WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000
Hello and welcome to the recipe brought to you by Philippa Berrio.

2
00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:07.000
I'm your host, Theorandal, Chef Patrona Theorandal, Kitchena Taliana.

3
00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:11.000
Today I'm joined by guests whose victory in the 20th series of Mass Jeff UK

4
00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:15.000
was described by judges as the most exceptional in the competition's history.

5
00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:19.000
A veterinary surgeon by trade is traded the operating theatre for the kitchen,

6
00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:22.000
bringing a mass full taste of his Sri Lankan Tamil heritage.

7
00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:24.000
Please welcome Brynn Prithapin.

8
00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:31.000
Brynn Prithapin is a real pleasure to have you here today.

9
00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:33.000
Absolutely pleasure to be here with you.

10
00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:36.000
This show is all about recipes that have meaning, recipes that tell a story.

11
00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:38.000
What are you going to cook for us today?

12
00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:42.000
Today we have got Jaffna Mussels, which is a recipe out of my cookbook Elevate

13
00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:49.000
and it really kind of encompasses who I am as a cook and the way that I love to cook.

14
00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:53.000
It takes inspiration from my Tamil Sri Lankan background.

15
00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:56.000
Jaffna is a place in North Rangu where my parents are from.

16
00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:01.000
It takes some classic techniques from French cookery and that kind of melting together

17
00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:04.000
is how I love to cook and how I kind of love to show off cooking.

18
00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:07.000
So the classic French recipe would be Moonland, yeah?

19
00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:08.000
100% yeah.

20
00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.000
And obviously you've got different spices in there.

21
00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:13.000
So tell us about the spices you're going to find in.

22
00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:17.000
So with a seafood kind of dish,

23
00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:21.000
we often start with black mustard seeds and cumin seeds in the base.

24
00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:23.000
Really lovely and earthy.

25
00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:26.000
The cumin immediately hits the air and you can smell it.

26
00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.000
Of course we've got some lovely fresh curry leaves as well,

27
00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:33.000
which are just ubiquitous in Sri Lankan cooking.

28
00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:36.000
They're just vibrant and beautiful.

29
00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.000
And this delicious roasted Sri Lankan curry powder

30
00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:42.000
is kind of like the smell of my childhood.

31
00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:44.000
Roasted Sri Lankan has a little sniff of that.

32
00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:45.000
Wow.

33
00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:48.000
It's got a whole host of spice in which I'm not going to listen.

34
00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:49.000
It almost feels citrus.

35
00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:50.000
Oh, it's incredible.

36
00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:51.000
Yeah.

37
00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:56.000
So that's going to form quite an important part of the entire flavour profile within it.

38
00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:00.000
My parents have always laid on a feast for us.

39
00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:01.000
It's how I grew up.

40
00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:04.000
I didn't really realise how lucky I was till I got to uni.

41
00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:07.000
We obviously didn't really have muscles growing up.

42
00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:12.000
It was normally this kind of flavour but with a fish curry, quite commonly macro.

43
00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:13.000
Okay.

44
00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:16.000
And actually I used to kind of turn my nose up as a kid

45
00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:18.000
because I've got to take all the bones out.

46
00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:19.000
Yeah.

47
00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:21.000
It Sri Lankan feel we cooked with the bones.

48
00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:22.000
I saw where the flavour is.

49
00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:25.000
And now I realise why that is because you get all that beautiful flavour

50
00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:27.000
and you get that with the muscles here.

51
00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:29.000
Because they release all their wonderful flavour as well.

52
00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:33.000
And just taking those childhood memories and lessons from my parents

53
00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:35.000
and just putting it into something that I like to cook.

54
00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:40.000
And so your style of cooking is a little mixture of Sri Lankan food

55
00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:42.000
and your own style.

56
00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.000
I mean, how would you describe it?

57
00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:49.000
I'm very much an amalgamation of my Tamil Sri Lankan background,

58
00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:53.000
my British upbringing, all the travels that I've done.

59
00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:57.000
The book really encompasses that well because there's food

60
00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:58.000
from all over the world.

61
00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:00.000
And that's how I like to eat.

62
00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:03.000
So I think that's really that's just how I like to cook.

63
00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:05.000
And it's just creating things that bring it all together.

64
00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:09.000
I don't necessarily stick to one lane when I create one dish.

