Participants in The Dating Challenge got their hands dirty with flour and raw food during their second group date.

The second group date was held at the Clover Way branch of Sarpino’s Pizzeria (www.sarpinos.com.sg).

(Six out of the eight singles turned up. Technical support executive Bernard Yong and undergraduate Petrina Ow had prior commitments.)

The singles were taught how to make pizza.

They got down to basics, starting with the dough. Then they dressed their pizzas up, popped them into the oven and waited.

The women set the tables, while the men served the starters.

And the afternoon ended with the singles getting one-to-one time with each other.

Medical doctor Daniel Chang, 26, was paired with recruitment consultant Claressa Sim, 23.

He said: “Because my partner was one mean cook, I didn’t have to lift a finger. Only eye power required.”

He was suitably impressed.

Said Daniel: “And she is a well-travelled, street-smart go-getter.”

His verdict? “Two thumbs up.”

And what did Claressa think of her partner?

She said: “My impression of him is that he is a nice guy to talk to and a family guy.

“Few guys I know would declare that they love their parents.”

Student Mint Leong, 23, worked with air traffic controller Jackie Goh, 23, on the pizza.

She said: “Jackie is someone humble and always willing to learn. He doesn’t know how to cook. I will definitely teach him.

“He’s cute when he’s serious at work.”

Manicure

The admiration was mutual.

Jackie said: “Mint just had her manicure and said she wanted to take it easy. “But when it came to the serious stuff, she did what was required.” And he had one word to describe her: “Magnificent.”

The final pair was sales representative Trina Lui, 31, and social worker assistant William Tan, 27.

William said: “Trina was a cooperative and supportive partner, and left me to what I was doing, giving me the trust and confidence that I could handle my work well.”

That, he said, was a huge “plus point”. Trina, too, thought William was “a great partner.”

She said: “He was quite an expert, whether it was cutting the ingredients or kneading the dough.

“He does love to cook and is a great one too.” The pizza-making session was conducted by the staff of Exclusive Match. Matchmaker and image consultant Cynthia Lee said the singles were sporting and spontaneous.

“They seemed to have fun and were able to connect well.”

Dating service for single professionals

William left the best impression on her. She said: “He is a gentleman, respectful of others. He paid attention to all the ladies and served them.”

NOT EVERY single is lucky enough to get dating help from the professionals, but our singles did.

Exclusive Match (www.myexclusivematch.com) conducted the event with ice breakers and conversation starters.

Exclusive Match is a professional matchmaking agency founded by a husband and wife team, Steven and Cynthia Lee.

They are also founders of Building Strong Marriages (www.buildingstrongmarriages.com.sg).

Mr and Mrs Lee have experience dealing with busy executives because these professionals make up a big part of the company’s database.

It recently launched a dating website, www.o2match.com, catering to singles who are Internet savvy and who enjoy events dating.

If you think you need that extra polish or push to get the right partner, give them a call at 62270307.

This article was first published in The New Paper.