Sri Lankan born Brit competes in UK MasterChef
A Sri Lankan born Brit is competing in the fourth heat of MasterChef 2024 in the UK.
Global phenomenon MasterChef is back for a stellar 20th series, on BBC iPlayer and BBC One, the BBC reported.
MasterChef judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace embark on an exhilarating journey across eight weeks, to discover the UK’s best amateur cook, one plate at a time, serving up surprises and extra special occasions along the way.
Thirty-two-year-old Mathu grew up in Sri Lanka and then Toronto, Canada. She now lives in London with her two flat mates and works as a Head of Charity Investments.
How would you describe your style of cooking?
“I would describe my cooking as Sri Lanka meets North America. I love using loads of different traditional Sri Lankan ingredients and spices and combining them with North American favourites such as fried chicken and shrimp with grits, bagels, cream cheese and onion chutney.”
What is your earliest cooking memory?
“My earliest cooking memory is watching and helping my grandma pick curry leaves from the stalk in Sri Lanka. She would then use them to cook a curry for us all to eat. I also have very strong memories of eating fried Kingfish over fires and roast paan (a Sri Lankan type of bread) in Sri Lanka.
I first really learned to cook when I moved out on my own and was craving Sri Lankan food – and generally food that wasn’t out of a packet! I watched YouTube videos and used books to learn the techniques I use in my cooking. My base flavours come from my childhood and I try to combine that with my upbringing in Toronto.”
MasterChef turns 20 this year – What are your earliest MasterChef memories? What kind of impact do you think it’s had on you or the country’s approach to food?
“My earliest MasterChef memory is watching MasterChef Canada at home on my computer. I really fell in love with the series during lockdown after binging seasons of MasterChef UK and MasterChef Australia, as a way to decompress during a really hard time in my life.
When I moved to the UK, I used what I learnt in lockdown to cook for my flatmates and I really bonded with them through watching MasterChef.
For me, MasterChef is the story of people coming together and it helped integrate me into this country. I think this broadly plays out on a national level, as MasterChef has really helped to integrate different types of food into the UK national cuisine.”
Why did you enter MasterChef?
“I entered MasterChef because I love cooking. I see it as a unique way to bring people together, as it did for me, and I wanted to share my style of food with everyone.”
What is your food dream?
“I see food as something that can bring people together. My dream is to host a series of themed pop-up dinners called ‘The Elephant in the Room Dinners’ where I would invite British people across the political spectrum together to have challenging conversations about different topics. I think really tasty food and drink helps to disarm people, allows them to bring their walls down, and engage with people in a way they often wouldn’t. I would love to be able to start doing these pop-up dinners as a way to bridge divides.”
(Courtesy BBC)
