Iron Chef and a Master meet in Shiraaz kitchen

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THURSDAY NOVEMBER 19 2015 GEELONGADVERTISER.COM.AU
Celebrity chefs Ripu
Daman Handa
(MasterChef) and Mark
Normoyle (Iron Chef) at
the Shiraaz restaurant.
Picture: NIGEL HALLETT
wine
jury
with BRETT SMITH
Toolangi, Yarra Valley, 2013 Pinot
Noir, $28
THE grapes are hand picked, the wine
is made at Yering State and matured
in French oak for 12 months.
There are dusty notes and soft cherry
overtones with a long finish.
It is a perfectly well-balanced pinot
coming from a vineyard renowned
primarily for pinot and chardonnay.
I was very happy with this with a
snapper served with a tomato, chilli
and dill salsa. That’s the beauty of a
good pinot — it’s a red you can
comfortably serve with fish.
Margaret Linley
94
Lethbridge Wines 2014 Pinot
Meunier, $42
HERE is a special occasion wine
which won’t disappoint lovers of
French-style wines. Pinot Meunier is
one-third of all grapes grown in
Champagne. It was popular in
Geelong’s early days as a
winegrowing area (we’re talking mid1800s) and was known as Miller’s
Burgundy.
And here it is, used to achieve a fullflavoured wine, smoky and big,
plenty of cherry. Excellent.
Margaret Linley
95
Iron Chef and a Master
meet in Shiraaz kitchen
MARGARET LINLEY
IT was celebrity chef central at Geelong Indian
restaurant Shiraaz with two renowned chefs as
guests of honour at a special dinner at the weekend.
Ripu Daman Handa is India’s MasterChef
2013 winner and Mark Normoyle is Australia’s
Iron Chef.
Shiraaz owner Ashwani Kumar said it was an
honour to host the chefs who had achieved
great status.
Normoyle, who is executive chef of the
RACV Club in Melbourne, first cooked with
Japan’s Iron Chefs — Hiroyuki Sakai, Chen
Kenichi and Rokusaburo Michiba — in 2011.
“Iron Chef was perhaps the original cooking
show,” he said.
“A lot of people have tried to replicate that;
they even tried to do an Iron Chef (cooking
show) in Australia but no one can do it like the
Japanese.”
The three Iron Chefs invited Normoyle to
visit Japan. Food tours followed and then, for his
efforts, he was bestowed the title of Iron Chef
Australia.
“These guys are like rock stars in Japan, even
though the original television series finished
years ago,’’ he said.
Handa, who is guest chef at the RACV Club
this week for Diwali celebrations, was India’s
youngest MasterChef when he won at the age
of 21.
The experience has changed his life. He now
has an Italian restaurant in Mumbai with
another opening soon, an Indian restaurant
soon to open in Switzerland, he’s a finalist on a
dancing show and is about to start importing
Italian wine into India. He’s also hosted Junior
Master Chef. But his foray into cooking as a
career came about by accident.
“In my previous life I’m a gym owner in
Delhi,” Handa said. “Cooking was my passion
and after I completed my senior secondary
school I tell my father I want to do something
with a cooking focus but my dad said I am a doctor, your mother is a doctor, your grandfather
and your relatives are doctors.”
It was when he was staying at a relative’s
house in New Delhi that he became aware of
MasterChef.
“ I looked out the window and there were all
these ladies standing there with food,” he said. “I
am busy with my life and didn’t know about the
cooking show but I decided to do something.
My relative had some Punjabi dish with polenta
and some spinach and I made a pizza and after
the tomato sauce I put that on and then some
cheese and got in the line.
“My dad is pretty much now excited: he
totally believes in me.”
Mr Kumar said he had “great opinions” of
both chefs. “We did a great effort to bring them
here,” Mr Kumar said. “I have known Mark for a
long time and he is doing a lot of great works in
Australia. Ripu is doing a fabulous job here and
in India.”
This is not the first time Mr Kumar has
brought a celebrity chef to his Malop St restaurant. In June last year Mr Kumar hosted Sanjeev Kapoor. At that time Kapoor had 1.7 million
Facebook followers, 47 restaurants across India,
the UK and the Middle East and his own 24/7
food channel.
A French toast It’s all praises for Jamie’s ministry
MELBOURNE’S French Festival:
Paris to Provence is on for three
days, starting Friday, at the
National Trust property of Como in
South Yarra.
There will be live music, games
of petanque, an escargot-eating
contest and croissant-tossing.
Head inside the Grand Ballroom
and find out about French property,
language and travel.
Daily tickets are $20 or less.
For details on the festival, head
to paristoprovence.com.au.
Debbie and Ross McConaghy
NEW research shows Jamie Oliver’s
Ministry of Food is leading to positive
changes in the lives of those who participate in the 10-week program run
out of the Moorabool St kitchen.
Graduates of the program report
feeling more confident about their
cooking, trying new recipes and choosing less takeaway.
They are also eating more vegies,
with each participant eating half a cup
more each day.
Debbie and Ross McConaghy, of
Belmont, did the course 18 months ago
and loved it. “I’m a diabetic and have to
watch what I eat,’’ Mrs McConaghy
said. “I’ve learnt a lot of technical things
and skills like cutting.”
The course is very hands-on and
“we became like a big family,” Mrs
McConaghy said.
The next course begins on November 23 and runs each Monday for 10
weeks, 1-2.30pm. There is a Saturday
course, 9-10.30am, beginning on November 28. Cost is $200 with significant
discounts available. Check out jamies
ministryoffood.com.
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