65
00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:10.000
Your first cookbook?

66
00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:11.000
Elevate?

67
00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:12.000
Yeah.

68
00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:13.000
What was that like?

69
00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:14.000
Obviously being very busy writing a book,

70
00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:16.000
it takes a lot of time and effort to write a book.

71
00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:18.000
No one tells you how much work it is when you write a book.

72
00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:20.000
But it's been great.

73
00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:22.000
It's something I always wanted to do.

74
00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:25.000
It takes the method of cooking that I love the most,

75
00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.000
which is essentially taking something very basic or everyday,

76
00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:30.000
elevating it into something vibrant and beautiful.

77
00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:33.000
And I've just tried to create a book that is accessible

78
00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:35.000
with ingredients that are accessible,

79
00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:41.000
but with dishes that seem bold and vibrant and full of flavour.

80
00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:42.000
Now you're a vet by trade.

81
00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:44.000
I mean, you're a veterinary surgeon,

82
00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:47.000
which has got to be the highest level of a vet.

83
00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:50.000
I know so many people that sort of wanted to go to vet school

84
00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:51.000
but never quite got there.

85
00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:54.000
So you've given that all up to be a chef cook.

86
00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.000
Yeah, I mean, the kitchen is very much my theatre now.

87
00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:01.000
I'm so happy working in food.

88
00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:02.000
Veterinary was great.

89
00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:04.000
I had a lovely career in it.

90
00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:07.000
I had a great time at uni or as a vet school.

91
00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.000
But it's just a whole new chapter of my life

92
00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:11.000
and I'm incredibly happy in it.

93
00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:12.000
So, and say we stay here.

94
00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:14.000
How did you get on MasterChef?

95
00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:17.000
MasterChef was something that I have watched my whole life.

96
00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.000
It's that thing that you just always end up sitting in front of.

97
00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.000
That's probably how I learnt to cook a lot

98
00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:23.000
because I watched them do it.

99
00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:25.000
I try and do it myself at home

100
00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:27.000
and pick up a few skills.

101
00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:29.000
And then it got to a point where I just thought,

102
00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:32.000
if I'm not on that show and I'm sitting at home watching it,

103
00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:33.000
I'll be really annoyed.

104
00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:34.000
So I'm going to have to apply.

105
00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:35.000
And see you applied.

106
00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:37.000
And what's the process?

107
00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:39.000
Do you do like a test or...

108
00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:41.000
Well, there's like a big, big online application

109
00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:44.000
and then phone interviews, face-to-face interviews.

110
00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.000
You've got to take food in and place out for them.

111
00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:49.000
And from that, you get on if you get on.

112
00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:51.000
And actually, when I did get on out,

113
00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:52.000
I suddenly panicked.

114
00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:53.000
I thought, I can't do this.

115
00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:54.000
I'm not going to do it.

116
00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.000
When you saw Greg and John, yeah.

117
00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:58.000
I'm like, oh my god, maybe not.

118
00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:01.000
But I nearly considered not doing it.

119
00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.000
And I think my wife had seen me come home

120
00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:05.000
and moan at work one too many times.

121
00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:07.000
And she was like, you're doing it.

122
00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.000
So your wife's been a big supporter in your career change?

123
00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:11.000
Always, yeah.

124
00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:13.000
I think she's happy I am in this job.

125
00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:15.000
I think it's so important, obviously,

126
00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:16.000
to be happy with...

127
00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:19.000
I mean, so many people care about doing the same profession

128
00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:21.000
all their lives because they just think it's a good profession

129
00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:23.000
to be in that even if they don't really enjoy it.

130
00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:25.000
But I think it just shows...

131
00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:28.000
I mean, a lot of courage to actually give up a job

132
00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.000
that we were probably incredibly good at

133
00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:33.000
and then come into a new field of cooking,

134
00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:35.000
which obviously you're very good at, actually, on the Mars Chef.

135
00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:37.000
But it just goes to show that, you know,

136
00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.000
you're obviously a very talented person.

137
00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:40.000
Thank you.

138
00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:41.000
What's your drive?

139
00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:44.000
I mean, you're like completely obsessive?

140
00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:46.000
I probably am quite obsessive.

141
00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:50.000
And Mars Chef did make me realize I'm an absolute perfectionist

142
00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:56.000
to a flaw because it's difficult to want to do everything perfectly.

