor but he is very exacting in the way he judges what or who makes a good chef. So what has he learned about the world of reality TV so far?

“After being on set for about 16 hours a day, six days a week for about four weeks, I have a lot of respect for anyone who does TV,” said Saxon. Despite the long hours, stress, time constraints and constant deadlines, he added that he had a lot of fun doing the show.

“It’s also taught me a bit of respect for celebrity chefs,” he said, with a laugh. After all, to get one hour of good footage you very often have to shoot for up to 12 hours.

Most of all, Saxon who started working in a professional kitchen at age 16 said he is most pleased to observe that Asian chefs have really come into their own. He first came to work as a chef in Asia back in 1988. “Those days it was all gweilos working as chefs in the big hotels,” he explained. In fact, Saxon was already an executive chef at the young age of 29.

Also, he enjoyed watching the contestants of AFC’s Next Celebrity Chef grow through the episodes. So how much of the show was scripted and how much was real? “Pretty much all of it... every day was a surprise.”

Some of the highlights so far: Dayal from the Philippines taking off his shirt (it angered Saxon and floored guest judge Chef Wan!) and a couple contestants withdrawing from the contest. The show comes on every Wednesday at 10pm over the Asian Food Channel (Astro 703) and we can be sure there will be more surprises in the weeks ahead.

But the show is already behind Saxon — even though he has become a celebrity from it... people recognise him now and strangers have walked up to him to ask if he is the guy from the TV show -- and he is now embarking on his next challenge: to grow the Delicious Group into a powerful brand.

Saxon, who is also the CEO of Delicious, went on Twitter last week to solicit feedback on the restaurants (there are now seven in Malaysia and one in Singapore): “Calling all Malaysians, I am Mike Saxon the CEO of Delicious & I am calling on all customers to give me their feedback on our services.”

A bold move, but something Saxon is determined to follow through. He said that while it was great that they opened three new outlets this year, it really is time to improve the food and service standards in the restaurants. (By the way, his Twitter handle is @chefstales.)

This week, in fact, he will be meeting — and lunching — with some of those who have given him feedback! This time, the judge will be judged and knowing Saxon he will be relishing every moment.