Masterchef Audition Preparation

While John the villain in this blog keeps no secret on how bad everybody else's cooking tastes, judge John Torode from Masterchef UK has this to say: "Have fun. Oh, and a little tip. The shopping and reading and sourcing and eating is 95 per cent of food and the cooking is just five per cent. Love all the other stuff and the cooking will be a breeze."

In contrast to John Torode's opinion, Noodle Cook spends 95% of the time DESIGNING using principles of design, as used in visual art. In food, the artistry goes beyond visual, with taste adding a extra dimension, and ambiance, such as temperature, lighting and sound, contributing to the overall success of a dish.

Reading and drooling over the mind blowing creations from 3 hat chefs seem like fun. As an inexperience suburban home cook, Noodle Cook, who plays second fiddle to the executive chef in the home kitchen, has no chance of achieving those dishes in less than 5 days. Suddenly, the two Paper Chef hats which bring Noodle Cook from suburban obscurity to international limelight, on the computer screen, amount to nothing in comparison to real life 3 hat chefs.

Peter Gilmore - Quay
Shannon Bennett - Vue de Monde
Mark Best - Marque
Chui Lee Luk - Claude's
Guillaume Brahimi - Guillaume At Bennelong
Greg Doyle - Pier
Peter Doyle - Est.
Neil Perry - Rockpool
Tetsuya Wakuda - Tetsuya's
Justin North - Becasse
Armando Percuoco - Buon Ricordo

Of admiration are Chefs Neil Perry, Tetsuya Wakuda and Chui Lee Luk who demonstrate exceptional talents in their mastery of oriental ingredients.

Noodle Cook's version of confit salmon result from ideas gleaned from Chef Tetsuya's confit ocean trout.

With no chance of affording a Rockpool "session", Noodle Cook successfully slow roasted at home using Chef Neil's cookbook instructions for slow roast rib of beef.

John Torode's five per cent cooking sounds good until the preparation time is taken into account. Noodle Cook needs a good stock to make demi glace, which takes 24-48 hours. There is no time at all to lose as Noodle Cook rushes to the local IGA shops for marrow bones which costs around $2.90 per pack.

With a non-existent budget for fresh restaurant grade produce, Noodle Cook seeks out local shops with a high turnover, noting the "market" days when the shop replenishes supplies. Seasonal produce usually cost less, and amazingly, the full flavour, mature produce in the reject trolley cost even less!

The budget groceries from oriental shops gives a cheap skase like Noodle Cook plenty of inspirations. However, a slight problem arises when Noodle Cook's rudimentary language skills cause miscommunication in both directions. How does one use an unfamiliar product with an unpronounceable name???

With confidence dropping lower by the minute, Noodle Cook starts on the demi glace while searching inspirations for a dish that impresses the judges. There's still that essence in Noodle Cook, a burning desire to succeed, to bring alive a passion for good food in a real restaurant. Masterchef gives the opportunity to follow through the electronic dream lived out in this blog....