Tête-à-tête with the Australian MasterChefs!

MasterChef Australia's judges Gary and George, comes across as two people comfortable in their own skin - confident and at complete ease. They have a great chemistry going and can talk to both children and adults and their charm, can light up a dark room (Ok, I am exaggerating a bit there). They take turns to speak, when one pauses mid-sentence, the other pitches in, adding a funny anecdote or an extra point. They laugh a lot, and make the audience laugh with them.

Watching them speak to a group of invited guests at the event ‘Gary and George Unplugged’ was like seeing a well edited show, and I did think to myself that those two were the greatest showmen!

Interview Excerpts: (Watch the story here @ 10:15 min)

That's George and Gary, Unplugged!

JuniorMasterChef Australia is a wonder show. It surprises me no end how those little children can prepare the things they do…

Look who is cooking too!!

George Calombaris: Well, their families have brought them up in an environment where food is the main focus. I grew up in a family where food was the center of our world and it was at the dinner table that we argued and cried and laughed. When we sit down at the table, we don’t start eating until mom sits down and we don’t leave until dad finishes. Little rituals like these that surround food, makes it exciting. Similarly, these are a select bunch of kids who belong to families that allow them to cook, and not cook to become chefs but cook to celebrate. We are there just there to inspire and guide them.

We measure, we chop, we cut and we cook.

Gary Mehigan: In Australia, many, are what we called 'Helicopter Parents', they keep hovering around their children, worried if they would get hurt, fussing about them... but it is really when you let them be, that they explore their creativity, enjoy what they do and also grow. Take the parents out, and then if they get hurt and have to put on a band-aid, they think of it as a trophy.   

 I have a dream

Is that why your show focuses only on food and stays clear of propaganda and gimmicks.

George Calombaris: If you came to us and said, ‘I want to be on TV’, then we’d probably just turn away. We want to know a person’s dream. It’s an amazing opportunity, a person gets to spend seven months in the MasterChef kitchen meeting some of the greatest chefs in the world and going on to live their dream, and if that dream is to build a pastry shop, doing one cake top at a time or a canteen, it doesn't matter. As long as they have a dream and a clear idea, we want to see them change their life for the better.

On the show, all the contestants appear very friendly, but are they really that good to each other?

George Calombaris: Working with different people is difficult, but they live with each other in a house, and so they have got to get along. It takes them a couple of weeks, but they soon learn that when they are together they do better and also learn from each other. And that helps in the kitchen, for example, Philippe Mouchel who was in Season 4, was great with bread and soon everyone was asking him how it could be done.

Gary Mehigan: It is interesting really. When they come into the show, they believe they can learn off us or from the other chefs in the show, but they soon figure that they learn as much from each other as they do, from any of us.

Victory celebrations at the MasterChef kitchen

Things follow a predictable pattern these days, and we know how it will turn out. The show is shot over six-seven months, so if you are in the top four, then you have been living in the same house with each other for six months. First day: Top 50 is ecstatic, and couldn't imagine anything happier than this in life; soon they form groups... and before long they become disillusioned and wonder why they were even doing this. They have forgotten why they went on the show in the first place, and then we have to sort of help keep things in focus for them.

Most of them think that they can come on the show and just cook, but in reality television is a slow and intricate process, and at times we have to sit them down and let them know that what they have got here is a whole life experience. It is preparing them for something new – it teaches them how to behave on television, how to interview, how to do a photo-shoot. It’s after they realise this, that they relax and begin to really enjoy being on MasterChef.

From what is seen on MasterChef is one to presume that people in Australia eat elaborate or fancy meals?

MasterChef Australia Special

Gary Mehigan: No, people lead simple lives actually, but MasteChef has taught them how to look at everyday things and create something new using them. The trick is to shop differently, because then you don’t have to go into the kitchen and see the same old things every day. The reality is that there is only so much that you can do, but if you bought things like Chinese black vinegar or soya sauce or mustard oil then you can cook differently.

MasterChef Australia did spark an overdrive of cookery shows. In fact we had MasterChef India, but that was a disaster…

George Calombaris: Maybe it is a great show, and you guys were not giving them a chance, because every journo we spoke to has told us that it was a disaster.