143
00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:00.000
But I think the important thing is you don't need to stick to something

144
00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:03.000
just because you've been doing it for a certain amount of years

145
00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:07.000
or because the way society works is you've got into a job you stay into it.

146
00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:09.000
Life is full of chapters as well,

147
00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:12.000
and you're more than welcome to go and explore new things

148
00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.000
and whatever makes you happiest.

149
00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:18.000
And this is making me the happiest that any part of any career has made me so far.

150
00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:22.000
So it wasn't a difficult choice to just jump in and give it a go.

151
00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:25.000
So you must have come home from work and thought,

152
00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:27.000
right, I'm going to cook.

153
00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:29.000
I'm going to start cooking and cook a meal,

154
00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:31.000
which was obviously incredible for your wife.

155
00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:34.000
And that must have started your whole kind of inspiration.

156
00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:35.000
Was it that's how it worked?

157
00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:36.000
Absolutely.

158
00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.000
I mean, I think I probably started cooking properly when I went to university.

159
00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:40.000
Okay.

160
00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:44.000
Realised that what I was getting at home for my parents was a lot better than what was out there.

161
00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:47.000
And I wasn't really willing to bring that level down,

162
00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:49.000
so I had to learn how to do it myself.

163
00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:52.000
And then you go through uni, you try and impress people

164
00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:54.000
and probably girlfriends at the time.

165
00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:55.000
Yeah, of course, yeah.

166
00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:56.000
Always helps.

167
00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:58.000
Well, if it goes well anyway.

168
00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:02.000
And then with food being at home,

169
00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:03.000
coming back from a long day of work,

170
00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:05.000
getting into the kitchen and locking myself away

171
00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:08.000
and it was the way I relaxed and decompressed

172
00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:12.000
and it just was a passion that grew and grew and grew until

173
00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:14.000
I could make it a job, essentially.

174
00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:15.000
Yeah.

175
00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:17.000
And to actually get onto mass chef and win it

176
00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:21.000
from having a passion for food is a great story.

177
00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:22.000
Oh, yeah.

178
00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:23.000
Well, you can put it like that.

179
00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:25.000
It's nice to kind of look back at it like that.

180
00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:26.000
Yeah.

181
00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:29.000
Amazing. Well, I think we should start getting cooking, 100%.

182
00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:30.000
Right.

183
00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:31.000
So what do you want me to do?

184
00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:33.000
Why don't you get started with the onion?

185
00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:34.000
We're actually going to slice that.

186
00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:36.000
What's chopping onion in this shot?

187
00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:37.000
Slice that.

188
00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:39.000
It's always the start, isn't it?

189
00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:40.000
Just slice it.

190
00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:41.000
Yes, slice, please.

191
00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:42.000
Yeah.

192
00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:44.000
I quite like the texture of the slice in this dish.

193
00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:45.000
Yeah.

194
00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:46.000
Whole onion?

195
00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:47.000
Whole onion, please.

196
00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:48.000
Yeah.

197
00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:49.000
I think growing up with those fish curries,

198
00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:50.000
that was one thing I do remember.

199
00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:52.000
It's like the stringy onion that goes through it.

200
00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:53.000
Yeah.

201
00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:54.000
Give you a bit of texture.

202
00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:56.000
It's that sort of sweet strand that you sort of suck up with the juice.

203
00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:57.000
Exactly.

204
00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:58.000
Yeah.

205
00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:00.000
So, unsurprisingly, you won more technical skills

206
00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:02.000
than any other contestant on mass chef.

207
00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:03.000
Is that a fact?

208
00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:04.000
Yeah, apparently.

209
00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:05.000
Yeah.

210
00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:10.000
I think that's down to your chopping techniques.

211
00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:13.000
I think a lot of it is probably down to my past career from when it's...

212
00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:14.000
Yeah.

213
00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:19.000
I remember the first time the judges saw me fill it with fish.

214
00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:21.000
I remember them making a point of it.

215
00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:24.000
And I think, really, that's all down to anatomy, isn't it?

216
00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:25.000
Yeah.

217
00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:29.000
If you know how to work around the anatomy of an animal,

218
00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:31.000
when it's alive, you probably know it's dead as well.

219
00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:32.000
Of course.

220
00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.000
But I mean, I guess you'd call that I'm dissecting the fish.

221
00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:35.000
Absolutely.

