Phillip Q&A
Fast facts
1. Favourite chef: George Calombaris.
2. Favourite restaurant: Philhellene
Provincial Greek Cuisine, Victoria.
3. Favourite cuisine: Greek food.
4. Favourite place to travel: Greece.
5. Favourite dish to cook: Dolmades.
6. Favourite vegetable: Zucchini.
7. Sweet or savoury: Sweet.
8. How do you like your eggs: Fried,
sunny-side up.
Q&A
Favourite ingredient and why?
Lamb because I've been eating lamb since I was a young boy and I
still love the taste. Lamb is the most common meat used in Greek
cooking and tastes great cooked so many different ways.
What's your favourite meal of the day - breakfast, lunch
or dinner?
Breakfast because I wake up in the morning so, so hungry and
everything tastes so good in the morning. I love eating my protein
shakes, eggs, fresh fruit, cereals and breads.
What dish would be the way to your heart?
Any form of sweet, cakes, panna cottas, ice cream and
chocolates.
What are your favourite tunes to cook to?
Lenny Kravitz and Bob Marley.
What do you think you'll learn from being on
MasterChef?
How to prepare dishes more quickly, more professionally and more
aesthetically pleasing.
Which judge makes you the most nervous?
Gary makes me nervous because I think that my style of cooking and
cuisine isn't what Gary likes.
Tell us about how you got into cooking and how old were
you?
I started cooking when I was about four or five with my
Grandmother. I grew up with my grandparents and as a small child
helping my grandmother (Yaya) cook kept me occupied and happy and
gave me a real passion for food.
What's the first meal you remember cooking and was it a
success or a disaster?
The first meal I remember cooking was Spaghetti Bolognese for my
sister. I remember being sick at home from school and I wanted to
surprise her and make her an after school snack. It was the only
dish I could make at the age of seven without it being a
disaster.
What three ingredients would you take with you to a
desert island and what would you cook with them?
Lamb, Greek yoghurt and garlic. I would make some form of souvlaki
(without the bread).
If you were having any three people, alive or dead, over
for dinner, who would they be and what would you cook for
them?
My grandmother and my grandfather because I wish they could be
alive right now to see me in the MasterChef competition. I would
also ask Jimmy Seervai because I would get him to cook for us
instead and make his signature dish, crab curry.
What inspired you to go on MasterChef?
The memory of my grandmother telling me to make sure I go for and
achieve my dreams. I think that in life you should do what makes
you happy because in the end that's all that counts.
