Brent Draper was cheered by the world as he bagged the prestigious title of MasterChef Australia 2023. Fans of the show were overjoyed and supremely impressed seeing his hard work and extreme determination pass the test of time and all the pressure tests in the kitchen. His cooking content on social media too is being widely appreciated as he blends in his amazing wit with his incredible cooking skills.
In an exclusive interview with News18, the MasterChef AU winner spoke about his brilliant journey in the culinary show, his relationship with cooking, the importance of mental health, his love for Indian food and much more.
Excerpts From The Interview
Firstly, congratulations are in order for bagging the MasterChef Australia 2023 title. How does it feel? Has it all sunk in?
It feels amazing, honestly. I’ll give you this little inside scoop story: I was walking with Justin Narayan (Series 13 MasterChef Australia winner) ahead of the first day of filming for my first season; we were walking down this street next to each other and we were laughing because neither of us could believe we had made it into MasterChef and imagine if one of us won it – well, two of us won it! So it’s a very funny thing. It’s the pinnacle of cooking shows probably worldwide, so to know that my name is on the trophy is very special to me and gives me goosebumps when I think about it. Has it sunk in? No, probably not yet. It’s been around four weeks and I’ve been flying around like crazy with lots on, so I’ll probably sit back and think about it more over the coming weeks, definitely.
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What were your top 3 learnings from your time in the MasterChef kitchen?
The first thing is hard work pays off. Viewers obviously only see the episodes, they don’t get to see all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes, getting home and just reading, studying, cooking, right up to late at night.
Secondly, I think finding your cooking style and sticking to it. It’s one of the things that the judges always told us: find what you’re really good at and stick to it. Don’t go and do something silly, because you could get eliminated that way.
And third, just being neat, tidy, cooking clean and using your time well. That’s the biggest thing I’ve learnt, keeping clean while you’re cooking saves you from getting all muddled up in your head and running out of time.
If you were to look back in time, would you have done things in the kitchen any differently from the way you did this season?
No, I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Well, maybe just one thing, in the Top 5 elimination challenge, I probably wouldn’t have cooked pasta! But that’s about it.
You had left the kitchen only to return in full force; what was it like for you then? How did you cope?
I came back and I knew that I was mentally prepared for this season. I had done a lot of work on myself, and my mental health and I really learnt the person I am, what things trigger me, and what things I do stumble upon sometimes, but I also know what things help me and keep me focused and keep me pushing through. So I had that on my side, I had my little mental health toolbox that I knew I could pull out when I needed to, and I was just ready to give it my all to get through as far as I could.
Can you talk about some of your most memorable moments in the kitchen and why they count for you?
The most memorable moment in the kitchen was the Semi Final and getting through that. There wasn’t a harder cook I don’t think than the Semi Final cook. The Grand Finale was obviously difficult, the Pressure Test, but the Semi Final service challenge is just on another level, it’s so, so hard. You’re putting your own food out there, you’ve got to do so many plates and only in four hours’ time. So for me, completing that was probably the most memorable moment.
How did cooking come to you? What about it struck a chord in your heart?
I actually lived with three apprentices, and we all were terrible at cooking. We all ate takeaway a lot, but we didn’t have much money ‘cause we were apprentices. So one day I decided I would learn how to cook. The deal was that the other guys had to buy all the ingredients, but not me ‘cause I was doing the cooking. Then I actually found that I really loved cooking, and so it was a double win for me! I just sort of got better and better and started to dive deeper and deeper into cooking and before you knew it, it was all I could think about, and I was on MasterChef.
How would you describe your relationship with Indian cuisine? Are there any dishes you would want to try out in particular?
I love to cook Indian food. I think it’s beautiful, well-thought-out food. It’s rich, and it’s so different across the many regions. I obviously learnt from Depinder how to cook a dahl and I actually cooked a dahl this last season which was fun and something I really love doing. I think it’s an amazing cuisine and I would just love to visit to be able to try it out firsthand.
What are some of the things you love to whip up on a dull day?
I love to crank up the barbecue, whether it be a bit of meat or a whole roasted vegetable. There’s something very mesmerizing about standing around a barbeque for me, and probably a lot of men would say that too. But something nice and glazy and spicy and I’m watching it cook and putting that glaze on it while the flames are ripping up around me – that’s something I would do on a dull day.
You have been a mental health advocate for some time now, how do you think cooking helps? Is there a correlation we often tend to miss out on?
I think there is definitely a correlation between your mental health and cooking. I think that it is something that can be a relaxant for people. I can imagine making tortellini or ravioli and all the worries of the world slowly slipping away as you’re perfecting each one. It also brings families and people together and conversations are brought up around food. So yes, I think the two things are definitely bound together.
What is next for you in line, and what can your fans expect to see from you?
I am in talks at the moment around an idea for a cookbook centred around barbeque, charcoal and cooking over fire, with a mental health focus as well, something where I can join the two together in a really tasteful way. I’d love to give back to all the people who have supported me, if they’re struggling a little bit, this could help them in a way.
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