EVERTON DUO BOLASIE AND CALVERT-LEWIN GET INVOLVED WITH CHANG COOKING CHALLENGE

Under the watchful eye of HOST’s Creative Director Gary Manning, the first team stars were given a brief introduction into the history of Thai cuisine before donning their chef aprons and getting stuck straight into preparing and cooking a chicken stir-fry.

Once they had overcome the problem of turning on the gas to heat up their woks and start cooking the main ingredients for a basic stir-fry, DR Congo international Bolasie and England U20 international Calvert-Lewin were each given a tray of key components such as chilli, ginger and garlic to add flavour and spice to their dishes with the Blues youngster proving to be much more liberal with the ingredients than his team-mate!

Yannick Bolasie and Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Once the pair had both dished up their efforts they presented them to a judging panel consisting of HOST Managing Director Colin Manning, Chang Sponsorship Manager Joanne O’Connell and their mentor in the kitchen, Gary Manning.

After much careful consideration, the trio of judges officially declared Yannick as the winner of the Chang cooking challenge with all three commenting on the good, yet not overpowering, mix of flavours in his dish much to the delight of the Toffees midfielder who wasted no time in celebrating his win in front of the evertontv camera.

Speaking after being crowned winner, Bolasie said: “It’s been a laugh to come down to HOST today with Dom and Chang and find out a little bit more about Thai cuisine and celebrate Songkran. I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen when I get the chance and I’ll be taking a few of the tips I’ve picked up today home with me!”

Chang’s Joanne O’Connell added: “We are very pleased that we could be a part of the players learning more about Thai cuisine and Songkran at HOST. Chang, because of its crisp, smooth and refreshing taste, complements the taste of Thai or Asian cuisine with strong flavours perfectly.”

Gary and Colin Manning said, “It was a real pleasure to welcome Yannick and Dominic into HOST for the Chang cook-off. Once they were settled in the kitchen with their woks at the ready, their competitive spirit was apparent. Both players wanted to win and it was clear they enjoyed the challenge but Yannick definitely rose to the occasion.”

Opened in 2008, HOST is a Pan Asian inspired restaurant and Chang has been served to its customers for five years as the restaurants only Thai-lager.