222
00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:36.000
Yeah.

223
00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.000
It's not coming back, right?

224
00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:41.000
How have your parents...

225
00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:45.000
I mean, you know, your parents are probably your biggest fans or your biggest fans.

226
00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:49.000
And probably so proud of you being a veterinary surgeon.

227
00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:51.000
How do they feel about your new career?

228
00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:58.000
So, my parents are obviously elated about the movement with my career.

229
00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:03.000
But as you can expect going into mass chef in the first few rounds,

230
00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:07.000
one of you called them, I've done really well, you know, really happy.

231
00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.000
There was always that...

232
00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:11.000
You're still going to do veterinary, though, right?

233
00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:15.000
And then I think it got to maybe when we...

234
00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:19.000
When I got into the final, there was never a question then.

235
00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:22.000
And since then, there hasn't been a question of, oh, you're not going to do it.

236
00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:23.000
They're pretty happy for me to go.

237
00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:25.000
And then when you won it, they told all the neighbors.

238
00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:26.000
Yeah, yeah.

239
00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:27.000
They told everyone.

240
00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:30.000
And veterinary never was spoken about everything.

241
00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:34.000
So, well, I'm going to start off with the spy space.

242
00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:39.000
Now, black mustard seeds, quite different to the yellow mustard seeds that we normally see.

243
00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:44.000
Using yellow mustard seeds in this, I think they'll burn quite easily, quite bitter.

244
00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:47.000
These mustard seeds are also a great indicator of heat.

245
00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:50.000
And when to move on to the next step.

246
00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:55.000
Because as they start to spit, you know that you want to start getting in...

247
00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:57.000
You don't want to get any color on these.

248
00:09:57.000 --> 00:09:59.000
You just want to soften them.

249
00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:02.000
You just want, you know, they'll toast slightly and they'll start to spit.

250
00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:06.000
And then we can throw the onions in to bring the heat of the pan down.

251
00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:07.000
Yeah.

252
00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:10.000
And stop them from burning and going into that bitter flavour essentially.

253
00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:15.000
So, now it's just the case of letting those onions color soften slightly.

254
00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:16.000
And that's just...

255
00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:20.000
That smell is always the place of a lovely career in any, yeah.

256
00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:23.000
So, proper whole spices, onions.

257
00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:26.000
Once they've softened, the garlic can go in as well.

258
00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:30.000
And then we're going to get cracking with all the other spices.

259
00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:35.000
So, obviously this is some lovely turmeric, which will add a bit of colour and that fragrance.

260
00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:39.000
And then this is our secret ingredient, the Sri Lankan roasted curry powder.

261
00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:43.000
It is spicy, but the coconut milk will mellow that out a little bit.

262
00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:44.000
As will the tomato.

263
00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:47.000
And I was kind of used to growing up having...

264
00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:51.000
You know, eating it was way too spicy for me anyway until I did handle it.

265
00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:54.000
I wasn't very good at spice growing up as a kid.

266
00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:58.000
But Sri Lankan food, I mean, you have different dishes with different sort of heat elements.

267
00:10:58.000 --> 00:10:59.000
Yeah.

268
00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:03.000
I always think Sri Lankan is just being incredibly fresh and vibrant.

269
00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:07.000
I don't see it as being like really sort of super spicy.

270
00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:08.000
Oh, it is.

271
00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:10.000
Yeah. Well, or just my parents.

272
00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:16.000
Well, it can be pretty fierce, but then also, as you said earlier,

273
00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:19.000
there are so many vegetarian curries which aren't always that spicy.

274
00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:20.000
No, sure.

275
00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.000
And the meat you want to say, we really try and plow loads of chilli into that normally.

276
00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:29.000
My mum's definitely got used to tailoring curries for...

277
00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:33.000
Well, myself and I was a kid, my wife's not amazing with spice.

278
00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:34.000
Really?

279
00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:38.000
Sister-in-law, so they're very good at tailoring it to audiences.

280
00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:41.000
So if you ever have a dinner, you don't need to worry again.

281
00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:45.000
And so you're originally from Chelmsford, but you now live in Bristol.

282
00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:48.000
And obviously, Bristol has got an incredible dining scene.

283
00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:51.000
Have you ever tempted to open a restaurant or...

284
00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:53.000
I mean, you've been doing pop-ups?

