I was never a big fan of cooking. I considered cooking
nothing more than a painful chore. I did not care about the ingredients that go
into the food or about the balance and the texture of the food. My mind was not
of a food critic and was rather of a person who would eat good food whether it is
vegetarian or non vegetarian. Of course, I was critical of food that was not
cooked properly or that did not taste right, but not like a food critic. That
was until I began seeing the show – MasterChef Australia from 2010.
MasterChef Australia is a cooking contest to determine
Australia’s best amateur chef every season. From thousands of applicants, a few
are shortlisted for the contest and the show proceeds with an elimination
process at every stage of the competition. By the process of elimination, the
number of contestants is whittled down to a competitive few and the grand
finale is to cook a hatted dish – a dish that is worthy enough to be served at
hatted restaurants. The winner takes away the title of MasterChef Australia,
the opportunity to write their own cookbook plus multiple other benefits.
It really is a pleasure to watch these amateur cooks slug it
out on the show. Even though these are amateur cooks, they have the burning
desire to become professional cooks one day. It is this desire that attracts
them to the show. There is joy in knowing that the dish they cooked was the
dish of the day and despair in knowing that the dish was not up to the mark and
is a ticket to elimination! The contestants for Season 4 which was aired on
Star World till last week came from varied backgrounds such as an electrician,
school teacher, account manager, hair stylist and so on and so forth. They all
share a common passion – food and cooking – and this is what holds them
together. The friendship and bond shared by the contestants was endearing,
especially the one between Andy Allen and Ben Milbourne.
Unfortunately, I cannot taste the dishes – the honors for
that go to the three good judges – Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt
Preston. While Gary and George are embellished chefs themselves, Matt is a well
known food critic. It really is worthwhile to hear from them about balance,
texture and other techniques of food. The food that is cooked on the show is
encouraging; it is not junk food, but very healthy food. The contestants sure
have a fair idea of what is good for the health when they set out to cook. I’m
sure millions over the world watching the show will be as inspired to devour
healthy food that is good for their body and mind.
The title of MasterChef Australia 2012 was coveted by an
electrician named Andy Allen who cooked his heart out in the grand finale
against the dessert queen of the show, Julia Taylor. The final itself was aired
in three episodes – one for the entrée, one for the main course and one for the
dessert. Andy said post winning that nobody would have bet on him winning the
competition, which was true. I had my favorites on the show – Dalvinder, Debra,
Beau, Emma (despite her inability to not cry in front of cameras!) and the big
Wade and never expected Andy to clinch the deal. Of course, this impression
changed first on the Italy week (the contestants flew to Italy to cook Italian
food for Italians!) when his presentation skills improved dramatically. From
then on, I knew he was a serious contender for the title. Julia surprised with
her ability to cook savory dishes in the finals week but honestly, I did not
expect her to make the grand finale. Andy was a worthy winner in the end as his
main course outscored Julia’s and his dessert was, surprisingly, better than
Julia’s as well.
There is so much to tell about this show that one post would
hardly be enough. Next week, I’ll talk about my five favorite dishes on the
show. For fans of cooking out there, it’s an opportunity to try out some mind
blowing dishes! Don’t miss it!
No comments:
Post a Comment