Wilt or rise who will stand the heat in the kitchen and win?
Cooking for their Culinary Idol Marco Pierre White
Aspiring chefs, especially those who hero worship three Michelin star celebrity chef and Judge of MasterChef Australia, Marco Pierre White applied in their droves to compete in a cook off where ultimately six finalists will prepare a dish in competitive conditions similar to a MasterChef program and win the ultimate prize of of a signed certificate by the Maestro himself and with the winning dish being featured in a menu at a Cinnamon Hotel.
The initial rounds saw hopefuls sending in video submissions of a classic British dish they had created. 12 finalists were selected and put through their paces, from that emerged six finalists. Away from the heat of the kitchen and the whir of the grinders and mixers the six finalists some of who still cannot belive their good fortune candidly reveal the cooking process, their culinary dreams and what this challenge means to them.
A duo of textured seafood served with a shiitake broth
The youngest of the bunch at 18 years is Anya De Silva who will sit for her A’Levels in a few months. Nursing dreams of becoming a chef, Anya reveals “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to try and meet him, I just want to know what kind of advice he would have for an 18 year old girl who is passionate about becoming a chef and I believe his advice will be the best”. It is evident that Anya is passionate about cooking as her semi final entry was a 'A duo of textured seafood served with a shiitake broth' which she selected to represent the fishing industry. “My dish represents a scene of sea water washing upon the shore and leaving behind ocean treasures which are the prawn and cuttlefish, the broth depicts the ocean water, the garlic croutons represent the sand on the shore, the pickled baby radish and shiitake mushrooms depict the flowers that are sometimes found on the sea shore and the fennel and water cress depict the weeds found growing on the sea shore”.
British fish pie with a Sri Lankan fusion mushroom ragu and mozzarella cheese sticks
For 23 year old Christina Kao whose foray into the kitchen began when she was ten, cooking for Marco Pierre White is like a dream come true. “I entered the competition because I wanted to just see Marco. The dish that got me into the semi final was a British fish pie with a Sri Lankan fusion mushroom ragu and mozzarella cheese sticks. For the finals I'll come up with something creative and innovative - a good homely dish from my heart,” added Christina.
Knorr and herb crusted baked chicken breast, served on a bed of asparagus topped with poached egg accompanied by a spinach salad with pomegranate glazed almonds
Lakshini Wijegoonewardene, a Finance Manager who confesses that as a Girl Guide she would opt for the Quarter Master duties to enable her to be in the kitchen, is fascinated by Marco Pierre White’s love for good food and how he took that chance and left college to pursue his dream. Lakmini gained her way into the finals with an ambitious preparation of Knorr and herb crusted baked chicken breast, served on a bed of asparagus topped with poached egg accompanied by a spinach salad with pomegranate glazed almonds.
The only male amongst the finalists Madusanka de Silva, started cooking about three and a half years ago. He currently works at the London Grill restaurant at Cinnamon Grand as a 3rd commis. Being in the finals he is looking forward to cooking for the Godfather of Modern Cooking and is inspired by his idol who not only became the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin Stars at the time but also his ability to help others achieve greatness in their own way.
Moroccan style couscous
Zeenat Firdous, a graduate in Hospitality Management from the SLITHM is following her dream of working in the hospitality trade. Zeenat was inspired to take part due to a random Facebook post “If you have a dream you have a responsibility to yourself to make it come true...because if you don't, you're just a dreamer!" a quote by MPW himself, this kind of pushed me! Being a major fan of the MasterChef Series I'd always wondered what it would be like to take part in such an event! The pressure, the excitement, the drive... So yes, I gave it a go. And here I am! So happy I wasn't "just a dreamer" and I actually went through with all this".
Grilled prawns with chili chocolate sauce served on a mango salsa
Chandula Walgama who has just completed her final year as a Chemistry student at the University of Colombo decided to enter the competition purely for fun. Her preparation of grilled prawns with chili chocolate sauce served on a mango salsa earned her a place in the finals. “I think Marco Pierre White is extraordinary. But I can't really say that meeting him is a dream come true because I never really dreamt of such a thing! I picked prawns because they need very little cooking time. Adding the chili chocolate sauce was a risk but it is not every day you get to cook like this so I took the challenge” she added.
Come the weekend, six eager and anxious chefs will be putting on the show of their lives as they attempt to create a culinary masterpiece with secret ingredients in a bid to wow their culinary idol. Here’s wishing they all rise to the occasion!
By Tina Edward Gunawardhana
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