Gary Mehigan: We met Ajay Chopra three days ago, and he is a great chef. He said that the worst thing for MasterChef India was that the expectations from it. But from what I have heard, they had approached the show differently. It was a little harder, authoritarian and sterner. But we have always been encouraging - giving constructive feedback, one negative and always two positives. I think that is the secret of getting the best out of people. And I also think it is indicative of the way people and society is, like in Australia we have a different way of living, which encourages people through schools, colleges, and the whole support network and we try not to be negative. This is a very Aussi characteristic. And we treat everybody the same.

Firing up an appetite

MasterChef Australia has also sparked the love for good food, wouldn't you agree?

Gary Mehigan: I don’t think there is anything more topical than food. Let’s be honest, it is food and water and we want to know where our food comes from, whether it was grown property and if it’s sustainable. Also if we can go on eating the way we do, for centuries to come. And there couldn't have been a better time, that globally food has become such a hot topic.

And what would you say to the idea of adding a bit of food history to your show, maybe explore the concept of food metaphors and origins, historically I mean.

George Calombaris: Matt Preston does a lot of that. We try and connect dishes with history, where it is grown, some nostalgia and childhood memories. Because when you try and cook something on the show, it comes from somewhere, and there is a personal story.

Gary Mehigan: And you know what, we have got to make it entertaining. We are very popular with the middle demographics and children. So we have got to make that show appealing and entertaining and we have to follow the stories of the contestants and make them cook. 

So if you want a food history show, then you can flip the channel, watch it and take notes and do all of that, but when you are talking to an audience that is 8-12 years old, like we do on MasterChef Australia, you've got to make food fun and when you are talking to an audience who cooks very simply, you have got to make the idea of cooking something elaborate, fun - which is what we try and do.

Enthusiastic 8-12 year olds @ the kitchen

And with that, they were gone – whisked away by the organisers to judge the 'Creative Cooking for Kids' competition organised as part of Oz Fest India. 

PS: Picture credit goes to google.

Infinite, Unlimiting Effects of Soft Power

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His and Her Stories

One evening, I happened to overhear some ‘female-talk’ in the powder room. In my defence, I wasn’t paying any attention, until the sing song tone of a certain voice made it impossible to not listen. She said, “In all this rush, I forgot my brush!”  

I could not see her, but those words formed an image in my mind. A socialite, I thought. For, to them, a bad hair day is the biggest catastrophe, and there is a nasal tone of helplessness in all their voices. Anyone, silly enough to presume they need help, should take a lesson from the story of the Spider and the Fly. 

The King in Exile

When I stepped out, my eyes automatically searched for the owner of the voice, resting on a middle aged lady in an expensive looking sari. The younger women with her said, “You shouldn’t be worrying about your hair, you look perfect!”  She said that with an emphasis on the word ‘perfect’. I walked away before the conversation went into grave hair details.  

I smiled at a few familiar faces. Some of them, made an appearance at every social event. I wondered how they had the energy to dress up every single day. I was at a book launch, and though it was the author’s maiden book, I decided to go because I have been hiding away for too long, and I did not want to be forgotten. 

Before the launch, I met her for a brief couple of minutes. Sudha Shah told me that the book was a story waiting to be told. She explained how after reading Amitav Gosh’s The GlassPalace, she had wondered what happened to the exiled royal family. Impressive - I had read that book too, but I’d never thought about the Burmese King and if I had, I did not bother to find out. She then spoke of how this thought became an obsession, how she had to travel extensively to meet people and the characters of the book, now her closest friends. And then came the big one - The King in Exile is all facts and no fiction! 

All that glitters is GOLD

The official launch began with a slide show. In Burma, she said, royalty lived in golden palaces – literally. They ate on utensils made of gold, brushed their hair with wooden combs set in pure gold, inlayed with rubies and the palace itself was a cluster of buildings gilded in gold. The king was God’s representative on earth and he lived in great style. Until, the British came. 

