Ken Hom, the celebrity chef who taught the UK how to wok 30 years ago, is on a UK tour of some of his favourite towns and cities and will be arriving in Bath at the start of September.
Budding cooks are rubbing shoulders with experienced chefs these days, but they all agree on the most versatile piece of cookware that makes cooking enjoyable, simple and rewarding: the wok.
You can hardly say ‘WOK’ without thinking of Hom, who taught the UK how to wok 30 years ago, and people have kept on wokking ever since.
Ken Hom will be in Bath on Tuesday 1st September, demonstrating his unrivalled skills at Kitchens on 4-5 Quiet Street, Bath, BA1 2JS.
Earlier that day, Ken will also be at the local Leekes Store in Melksham.
Don’t miss the chance to say a friendly ‘hello’ to Ken Hom, who will be greeting guests and cooking up some wok treats for those attending to share and enjoy.
Both events are ticketed at a cost of £5, to include entry to a roped off seated area, a glass of bubbly and redeemable against the purchase of a Ken Hom wok.
The wok was commercially introduced to the UK with its traditional rounded base, but it soon became apparent that its traditional round shape did not fit the gas cookers used at that time, as the burners could not properly cradle this new type of pan.
It was Ken Hom who helped develop the flat-bottomed wok in 1986, so that it would better adapt to the UK hobs.
By 2005 one in seven people in Britain owned a Ken Hom wok. Today, the flat bottomed wok is also recommended for electric, ceramic stove tops and heat induction burners for its great versatility.
Remembering how wok cooking influenced his early life, Ken Hom said: “After losing my father when I was just eight months old, I was brought up by my mother in the China Town district of Chicago and went to work in my uncle Paul’s restaurant at the age of 11.
“We were poor then but my mum would still create a three-course meal every day in her tiny kitchen, just using her wok and cleaver.
“I remember her quick, delicious meals made out of a little rice, a little dried fish, some spice. Once when she could not work for a month, she still produced flavoursome meals out of these few ingredients, and her wok.
“We loved the simple, wok prepared food. To enjoy life and be happy means to eat well. That I believe, wholeheartedly, and wok cooking allows me to do just that.”
