Hardeep Singh Kohli Interview
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You travelled to all the locations featured in the series. Did it feel like you were on a one man mission to conduct a food census of Britain?
When we were travelling round, we were made aware of all the other places we could have visited in the UK, all the other communities up and down the country who have great links to their food heritage. But that’s for series two or three; I think we are at the beginning of something here.
What do you think viewers will find most surprising about ethnic food in Britain in 2008?
I think people will be surprised about the range of food that is out there, and often in the most unlikely places. It will be great to introduce people to something they haven’t tried before, say Filipino or Portuguese food. Take Indian food -there is one type of food that people eat out at restaurants and there is the regional type of Indian cooking we do on the show.
Do any of the newer wave of cuisines in this country like Polish or Korean have the potential to be as popular as Indian or Italian?
The hit cuisine for me on the series was Korean. Japanese food has the texture, Indian food has the spice, Chinese has the intricacies of ingredients – but Korean has all three. It really blew me away, and it’s a cuisine I will be taking with me from this series and cooking at home. Compared with Filipino food (which has been influenced by so many other cuisines) Korean food has a real sense of identity.
Have you forgiven John Tororde for not crowning you Celebrity MasterChef?
John’s great endeavour in life is the pursuit of excellence and he takes awarding the MasterChef title very seriously – even though, in my case he might be out of kilter with the general public’s view! John has played a significant part in my development as a chef and I owe him a debt. What possibly doesn’t come across in the MasterChef series is how incredibly supportive Greg and he are of the contestants, and (they) are really encouraging in your development. It’s because of him I am here today, presenting food programmes and writing restaurant reviews.
Have you ever thought of taking your cooking ambitions further and opening your own restaurant?
Of course I have! Everyone who has more than eight people to a dinner party fantasises about owning a restaurant. My place would be either Indian or Modern British. I love cooking and I am truly passionate about food, I am going home now to cook for my fellow Booker prize judges.
What are you cooking?
What am I cooking? To start blanched asparagus in stilton sauce, for the main course saddle of lamb with baba ganoush and to finish, which I am really excited about, poached rhubarb with a white chocolate mousse. And I haven’t made any of these dishes before!
When we were travelling round, we were made aware of all the other places we could have visited in the UK, all the other communities up and down the country who have great links to their food heritage. But that’s for series two or three; I think we are at the beginning of something here.
What do you think viewers will find most surprising about ethnic food in Britain in 2008?
I think people will be surprised about the range of food that is out there, and often in the most unlikely places. It will be great to introduce people to something they haven’t tried before, say Filipino or Portuguese food. Take Indian food -there is one type of food that people eat out at restaurants and there is the regional type of Indian cooking we do on the show.
Do any of the newer wave of cuisines in this country like Polish or Korean have the potential to be as popular as Indian or Italian?
The hit cuisine for me on the series was Korean. Japanese food has the texture, Indian food has the spice, Chinese has the intricacies of ingredients – but Korean has all three. It really blew me away, and it’s a cuisine I will be taking with me from this series and cooking at home. Compared with Filipino food (which has been influenced by so many other cuisines) Korean food has a real sense of identity.
Have you forgiven John Tororde for not crowning you Celebrity MasterChef?
John’s great endeavour in life is the pursuit of excellence and he takes awarding the MasterChef title very seriously – even though, in my case he might be out of kilter with the general public’s view! John has played a significant part in my development as a chef and I owe him a debt. What possibly doesn’t come across in the MasterChef series is how incredibly supportive Greg and he are of the contestants, and (they) are really encouraging in your development. It’s because of him I am here today, presenting food programmes and writing restaurant reviews.
Have you ever thought of taking your cooking ambitions further and opening your own restaurant?
Of course I have! Everyone who has more than eight people to a dinner party fantasises about owning a restaurant. My place would be either Indian or Modern British. I love cooking and I am truly passionate about food, I am going home now to cook for my fellow Booker prize judges.
What are you cooking?
What am I cooking? To start blanched asparagus in stilton sauce, for the main course saddle of lamb with baba ganoush and to finish, which I am really excited about, poached rhubarb with a white chocolate mousse. And I haven’t made any of these dishes before!
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