King and his family is exiled to the Brick House in Ratnagiri, India

The book is in three parts - King Thibaw in Burma, his exiled life in Ratnagiri and the story of his children and their families. Some no longer acknowledge their Burmese connections, living and working in India in dire poverty. Others have moved back to Burma, but with the end of monarchy, they are simply private citizens. 

I listened to the stories the author had to say about her meetings with the family… how the great grandson living in Burma requested her to get him Shimla apples, because he has heard his grandmother talk about them, how the youngest child born in this lineage, looks Burmese, even when her mother and grandmother has none of the characteristic Mongolian features… her experiences that spanned across seven years, that ultimately became the book.  

His grave in Ratnagiri is unmarked, and next to him rests his daughter

A lot of research, understanding and scanning has gone into the writing The King in Exile. And though I have just started reading it, I am completely bowled over by the kind of work that has gone into crafting this. 

Thinking back, ‘rush’ and ‘brush’ had rhymed. I should have guessed that it was not a co-incidence. 

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Traveling Food Metaphors

My husband’s parents left for Dubai last night, a destination that has been pending on my Mom-in-law’s list of must-visit places. She once told me, immediate family and close friends living in the UAE totalled to 75 families! But this is not just her story. If you are a Malayalee, then you’d probably consider Dubai your second home. In colloquial Malayalam, ‘Dubai’, does not mean that one particular emirate in the UAE, instead it represents all the six Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. Like the word ‘Madarasi’ means South Indian to most people from the Northern part of India. Politically incorrect yes, but such incorrectness seep deep into common lingua, and soon start to sound right. 

One night in Dubai

Kerala has only three international airports – one in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. The next time you are at the Dubai airport; do keep a lookout for flights leaving to or coming from these places, and I can assure you that the frequency and the rush in those terminals will surprise you no end. Kerala’s mass migration to the gulf region happened from 1972-83, a phenomenon which is now called the ‘Gulf boom’. Today, the Malayalee diaspora in this regions totals to over 2.5 million.

But Kerala’s ties with the Arab land date back to the 3^rd Century, after the Arab’s took over the trade route from the Romans. It was the Arab trader, who closely guarded the secret of Kerala’s black gold, thereby creating scarcity and an international demand for this product. It was he who brought Islam to Kerala as early as the 7^th century, a century after it developed in Arabia. This I thought was interesting; especially because Northern India was introduced to Islam only in the 11^th century, post the first invasion. 

As a young girl studying in a school run by Christian missionaries, I had friends who were Muslim, Christian and Hindu. Lunch, was my favourite hour, and I waited patiently for the girls to open their tiffin boxes and reveal the wonderfully delicious dishes within. My Christian friends brought fried shrimps with rice, sometimes it was fried beef with rice and my Muslim friends brought Neychoru or ghee rice with chicken or mutton curry. On special days there was chatti pathiri, adukku pathiri and even athishaya pathiri. I traded my boring dosas’ and idlys’ and puttu for half their lunch box. 

Beef ularthiyathu, prawns fry, chatti pathiri and puttu with curry

If you are a meat eater, and if you have had the privilege (I use the word privilege on purpose here), of savouring home-made Malabari Muslim delicacies also known as Moplah Cuisine, you’d know why I prayed every evening to be born a Muslim in my next birth. Today, among other things, I am also a food show host. Thinking back, I consider the taste I developed for Malabari cuisine, as my first real lesson in understanding food cultures across the world. For, through the ancient sea route, food cultures of faraway nations had found their way to this region – Roman, Arab, Portuguese, Dutch and British, the influences are many. 



Parangi Andi or the cashew nuts

In a previous blog post, I have written about how the Turkish delight and the Midye Dolma, reminded me of food back home. Recently, I was at the Instituto Cervantes in Delhi, attending a class on Peruvian cooking. This food show can be watched here at 19:00 mins. Peru was once a colony of Spain, and their food cultures borrow heavily from each other. 

