Cooking celebrity

"Being declared the winner of the V8 cake by the great pastry chef Adriano Zumbo” was his best moment during the MasterChef contest, declared the charismatic Jimmy Seervai (see "Spice apart,” Parsiana, June 7, 2010) who made a sensational comeback in the high-rating Australian TV show to make it to the final four.

In the tough test of duplicating a cake make by Zumbo, there were strong contestants with Seervai but finally the judging panel decided that Seervai’s cake was not only the tastiest but also the most beautifully presented. "Curry King” Seervai was happy to prove to the other contestants that he was not just a ‘one-dimensional cook’ adept at spicy Indian cuisine. Although Seervai did not make it to the finals, as his reward he was allowed to select the ingredients for the following night’s mystery box challenge whereby he could flummox the remaining competitors.

Jimmy Seervai, popular contestant of MasterChef, with his culinary creations (below)

Australia has been in the throes of an election campaign but even political masterminds acknowledged that they could not compete with the MasterChef TV program in the same time slot. They therefore brought forward the political leaders’ election debate between Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott by an hour so as not to clash with the finals of MasterChef. An estimated five million, that is one-fourth of the Australian population witnessed 31-year-old lawyer Adam Liaw defeat 20-year-old engineering student Callum Hann to emerge victor of MasterChef.

For his rise in the culinary competition Seervai gives credit to one of the judges Gary Mehigan who "loves curry and Indian food in general. And of course my mum Christine and my fiancée Jem who suggested I take part in this contest.” The most embarrassing moment during the show was trying "to make a croquembouche in 30 minutes.” (A traditional dessert used at French weddings or christening, croquembouche features profiteroles — small creampuffs — held together with a delicate cobweb of caramel to form a breathtaking centerpiece. The word is derived from the French croquant, meaning crackling, and bouche, mouth; signifying crackling in the mouth.)

Now a cooking celebrity, Seervai is planning to open a restaurant Jimmy’s Spice Kitchen in the heart of Sydney. "Dhansak will be the signature dish of the restaurant along with a few other Parsi dishes,” he mentions. He is also enthusiastic about his newly launched website www.jimmysspice kitchen.com. au: "It will have heaps of Parsi recipes and cooking tips.” Among the recipes he shares are Jimmy’s Sunday Lamb Roast, Chilli Mud Crab Curry, Masala Dosa and Gulab Jamun. As he conveys on his website, "After being in the MasterChef competition I found my passion to cook would not remain just a pastime but something that I want to share and make available to others who love to cook with spice.”

Kersi Meher-Homji