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After a controversial semi-final elimination, Channel 8's baking competition show Crème De La Crème aired its final episode on June 30.

Culinary student Shawn Pang, 29, emerged as the inaugural winner after eight rounds of competition.

The outcome

After the verdict was announced, Pang said in a brief thank-you speech that he was "very surprised" about the outcome, as he did not expect to make it this far when he signed up for the competition.

He expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to join the competition and make new friends.

In an interview with 8 Days, Pang said a big takeaway from the competition was what he has learnt, including the need to always taste his food, alluding to his carelessness in the semi-finals that almost caused him to be eliminated.

Post-controversy

Towards the end of the episode, fellow contestant Ean Cheong also said a few words about his experience on the show.

Cheong was embroiled in the kerfuffle in the semi-finals, where he accidentally used the mousse made by fellow contestant Angie Lim. Both contestants had agreed to use each other's mousse in the interest of time.

When bits of cling wrap were found in Lim's dish, she was eliminated while Cheong advanced to the finals, resulting in an outcry from the viewers.

Cheong said that he used to restrict himself to his forte, which was custom cakes, but he managed to try different things in this competition. He added that he was very satisfied about his performance and his growth.

The contestant also shared his finalé creation — a chocolate cake that contained pieces of bitter gourd — on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQvfrWSsr1w/

Cheong admitted in his caption that it was "not a fantastic experience", but it is unclear if he was referring to the finals itself, or the entire competition.

The contestant said that he had tried his best and recognised the experience as something he could learn from.

He added in Chinese that his "conscience was clear" before thanking the other contestants.

Separately, apart from the Instagram post Lim shared on June 26 that addressed the mousse incident, Lim has not made any further comments about the competition or the finale outcome at time of writing.

Pang's reaction to the controversy

When asked by 8 Days about the mousse incident, Pang declined to comment.

However, the winner had penned his thoughts in an Instagram post on June 24, shortly after the mousse incident aired.

Pang wrote that there were "probably no right words" for the episode, and acknowledged the polemics that ensued from the judges' decision.

More notably, he also touched on the issue of his own performance in the semi-finals, and the fact that some viewers felt that he should have been the one to be eliminated instead.

"Without question, I'd have been the one going home if not for the cling wrap incident. Call it luck, call it fate, I underperformed and it didn't feel good going into the finals this way. I was frustrated with the results and had wished it was me who was sent home.

[...]

To those who hold differing opinions on the results, I understand where you're coming from. Here on, I only take this as an opportunity to do better in the next round and more."

He also thanked those who had reached out with their well wishes, humbly adding that he was a work in progress.

The winning dish

Pang's road to victory has not been smooth-sailing, as he had to recover from his precarious position of being in the bottom two in the previous round and work with an unfamiliar ingredient in the finals.

In addition to the theme "Infinite Curiosities", the finalists were also thrown a curveball of incorporating a mystery ingredient in their culinary creation.

As Pang was ranked last in the semi-finals, he had no choice but to be saddled with the century egg.

The other two ingredients were soy sauce and bitter gourd. Pang admitted that he was initially eyeing the latter to make candied bitter gourd.

Despite his initial struggle of de-shelling and cleaning the century eggs, Pang managed to impress the judges with his Century Egg Polenta Tart, which accompanied his plated dessert named Rice.

The concept revolved around how rice was cooked in the past, using the following elements:

• Charcoal (represented by meringue dusted with charcoal powder)
• Fire (represented by goji berries)
• Rice bowl (represented by a bricelet — a thin, crisp wafer)

Judge and veteran actress Jeanette Aw commended Pang's ability to handle the century egg despite not liking it, as he managed to bring out its texture without overwhelming the tastebuds.

Similarly, dessert maestro Janice Wong said that she does not enjoy century egg, but found the century egg mousse delicious.

Check out Pang's online bakery, The Closet Baker, to keep up with his baking journey and future bake sales.

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Top images via meWATCH.