Devon Q&A
Find out more about one of the Kiwi contigent in this series - Devon
Fast facts
1. Favourite chef: Rick Stein and Jamie
Oliver.
2. Favourite restaurant: Prego. It's in
Ponsonby, Auckland, NZ.
3. Favourite cuisine: Italian.
4. Favourite place to travel: Europe.
5. Favourite dish to cook: Pasta.
6. Favourite vegetable: Onions (you need them
in everything).
7. Sweet or savoury: Savoury.
8. How do you like your eggs: Poached with
runny yolks.
Q&A
Favourite ingredient and why?
Onions, they are the base of all great dishes.
What's your favourite meal of the day - breakfast, lunch
or dinner?
Dinner.
What dish would be the way to your heart?
Perfect Eggs Benedict.
What are your favourite tunes to cook to?
Lazy Café tunes (background music).
What do you think you'll learn from being on
MasterChef?
A huge amount. Just being around food 24/7 will increase my
knowledge and allow me to expand on my kitchen skills.
Which judge makes you the most nervous?
It should be Matt Preston, but it has to be Gary - he can stare
straight through you!
Tell us about how you got into cooking and how old were
you?
I always used to pester my Mum and Gran in the kitchen as a young
buck, but it wasn't until my early teens that I started getting
excited about cooking. I think I just got fed up with bangers and
mash (sorry Mum!).
What's the first meal you remember cooking and was it a
success or a disaster?
It was Chicken Tonight. I checked the packet, looked at what was
in it, added more fresh ingredients and followed the instructions.
Great success!
What three ingredients would you take with you to a
desert island and what would you cook with them?
Flour, eggs, olive oil. I'd cook pasta, bread and eggs on
toast.
If you were having any three people, alive or dead, over
for dinner, who would they be and what would you cook for
them?
Catherine (my partner), Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver. I would cook
my signature dish that I developed from a Rick Stein cooking show.
His was Sea Urchin Pasta; mine is scallop and ricotta ravioli with
scallop roe reduction and salmon caviar.
What inspired you to go on MasterChef?
My friends and family were all behind me, so I thought, what do I
have to lose? Maybe my sanity!