285
00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:57.000
Yeah, I mean, the restaurant temptation is obviously always there,

286
00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:04.000
but I'm really loving everything I'm doing at the moment with content and writing and things like this.

287
00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:08.000
The pop-up scene is a lovely way to itch that scratch of...

288
00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:09.000
Yeah.

289
00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:11.000
Did it be feasting the water to see what it's like?

290
00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:14.000
Did it get in the water and not do it the next day kind of thing?

291
00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:19.000
One thing to see myself doing on Instagram or on whatever online.

292
00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:22.000
It's another to really get into an immersive experience with it.

293
00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:23.000
It's quite a nice way to do it.

294
00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:25.000
But you're kind of creating your own brand now, aren't you?

295
00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:26.000
Absolutely.

296
00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:30.000
Yeah, this whole journey is completely new.

297
00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:34.000
And what I want to make sure I'm doing is doing everything I love.

298
00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:38.000
So creating recipes, creating content, writing books.

299
00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.000
I just want to immerse myself in as many of those things as possible.

300
00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:43.000
I think it's a big temptation when you win something like MasterChef.

301
00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:44.000
It's open a restaurant.

302
00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:48.000
And you've got to remember that you're a surgeon, a veterinary surgeon,

303
00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:51.000
and all of a sudden you're opening a restaurant with a whole team of people

304
00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:53.000
and having to manage how that works.

305
00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:57.000
And it takes years to get to that knowledge,

306
00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:01.000
takes years to understand and get to and understand how a restaurant works.

307
00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:05.000
So I think you're doing it in the right way and actually just sort of feeling it

308
00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:09.000
and understanding what you need to do by doing pop-ups and writing good books.

309
00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:10.000
Thank you.

310
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.000
And I do think that it's really easy.

311
00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:14.000
Plenty of people have done it.

312
00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:18.000
A lot of us end up choosing a career when we were quite young

313
00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:20.000
from something that was a passion.

314
00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:24.000
And that passion could often quickly become a job that you don't like.

315
00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:28.000
And what I didn't want to do with food was dive into something too quickly

316
00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:33.000
or in a naive way and turn what is a passion into something I don't like.

317
00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:35.000
That would have been the worst thing I could have done.

318
00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:37.000
Make your life very stressful.

319
00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:38.000
Exactly, yeah.

320
00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.000
I want to make my life joyous.

321
00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:41.000
Yeah, of course.

322
00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:42.000
And this is exactly what it is.

323
00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:46.000
Cooking is a wonderful way of expressing yourself.

324
00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:47.000
100%.

325
00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:49.000
I mean, this recipe kind of does that, doesn't it?

326
00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:50.000
Yeah.

327
00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:52.000
You can probably, if you really break this down,

328
00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:55.000
you can see every of myself and who I am,

329
00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:57.000
and my background within this is.

330
00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:01.000
It's the perfect way to put it really, it's a real expression.

331
00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:04.000
So we're going to go in with one more whole spice and that's Fenigreek.

332
00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:09.000
But the reason I don't put that in at the start is because Fenigreek that cooks

333
00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:12.000
as much as I want those mustard seeds or cumin seeds to cook

334
00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:13.000
will go a bit of really quickly.

335
00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:14.000
Okay.

336
00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:17.000
It's near and impossible to get that taste out once it's into a curry.

337
00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:18.000
Okay.

338
00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:21.000
At the same time, because I want the heat of the pan to come down a little.

339
00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:24.000
I'm going to get the tomatoes in as well.

340
00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:27.000
Fresh tomatoes, or can you use tin?

341
00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:31.000
I always go fresh with this dish because tinned off the meat,

342
00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:33.000
everything a bit too watery.

343
00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:35.000
And a bit too red.

344
00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:36.000
A bit, yeah.

345
00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:37.000
Yeah.

346
00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:41.000
I know we should know people like us in the industry

347
00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:45.000
shouldn't be using a bit too red as the reason, but it is true.

348
00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:50.000
And it kind of takes away from the deep brown depth

349
00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.000
that is ubiquitous in this kind of cuisine.

350
00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:55.000
Yeah.

351
00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:58.000
I remember growing up and you go to curry houses

352
00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:01.000
and they were also orange.

353
00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:02.000
Yeah.

354
00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:05.000
And I didn't understand why their curries were orange,

355
00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.000
but my parents' curries, the taste of butter, were brown.

