Kate Bracks might be a celebrity chef back in Australia but she was indeed very shocked to find that she had fans in India too. “I didn’t know people watchedMasterchef so seriously over here! When Matthew Cooper, (general manager, Bengaluru Marriott Whitefield ) sent me an email and asked me if I would like to come to Bangalore to do a few activities, I wasn’t too sure. I had never seen India and I had to think over it.
But then we chatted on the phone and I agreed; I am so glad that I did. Bangalore is fantastic — I am loving it. We went out yesterday andI ate at Queens, which I thought was brilliant, cooked naan at the hotel and ate the best butter chicken I have ever had. So yes, it has been a pretty good start,” says Kate, with her signature laugh. In town to launch Whitefield Baking Company at the hotel, Kate has a stuffed schedule over the next few days that she is here.
The story behind the title
That’s the thing about this celebrity cook— she doesn’t like being called a chef; her infectious positivity will force you to believe that you can make quite a lemonade out of lemons. “I am extremely passionate about cooking. When the first edition of Masterchef Australia was announced, my husband asked me to apply. But when I was going through the form, it had a question that asked if I was willing to stay away from my family for three months. My daughter was only one year old at the time. I couldn’t do it. But I watched a few episodes of it. And then when season two happened, I watched every single episode.
At the end of the show, there was an ad on TV inviting applications for the third season and I applied. But I forgot about it until they called me up two months later for the auditions. I was like, “errm.. I am not sure. Let me get back to you. I need to talk to my family”. I never knew I’d do it and I never knew I’d win. Neither did my husband! Every time I passed an elimination test, I’d call and tell him, “I am still in!” says Kate, of her entry into one of the coolest culinary contests to be aired on television.
The Masterchef kitchen was a massive learning process for Kate. “What you see on TV is only a part of it. We shot for seven months, with breaks of course, and the sessions were intense. But we are constantly learning something. We have master classes, training programs and we cook in professional kitchens and most of all, we are constantly discussing food in the ‘house’. So you’re constantly surrounded by these fabulous people and food… it’s life changing,” she says.
Not just yet
So why is there no restaurant from her yet? “It’s because of my family. I can’t do something that will take away all my time and focus from the children. But I do a lot of things when the kids are away at school. I hold cooking demonstrations; I teach kids to cook; I wrote my recipe book The Sweet Life, among other things.
For instance, I do a pop-up kitchen with Chef Michael Manners who’s a very popular chef there. And that gives me the opportunity to actually work in a professional kitchen without having to get involved full time into the operations and logistics. I am also working with chef Shaun Arantz, who has earlier been chosen as the Regional Chef of the Year and is also from Orange, NSW (Kate’s hometown); we’re planning to bring out a range of culinary and food products together….”
So, is there not going to be a restaurant — ever? “No, no. I will perhaps have one when my kids are all grown up. I have one mantra — if I do something, it has to be perfect and I want it to do well. So when I can actually give that much time to a restaurant — I am definitely going to have one!” assures Kate.
Family first, seriously
Her devotion towards her family is quite admirable. For a woman who’s never “got any formal training in cooking like many other celebrity chefs”, it is her innate love for cooking that led her to win the coveted title two years ago. However, she couldn’t quite stop reiterating how much she owes her family for it. “It’s hard to stay away from the kids for so long and I have never done it before. It was their constant support and courage that has led me this far… I would like to be a mum first and everything else after,” she says.
source: http://www.dnaindia.com / Home> Lifestyle> Report / by Priyadarshini Nandy, Place:Bangalore, Agency:DNA / Thursday, March 14th, 2013