These hot guys cook | Lifestyle.INQ

OCTOBER 27, 2022

ERWANN’S dish: Soft Shell Crab and Israeli Couscous

Erwan Heussaff, Victor Basa, and Drew Rivera have a lot more in common than you think.

They’re not just hot guys—they’re hot guys who share a passion for cooking.

And soon they will show their kitchen flair in the new Diva Universal show “Hot Guys Who Cook.” The show will feature the three with 15 other food-loving hotties from all over Asia. Three guys will slave over the stove in each delicious half-hour episode.

Business manager/writer/food blogger Erwan will appear in the first episode with Hong Kong-based Canadian-Filipino model and TV presenter Jason Godfrey and Japanese-American actor/host Josiah Mizukami.

Model/actor/host Victor will be seen in the second episode with Malaysia-based TV host Henry Golding and DJ/actor Bobby Tonelli from Singapore.

You can watch Filipino-American basketball player/model Drew in the fifth episode with Australian actor Keagan Kang and Singapore star Shane Mardjuki.

Super quizzed Erwan, Victor, and Drew about their new show, their food fixations, and the lucky people who get to enjoy their cooking.

Warning: this interview will make you hungry.

When and how did your passion for cooking start?

ERWANN Heussaff will appear in the first episode of “Hot Guys Who Cook.”

Erwann: My mom is a great cook and my dad cooks one dish really well. So I have both of them to thank for exposing me to so many different types of cuisines not only in our home but also during our travels. I never had a chance to become that picky, squeamish kid that would just want to eat spaghetti. My appetite grew as I matured and I just picked up cooking along the way, tearing through cooking, nutrition, and history books.

Victor: When I lived in Singapore, I had to cook for myself. It started with the usual basic healthy stuff, like grilled rosemary chicken breast and brown rice to eventually more flavorful dishes that involved more butter, cream, and good cuts of beef.

Drew: My passion for cooking started with my dad at a very young age. We used to cook together on weekends in the morning.

What do you love the most about cooking?

Erwann: I love that you can create things from your memory alone. I love that it brings people together and can turn a mood around. What I love the most, though, is that you can tailor something to exactly feed your cravings.

Victor: My food. Haha, but seriously, the reaction I get when people enjoy the meal I’ve prepared. It makes “slaving” away at the kitchen worth it, but I also thoroughly enjoy the therapeutic and calming effect that cooking can have.

Drew: I love how no dish you make is ever the same. No matter what, each dish is a little different from the last, like a fingerprint.

What’s your specialty?

Erwann: I make a lot of roast chicken, roast beef, or roast pork belly, because it is convenient, fast, and great for a group of friends.

Victor: I can make a restaurant replica truffle cream pasta, and well-executed rib eye. Nothing too fancy.

Drew: My specialty is grilled chicken marinated in Thousand Island dressing and mustard.

Tell us about the best meal you’ve ever cooked.

DREW Rivera will whip up a Spanish omelette in the fifth episode.

Erwann: Every meal is different but if I had to choose, I once cooked a 12-course meal for a group of 20 foodies for New Year’s Eve. It was so stressful and the dishes I decided to create were so intricate, but it all turned out well and I felt very accomplished.

Victor: Truffle cream pasta and rib eye.

Drew: Best meal I ever cooked was for my mother. She had back surgery and couldn’t move, so I made her some eggs and warm milk with vanilla. Tasted like love.

What made you say yes to being a part of this show?

Erwann: I want to be able to reach a broad audience for my blog, www.thefatkidinside.com.

Victor: I love to cook and flatter myself as a good cook so making like a chef on television was too tempting  an offer to pass on, and I thought maybe I can learn from my mistakes by watching the episode I shot.

Drew: I said yes to this show because very few people in the world get opportunities like these. It would be silly to say no.

What can people expect from “Hot Guys Who Cook”?

Erwann: It’s a fun time with guys who don’t take themselves seriously.

Victor: Home-cooked goodness!

Drew: People can expect lots of personality and laughter.

What’s the best thing a girl has said about your food?

Erwann: That it reminded her of home.

VICTOR Basa will show you how to make crispy pata in the second episode.

Victor: Usually the concentrated look of a girl with accompanied nods of approval is more than enough for me!

Drew: Mama said my food tasted like love. Sarap.

Who’s your favorite person to cook for?

Erwann: My girlfriend, my family, and my friends.

Victor: My friends and loved ones, most definitely, because they always seem to like your cooking and express even more how good your dish is even if you screw up a part of it! Haha!

Drew: My favorite person to cook for is whoever I am dating at that time. I love to cook for a girlfriend.

If you were a dish, what would you be?

Erwann: A hot piping bowl of Vietnamese Pho, comforting yet complex.

Drew: I would be a crab and prawn sandwhich mixed with arugula and tuna spread.

If you were allowed to cook only one dish for the rest of your life, which one would it be?

Erwann: Mashed potatoes.

Victor: Braised beef cheek burgundy-style, bulalo steak, or grilled lamb chops, it’s so hard to decide.

Drew: Steaks.

If you were to cook an entire meal for us right now, what would you serve?

Erwann: If it’s for a big group, I’d get some pork ribs going on the grill, some soft shell crab, some pulled pork and some barbecued chicken, served with a selection breads, chinese pao buns, corn tortillas, a bunch of chopped vegetables, pickled veg, some homemade ketchup, mayonnaise and chili sauce, so that everyone could make their own interesting sandwich.

Victor: I would have to make my specialty restaurant replica truffle cream pasta, and well-executed rib eye. Nothing too fancy.

Drew: I would start with pasta aligue, followed by a salted egg salad, then roasted garlic chicken and flan to finish as dessert.

Is there a particular dish you would never cook?

Erwann: Nope, I’ll cook and eat anything once. I never say no.

Victor: I don’t think I could ever cook rabbit, pigeon, or the more exotic and gamey foods.

Drew: I would never cook okra. It is nasty and should be banned from all households.

Where could our readers taste your food?

Erwann: Only if they make it themselves from the recipes on www.thefatkidinside.com.

Victor: I’d love to start up a burger joint, or even a pizza place. Who knows? Maybe in the future. I’ll let you guys be the first to know.

Drew: My house. Please call first.

“Hot Guys Who Cook” premieres on June 25. Watch it on Mondays, 9 pm on Diva Universal.

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