356
00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:12.000
Brown doesn't necessarily a tasty flavour.

357
00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:13.000
Yeah.

358
00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:14.000
But it's flavour, isn't it?

359
00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:15.000
That's what that colour is.

360
00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:16.000
It's depth.

361
00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:19.000
But I mean, the thing about curries, I mean Sri Lankan food,

362
00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:22.000
when I say it's fresh, it's using fresh ingredients.

363
00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:26.000
You're not using a sort of big base of like, you know,

364
00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.000
a curry base for tomato that's very dense

365
00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:30.000
and then adding it to other dishes.

366
00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:32.000
You're actually making everything super fresh.

367
00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:35.000
I think I probably cooked like that because

368
00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.000
the way my parents went to cook when they were in Sri Lanka,

369
00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:42.000
they were probably weren't surrounded by tins of tomatoes.

370
00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:43.000
It was all fresh ingredients.

371
00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:44.000
Yeah.

372
00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:47.000
So then when they came here and cooked in front of me,

373
00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:49.000
it's probably the exact same thing they did,

374
00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:50.000
so I've probably taken that on.

375
00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:52.000
That's probably the reason why I don't like using tins of tomatoes.

376
00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:53.000
Yeah, sure.

377
00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:57.000
So now we're going to get in with our curry powder

378
00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:00.000
and a touch of turmeric,

379
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:03.000
a lovely little colour to the dish.

380
00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:05.000
When you're wanting a cookbook,

381
00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:07.000
you've got to make sure people are going to cook from it.

382
00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:10.000
And this recipe, I think it's a great recipe

383
00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:13.000
for anyone that's not necessarily wants to make a big curry,

384
00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:16.000
but they want to do something that's sort of simple to make

385
00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.000
but has got all that flavour.

386
00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:19.000
Absolutely.

387
00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:22.000
And that's all I wanted to produce when I was writing a cookbook.

388
00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.000
I want you to pick up a book and say,

389
00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:30.000
I really want to make something that seems like it's taken forever.

390
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:31.000
Yeah.

391
00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:32.000
And seems incredibly impressive.

392
00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:33.000
Yeah.

393
00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:36.000
And seems like it has all these incredible ingredients in it

394
00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:38.000
that are difficult to get hold of.

395
00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.000
But actually, it's only taking you half an hour.

396
00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:44.000
You've got your ingredients from your local supermarket

397
00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:47.000
and it wasn't that difficult.

398
00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:49.000
This is all coming together in one pan.

399
00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:50.000
Yeah.

400
00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:52.000
You've got 12 pans on the go here,

401
00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.000
but when you serve it up, you can serve the stuff at a dinner party

402
00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:57.000
and people are being incredibly happy.

403
00:16:57.000 --> 00:16:59.000
But I mean, just the smell.

404
00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:01.000
I'm not saying it's incredible.

405
00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:03.000
So, this is your first book, Cookbook, Elevate.

406
00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:04.000
And what is it like writing it?

407
00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:07.000
I mean, no one tells you how to write a cookbook in the beginning.

408
00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:09.000
And when you sign that deal, you think,

409
00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:11.000
oh, this is great, I'm going to no cookbook.

410
00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:13.000
But actually, you've got to write the bloody thing.

411
00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:15.000
It's a bit of a baptism of fire to be honest with you

412
00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:17.000
because you get that deal and you think,

413
00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:19.000
let's get started.

414
00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:20.000
I mean, it might lead to that.

415
00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:22.000
You think, oh, do I start?

416
00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:24.000
It's that perfectionist in me, again, I guess.

417
00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:27.000
If you give me a job, I kind of want to get cracking with it immediately.

418
00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:28.000
Yeah.

419
00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:29.000
And probably a bit too quickly.

420
00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:33.000
So, I had to create an entire WhatsApp group

421
00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:36.000
based on the fact that I was creating a cookbook

422
00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:39.000
called Brinds Vultures because there was so much food in the house

423
00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:41.000
doing three dishes from the book a day.

424
00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:43.000
I was trying to create.

425
00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:45.000
And I don't have enough fridge space.

426
00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:47.000
So, I was having people come around.

427
00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:49.000
I didn't want them to take their shoes off one of them

428
00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:51.000
and bring their own top wear over.

429
00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.000
Just want you to come in, steal the food and go.

