London, plump for the Dumpling Sisters

YouTube pair, Julie and Amy Zhang, appeal for votes in Jamie Oliver’s contest to find next TV chef
20 September 2013
The Weekender

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Two London sisters have made it to the last five of Jamie Oliver’s worldwide search for the next big TV chef.

Julie and Amy Zhang, who call themselves The Dumpling Sisters, are in the final of his Food Tube Star competition on YouTube, and are up against rivals from Argentina, France, Germany and the USA.

Contestants must create a four-minute video presenting a recipe. The winner, chosen according to how many “likes” each video receives, will get a feature slot on Oliver’s Food Tube channel.

Amy, 27, who lives in Hammersmith has done a PhD at Cambridge, while Julie 24, of Walthamstow, completed a masters in Criminology at Oxford. They grew up in New Zealand, where they would help on their family’s food stall at a market in Christchurch.

Julie said: “Our love of food goes right back to when we were kids and we got our first taste of cooking at the market. We started our own YouTube channel in July and since we made the final, viewing figures have sky-rocketed.

“It’s really exciting. We’re the only finalists representing London and the UK. Our experience here has been awesome — we hope the city can take us under their wing and vote for us.”

The girls impressed Oliver with a recipe, inspired by their mother, for sticky hoisin chicken, fried rice and satay sauce wrapped in a lettuce leaf.

Oliver said the standard of the competition was very high, adding: “I absolutely know how much effort went in, all the love, care and attention.

“The Dumpling Sisters are super-cute, they know how to cook and they’ve got flavours going on. It’s a delicious meal.” Voting is open until Sunday.

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