Though the Spaniards have had no direct contact with Kerala, traders from neighbouring Portugal have left their influences. And with both Spain and Portugal having their colonies in South America, the exchanges have been plenty. In Malayalam, a Portuguese person is called a ‘Parangi’ and the ‘parangi andi’ or the Portuguese nut is what cashew nuts are called to this date. Peanut is called ‘kappal-andi’ or ship nuts. This along with tapioca, green-red chili peppers, tobacco, rubber, potatoes, pine apples, coffee, vanilla and cocoa came from South America, along with slaves and communicable diseases, during The Age of Exploration. 

Malabari Biriyani and the Arroz tapado

At the cooking class conducted by the Instituto Cervantes, I learnt that rice was Peru’s staple food and they use pretty much all that we do while cooking every day food. Sweet potatoes were pealed, thinly sliced and fried, and used as a base for their finger food. Arroz tapado – rice based dish had a layer of cooked meat and was topped with boiled eggs. They use sunflower, soya bean and olive oil in their cooking, and this particular dish used pickled olives for garnishing. If I were to image the taste of the olives away, I’d have before me, a serving of Malabari biriyani. Mildly spiced, glazed with clarified butter or ghee, and with a layer of finely cooked meat. 

Comparison: Arroz Zambito & Ari or ricePayasam

Imagine my surprise when for dessert chef Nuria Rodríguez Parra taught us how to prepare Arroz zambito – Ari or rice Payasam, to most Malayalees. The only visible difference was when she added a few drops of alcohol along with lemon rind. The alcohol of course evaporated, and after the lemon rind was removed, it left but a faint after taste. The style of preparation was similar; and it was garnished with grated coconut before serving. How much more ‘Mallu’ could a Peruvian dish get? 



Turkish women, Gözleme & Adhishya Pathiri (bottom right)

I felt a similar sense of familiarity when I tried the Goulash in Hungary. Though the spices used were milder, and there definitely was no black pepper, this dish reminded me of the beef curry I had had in a small wayside shop in Kerala. While the Hungarian one was served with dumplings, I had eaten the Kerala version with hot porottas. And in Turkey, a group of women squatting down inside a makeshift tent, fed me the yummiest stuffed bread ever, I believe its called Gözleme. They fill it up with cheese, greens and meat keema and then cook it in butter... Çok lezzetliydi (delicious)! Yes, it does look a lot like the Mallu Adhishya Pathiri. 

What wonderful stories these make – the migration of ingredients, cooking styles and the metaphors of ‘traveling food’. And I hope my parents-in-law, will bring back edible delights which are authentically Arabic, and yet faintly Malabari.

Muslims in Indian Cities

Meanwhile, if the subject of Islam in India interests you, get hold of Muslims in Indian Cities: Trajectories of Marginalisation - a HarperCollins India publication. It is edited by French Indophiles Christophe Jaffrelot and Laurent Gayer, and the collection of essays in this book deeply explores Muslim history in India, finding contrasting images in the lives of India’s largest minority. At the book launch, they spoke about the 10 historical cities they had documented, and one of them was Kozhikode. 

After that of course, I was all ears. While the Muslims minority in modern India follows the self-segregation trend; Malabar’s Muslims are an affluent lot, who enjoy the same social status as the local Hindus. In case you are planning to bring up the Marad example, do note that the book is comparing Malabar with cities like Bhopal, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad etc. The book goes on to say that as Islam came into this region through peaceful, commercial means of trade, the Islamic society here considers themselves Dravaidan just like the local Hindus. They also have power in numbers, because the population of Muslims in Malabar is behind the Hindus by just a few thousands!!

Hungary - An eclectic mix of realities

I have been on Couchsurfing since 2008, but my first CS experience was in July 2012, a little before my Europe trip. The reason for this newfound interest was pretty straightforward - I wanted to meet travellers who either belonged to or had been to these places. 

