Masterclass with Kate Bracks

Kate Bracks (who won Masterchef a few years ago) ran a little Masterclass at my church this weekend! My family is right into all that Masterchef hype and the 'celebrity chef' stuff. A missed episode of My Kitchen Rules is like a tragedy to us. There are a quite few photos on my Mum and sister's facebook walls of them posing with ex-contestants or judges at cookbook promos and the like.

Signed recipe card from Manu Fiedel

A few weeks ago, Mum met Manu from My Kitchen Rules at Peters of Kensington (a homewares store). She took a photo and came away with autographed recipe cards for each of us. The recipe was for a slow-cooked lamb shoulder done with white wine. I had to swap shoulder for shanks, but the result was absolutely delicious! Definitely a winner.

Braised lamb shanks

I myself have been known to take paparazzi photos of celeb chef's when I've spotted them - - here is a photo of the side of Manu's head:

Spotted! Manu at Porteno, Surry Hills

Anyway, as you can guess, I was pretty excited about Kate Bracks and invited my mum and sister to come along.

She was really great. And so normal! Before the cooking demo started, she took time to chat to a few people sitting close to the stage (we of course took the front row seats), and asked us about what kind of foods we cooked. She was so lovely and easy to talk to.

Mum, Kate Bracks, and me!

Kate showed us how to make a Vincotto glazed chicken with rocket salad, and 'boozy' oranges with honeycomb and mascarpone cream. She was so natural throughout the whole demo and her tips were given in a really casual, chatty way. It was such a pleasure to watch Kate cook.

The best part was that she took some time out to talk about her experience on Masterchef, and then went on to tackle some of life's biggest questions - why am I here? how can I have a fulfilled life? It all came straight out of her personal experiences and I was so impressed and encouraged by the way she fearlessly shared her beliefs.

Kate explained how it was God who kept her so centred during the craziness of Masterchef, when she was only allowed to see her family for a few hours every week, and when things got stressful and emotional. She said that while we all know what it feels like to crave yummy foods (hot chips anyone?!) she's found satisfaction for her soul's cravings: true rest, security for the future, and unconditional love. All this comes, she said, through her relationship with God.

So! Some tips I jotted down:

• Dress the bottom of the salad bowl rather than pour dressing over the top. You then mix the dressing through with your fingers. This stops the leaves 'drowning' under the dressing.
• Flip your meat every minute or so for even cooking. You don't have to stick to the 'flip once only' myth!
• Learn to feel how 'done' your meat is by touching it. Squishier means rarer; firmer means more done.

And one more I picked up from watching Kate:

• Be brave about sharing how God is in your life!

It was such a fun and inspiring morning and I am def a Kate Bracks fan!