430
00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:54.000
Because they need it out.

431
00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:56.000
I don't know how tired they're so slow.

432
00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:59.000
But it was so fun because I'm quite a creative person

433
00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:03.000
and veterinary didn't really give me any creative release.

434
00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:06.000
And you start trying to create three recipes a day.

435
00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:10.000
And I'm just getting to release all of that creativity that's in me.

436
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.000
So, I have actually loved it a lot.

437
00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.000
Things like the shoot are fantastic.

438
00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:16.000
When you start seeing everything come to life.

439
00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:18.000
And then finally when it comes through the door.

440
00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:20.000
It's amazing feeling.

441
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:22.000
It's an amazing feeling.

442
00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:24.000
It's what I was really...

443
00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.000
From the moment I won my chef or even got onto it,

444
00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:30.000
you think I just would love a cookbook for my name on that.

445
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:32.000
I'll just wait for publication day.

446
00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:34.000
That's the best day of all.

447
00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:36.000
That's tamarind that's just gone in there.

448
00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:38.000
So, a bit of citrusy.

449
00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:42.000
Yeah, and citrusy and it's also quite deep.

450
00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:44.000
And it adds a lovely colour.

451
00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.000
We call it pulley, you know, in our culture.

452
00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:49.000
And it's very important in a lot of dishes.

453
00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:50.000
Pully.

454
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:52.000
Yeah, pulley, okay.

455
00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:53.000
Oh, yes.

456
00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:54.000
It's amazing.

457
00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.000
It's amazing.

458
00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:56.000
I mean, I'm just...

459
00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:57.000
This is incredible.

460
00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.000
Can you see that depth that's already been produced?

461
00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:01.000
I mean, we've only been here for 15 minutes.

462
00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:02.000
Yeah.

463
00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:04.000
We've already managed to get something with that brown colour

464
00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:06.000
that I was talking about.

465
00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:07.000
It's wonderful.

466
00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:09.000
Amazing, amazing smells.

467
00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:12.000
So, the final thing that really needs to go in before the muscles

468
00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:14.000
is a touch of coconut milk.

469
00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:15.000
Yeah.

470
00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:16.000
I don't add too much.

471
00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:18.000
I wouldn't add a whole tin, half a tin.

472
00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:22.000
A whole tin takes away from the spice a little bit.

473
00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:23.000
Yeah.

474
00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:24.000
You can make it a little bit diluted.

475
00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:25.000
Basically diluted.

476
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:26.000
Yeah, it does dilute it.

477
00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:27.000
And that will be enough.

478
00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:30.000
And I'll let that simmer away for a few minutes before we go in

479
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:33.000
with the muscles that will steam and cook in there.

480
00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:36.000
So, when you were studying, I mean, cooking was obviously

481
00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:40.000
your kind of release from doing all the, you know, your coursework.

482
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:41.000
You said you missed home.

483
00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:44.000
Were you cooking Sri Lankan food when you were studying?

484
00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:49.000
To be honest, one of my biggest regrets was not cooking

485
00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:52.000
the food of my culture whilst I was at uni.

486
00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:55.000
But there was no point because every time I went home

487
00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:57.000
or every time my parents came to me,

488
00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:00.000
they'd fill my freezer up with curries.

489
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.000
It was completely normal to have about 20 curries in there.

490
00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:07.000
My house makes hated me because they had no freezer space.

491
00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:08.000
I'd offset that way.

492
00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:11.000
Give them some curries every now and then.

493
00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:15.000
So, I didn't see the point in cooking, trying to cook a,

494
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:17.000
you know, mountain curry on a Tuesday.

495
00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:19.000
And then having to eat it the next day.

496
00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:21.000
But it'll be a lot better the next day because it was my parents' one.

497
00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:22.000
So, I would try and cook.

498
00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.000
Other stuff.

499
00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:29.000
But since graduating, since working and kind of going into this career,

500
00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:33.000
one really big part of it has been really getting into the food of my culture

501
00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:36.000
and working out all the nuances of it.

502
00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.000
And what it was that I loved growing up and eating,

503
00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:40.000
it's really important.

504
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:43.000
So, hopefully we'll head over to Sri Lanka soon as well

505
00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:45.000
and dive into the food a little bit there.

506
00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:48.000
I've been to Sri Lanka once and it was absolutely amazing.