Paharganj - A backpacker's haven

At Paharganj, Delhi’s backpacker’s paradise, I met a Couchsurfing Hungarian couple - Juhász Németh and Tímea Farkas. They were dressed in comfortable harams and loose tops, and they fit perfectly into the Pahargunj scene. Juhász had long dreadlocks and a beard and Timea wore her hair short, preferred beads and had on earrings made using dyed pigeon feathers. They had journeyed from Budapest to Istanbul via road, and from there had flown to Delhi, and had plans of backpacking around India, till their visa expired. They were on a very tight budget and shared an Aloo Paratha which cost just Rs 25 (36 cents) at Khosla Cafe. Timea had heard about Bollywood’s fixation with blondes and wanted to know if I had any connections with the film industry and if I could get her a role as an extra, in one of the song sequences. A few days shoot could fund their travels, she said. That was my first meeting with travellers looking at working their way around India. I was under the impression that Europeans found India cheap, because of their stronger currency. 

But, this couple was from Hungary, and according to them, the present economic situation in their country had left many jobless and sometimes homeless. Juhász and Tímea, both artists, could not afford to keep a home in Budapest anymore. So they had decided to leave behind everything they owned, and travel until things changed for the better in their country. I found it had to believe, and even Google’s inputs did not match up to the gravity of the situation they painted. 

I was soon to discover the truth in their statement. Our bus from Vienna to Budapest stopped at Népliget Bus station. Compared to Vienna, Népliget looked neglected, the man at the info desk refused to smile, his behaviour bordered near rude, and he suggested we take a cab - all things wikitravel had warned us would happen in Hungary. 

Zeros have no particular value 

Though part of the Eurozone, Hungary uses its own currency, and the exchange rate is 282 Hungarian Forints for one Euro. To purchase our subway ticket we had to first convert money, and the exchange office at the bus station gave us only 230 HUF for a euro. Later, we did see places that advertised 256, 262 and 273 HUFs per euro, but no one gave the exact exchange rate. 

Lily Furedi's 1934 art piece depicts the then fashionable Hungarian subway

The subway station was dimly lit, with graffiti on the wall and people sleeping in and lurking around dark corners. I was starting to feel scared. I had seen this sort of a setting in movies, and none of them had a happy ending. I held on to my bags, and tried to stand where the lights were the brightest. We then heard a rumbling noise, like the creaking ghost of an old soviet tank, and slowly the train rolled in. It was a lot like the tram in Kolkata, but with air conditioning.

Shoes for a bargain

When we surfaced, the scene around us had changed drastically, for we were now in the touristy part of Pest, with buildings and street signs and branded shops, but almost all of them were on sale. Shoes which were originally priced at 17,900 HUF was now available for 7,900 HUF. Lemonade was priced at 640 HUF. When inflation stares you in the face, zeros have no particular value. 

To explore the city, we took a walking tour that worked for tips. After the expedition, you can pay the guide what you can afford to spare, but the silent rule is always 10 euros, in this case something around 2,800 HUF. In Hungary bank notes come in the 1,000 HUF denominations and a girl in my group handed out a 20,000 HUF bank note in the place of 2,000! Thankfully, our guide was a decent chap, and he handed it back to her with a fair warning. 

‘Goulash communism’ and other histories

Religious freedom - a cherished right

The Soviets ruled Hungary for a long time, and after the Stalin era, the country developed its own kind of Communism. ‘Goulashcommunism’ mixed ideologies like Hungary’s popular culinary dish ‘Goulash’ mixes ingredients. Under the communists, every individual had a part to play in the running of the State. They were all required to hold jobs, and those out of work, were locked up. A family was guaranteed a steady flow of income, though minimal. Schools, health care and travel were subsidised. Practise of religion in public was banned and children were not allowed to be baptised. 

With the fall of communism in 1989, things changed. Education came at a price. Travel involved tickets – but even today you will find ticketless travellers on trams and buses, a habit they refuse to give up. The ‘compulsory work’ rule was removed, and the State took responsibility of providing for those out of work, but with families. And that’s how a section of society decided to get married and reproduce and forget about earning an honest day’s living – the gypsy population was never higher. 

What's visible of the silent rebellion

But Fodor, our guide, gave us both sides of the story. Most of his countrymen were thankful for the freedom that they had, after all, a man could become a millionaire or an achiever if he had the will and the talent. Even then, they were also worried about what the future holds, especially when the per person average income in the country was at 1,57,000 HUF and a rented house came for 70,000 HUF. Inflation has made life miserable, and though the rebellion is silent, it manifests itself in unexpected ways – like the unhappy info desk personal, a man peeing on the streets in broad day light and vandalism at some of the most iconic buildings. 

