The six-episode series on HBO Go will spotlight Singapore’s hawker and fine dining scene while revealing the stories behind them
With over nine million subscribers on YouTube and over two billion views on his channel, Mark Wiens needs no introduction to the world of food vlogging.
Travelling the world with his family, viewers enjoy watching Wiens as he tries local staples, films the intricate cooking process and learns more about the dishes he gets to taste.
Now, Wiens is hanging up his vlogging camera (temporarily) as he embarks on his next adventure: a food show on HBO Go.
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Titled Food Affair With Mark Wiens, the series will focus entirely on Singapore and its vast food scene. This non-scripted, six-episode series hosted by Weins will premiere on November 18 and will focus on the history and stories behind Singapore’s hawker and fine dining scene. Considering that Singapore currently has over 50 Michelin-starred establishments and over 60 Bib Gourmand spots, it is really a playground for the adventurous and hungry.
Over the course of the show, Wiens will speak to local food superstars such as chefs Justin Quek, Violet Oon and Candlenut’s Malcolm Lee.
The show itself is part of a three-year partnership between the Singapore Tourism Board and Warner Bros Discovery. The collaboration will see both parties working together on original entertainment and lifestyle content, including drama serials, animation and reality shows in order to inspire travellers to visit Singapore.
Ahead of the show’s release, Tatler Singapore had a chat with the gastronomist to talk about the show, his transition from YouTube to the big screen and more. Read on for more.
So let’s start with how this HBO show came about. How did you go from vlogging on YouTube to being asked to host this show?
Mark Weins (MW): Well, I’ve been making videos for quite a few years now, since 2010. I’ve also been to Singapore quite a few times as well and it was on one of my trips to Singapore when Eric Khoo’s son contacted me and invited me to eat at one of their family’s favourite egg noodle wanton mee stalls. Through that meal, I ended up meeting Eric and that was about six years ago or so.
Zhao Wei Films, which Eric is part of, was working very closely with HBO here in Singapore and of course, I respect Eric and his filmmaking and directing. He’s such an amazing storyteller.
So we just had a few casual calls with the Zhao Wei Films team and the production team. I’ve done YouTube and food videos for quite a few years so I’m always open to trying new things and I like to get out of my comfort zone if there is an opportunity, so it was really a privilege to be given the opportunity to be part of Food Affair. But it was really more of a friendly, casual, initial introduction.