Nicholas Tse dons a chef's hat to cook up something special

It took Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse Ting-fung 18 years to prove his versatility by being a singer, song-writer and an actor.

Once known as a youth idol, Tse realized that he needed a change in 2014 when he turned 34.

Since then, he has been seen more as a TV chef, even more frequently than in the music industry, thanks to a reality show Chef Nic, which premiered on Zhejiang TV.

The newest season of the show returned to the screen on Nov 24. And Tse says he wants to return to the "original heart for cooking".

In the 12-episode program, Tse visits countries including Russia, Greece, the Czech Republic and Turkey as well as domestic destinations famed for cuisine like Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.

This time, he explores local culinary culture by going into ordinary residents' kitchens and cooking for them.

"Five years ago, I wanted only to make short video clips on cooking for people to watch on their way back home," Tse says. "I didn't expect it to go so far.

"But since I took it up as a profession, I began to feel more pressure that also made me come up with more ideas."

In the early part of his career, Tse was known for his maverick image on screen.

But a cooking program needs patience and experience.

Speaking about how he has changed, he says: "I cannot only entertain myself.

"My years in the industry have shown me that I have to keep the audience in mind. I need to share my stories in a favorable manner."

Chef Nic has been evolving in the past few years. He once tried to mix his show with a travel program. For example, he had a safari in Africa looking for food. And he also approached a variety show with certain game-like missions in each episode.

Last year, the program left Zhejiang TV and was produced by the streaming media Youku. But, not every new move is lapped with by audiences. On douban.com, China's major film and TV review site, some previous seasons were panned for being detached from food.

"In previous seasons, the ingredients were often expensive and the cuisine high-end," Wayne Gao, director of the show, says.

"But we have returned to people's dinner tables."

He continues: "If we pay enough attention, we can find good raw material around us. So Chef Nic is no longer unapproachable."

This may explain why Tse now chooses to do shopping in a regular food market in St. Petersburg, visits a village in Greece and makes grape juice in a traditional way-by using his feet.

Meanwhile, Chef Nic says he feels that a TV chef's role is to promote cultural exchanges.

"We Chinese are proud of our cuisine," he says. "But we need more TV programs to promote our best and understand other culinary cultures at the same time."

The show, he says, also personally benefitted him.

"Frankly speaking, this program saved me," he adds. "I now have more in common with my parents, and also have more friends."

While many may find it hard to associate Tse with cooking given his previous bad-boy image, many celebrities are part of his new show.

Ariel Lin from Taiwan; Daniel Wu Yan-zu and Charmaine Sheh Sze-man from Hong Kong, as well as Zhang Liangying from the mainland are all part of Chef Nic's new season.

In this season, Tse turns the meals into chatting sessions.

Speaking about the new format, Tse says: "Too many people now stare at their mobile phones when having dinner with their families.

"So what is the meaning of a family eating together? I want to remind people that the dining table can be a warm place."

But Tse's creativity does not stop there.

Speaking of the future, he says: "I'm still a musician. And if I can find a good way to mix music and cooking, I'll definitely try it in the next season."