Beef goulash, with pink soup in the cup

For the eclectic traveller

If you are willing to ignore these, Budapest has much to offer an eclectic traveller. When I am away from home I look forward to eating in restaurants or cafes where the locals frequent, for a taste of what is authentic. I definitely wanted to give the Goulash a try. Yes, the same dish which gave their politics its name. Our walking tour came to an end at the Buda side and after our goodbyes; Fodor informed us that he was going for lunch before his next tour. So we joined him at a small workers mess, in the upper story of a building. There were no name boards announcing its existence, and it was a no-frills-attached eating place where local shop keepers and vendors sat around for a quick, silent meal. The menu was in Hungarian, and no one in the restaurant spoke English. If it wasn’t for Fodor, I doubt we’d have known what to order. 

The beef goulash was served with dumplings and this I had with some fruit and vegetable soup. The broth was pink in colour, light, mildly spiced and orangey. The steamed dumplings were bland, but the goulash, to borrow popular lingua, was sharp! The meat was tender, the dish not as spicy as it looked (at least for an Indian used to Mughali food) and it was comfort food at its best, for very less! 

Kürtőskalács - Transylvanian Chimney cake

After a full meal when we walked back to the Pest side, we heard street musicians singing church music – a post-soviet era right. Gypsies on the other hand played their kind of music, while couples and children danced the evening away. At a small stall in the open market, I tried the Kürtőskalács, also known as Chimney cake, another one of Hungary’s iconic delicacies. It’s from the Transylvania region (the Dracula state) and it tastes like smoked, soft bread dipped in caramelised sugar and flavoured with vanilla, chocolate or coconut. 

The weeping willow

A man with many secrets

Budapest is like a man with many secrets and only a skilled lover can get him to reveal those that he beholds. Our Jewish walk, helped us peel back some of these layers. Analee, our guide was a pagan – Christian (non-baptised because the Soviet government did not allow it) and she had a Jewish grandmother who was a holocaust survivor. Before the communists, the Nazis were in Hungary for a few months, and the death toll of Jews in that period ran into 4,00,000. In what was once the Jew part of town, they now have a memorial for Hungarian Jewish Martyrs this is shaped like a weeping willow, and the leaves have the names of victims embedded on them along with some inscriptions. 

One of the many rundown buildings

We walked further in, leaving behind the Jewish district, and in this part of Pest, time stood still. The city was attacked during WW-II, and even today buildings here look like they took a shelling last evening. Communist who ruled after WW-II took little interest in reconstruction or conservation. And now with Buda and Pest included in the UNESCO World Heritage list, these shell hit buildings cannot be torn down and rebuilt, unless it is in accordance with the construction guidelines laid out by UNESCO. This is of course an investment oriented initiative, and the Government or the families living in these buildings have no money to spare. 

But that hasn’t stopped many enterprising Hungarians from making the most of it. These abandoned, run down and shelled buildings, today house creators of alternative fashion, art, animation, film and music. Like a phoenix, from these ruins have emerged a new identity and culture, and today, it is the hidden soul of urban Budapest. Most travellers, bored of the European neo-classical churches and buildings, are drawn to this part of town, like moth to fire.  

Discarded but artistic - Szimpla Kert

Party animals and those looking for an early morning cuppa to treat their hangover, can find their poison or cure, in one of the many watering holes and cafes in this region. One such living WW II relic is the Szimpla Kert (Simple Garden), the first ruinpub in Budapest, voted as the 3rd best bar in the world by Lonely Planet. Discarded things added to the décor here, ups the distressed look. 

I was there, and I loved the vibes, but beyond that, pardon me sir, I have no recollection.  

Now in case you are interested, I do have interesting photographs of Budapest, before I got to Szimpla Kert.  

 

An open air evening market in Pest

Nightlight at the modern bridge near Margit Island

Cast iron bars hold this 1849 Chain Bridge in its place