507
00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:50.000
I mean, a really beautiful place.

508
00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:51.000
Beautiful people.

509
00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:52.000
Great food.

510
00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:53.000
This is reminding me of it.

511
00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:55.000
This comes from the north in Jaffna,

512
00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:56.000
which is where my parents from were.

513
00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:59.000
It's got a very strong Tamil population.

514
00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:01.000
And this is very much our food.

515
00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:03.000
That smell is right there.

516
00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:04.000
Amazing.

517
00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:07.000
So, I would say cooking is about confidence.

518
00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:11.000
And during the 20th anniversary episode of MasterChef,

519
00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:15.000
you got a standing ovation from other 15 other winners,

520
00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:16.000
past winners.

521
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:20.000
That must have given you a huge boost to your morale.

522
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:25.000
That evening was just the most incredible experience.

523
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:27.000
And that's standing ovation.

524
00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:28.000
Wow.

525
00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:30.000
What more can you ask for?

526
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.000
A room full of past winners,

527
00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:37.000
complete culinary heroes, all of us.

528
00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:39.000
We just coached for all of them as well.

529
00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:42.000
And that kind of buzz from the...

530
00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:44.000
Our first ever service, really.

531
00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:45.000
Combined with that was...

532
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.000
I always remember that.

533
00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:48.000
Absolutely.

534
00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:51.000
You really need those kind of things for this career.

535
00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:52.000
A hundred percent.

536
00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:54.000
A bit of morale, boosting, confidence.

537
00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:57.000
Kind of, you know, to prove what you're doing.

538
00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:58.000
It's all right.

539
00:21:58.000 --> 00:21:59.000
Yeah.

540
00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:01.000
So, our base is pretty much there.

541
00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:02.000
It's bubbling away.

542
00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:05.000
And now we're going to put in these beautiful muscles,

543
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:07.000
pop a lid on it and let them steam.

544
00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:10.000
They will release their juices as well.

545
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:12.000
So, even though that base looks a bit thick,

546
00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:15.000
by the time we open up the lid,

547
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:18.000
we're going to have a lovely bit of sauce to...

548
00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.000
Get that bread right in there.

549
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:21.000
Get it to me.

550
00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:22.000
Oh, yeah, get it to me.

551
00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:23.000
Get those muscles going.

552
00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:27.000
And I'll give that one quick stir before I pop the lid on.

553
00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:32.000
So, I want everything to be coated.

554
00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:36.000
Smells amazing.

555
00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:37.000
Should we check it out?

556
00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:38.000
Let's have a look.

557
00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:39.000
Wow.

558
00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:40.000
Look at those muscles.

559
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:42.000
Beautiful muscles.

560
00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:44.000
They've all opened up.

561
00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:45.000
Lovely.

562
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:46.000
I think you see that sauce now.

563
00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:48.000
That sauce is definitely looser than it was.

564
00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:50.000
But it's the perfect consistency

565
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:52.000
to dunk a load of toasted sourdough.

566
00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:54.000
Or eat it like a soup.

567
00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:55.000
Absolutely.

568
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:56.000
Yeah.

569
00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:58.000
I think muscles are such wonderful things.

570
00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:01.000
I mean, you know, they're affordable.

571
00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:02.000
They've got so much flavour.

572
00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:03.000
They're so sweet.

573
00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:04.000
And with this,

574
00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.000
it's just such a great combination.

575
00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:08.000
The smell is incredible.

576
00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:10.000
That's looking perfect.

577
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:11.000
I think it's probably time to play it up.

578
00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:12.000
That's easy.

579
00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:13.000
Looks good.

580
00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:21.000
This smells absolutely amazing, Brent.

581
00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:22.000
I can just smell everything.

582
00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:24.000
It's got all those spices.

583
00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:27.000
The curry leaves really have a strong,

584
00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:29.000
slightly smoky kind of taste in them.

585
00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:30.000
Smell to them, rather.

586
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:33.000
That smell just takes me back to,

587
00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:36.000
that's just dinner's getting started every time.

588
00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:38.000
Is this a childhood smell?

589
00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:39.000
100%.

590
00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:40.000
Yeah.

591
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:42.000
The only thing it's missing is,

592
00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:44.000
I was always coughing at some point

593
00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.000
because they'd be putting in a lot more spice than I am now.

594
00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:49.000
And you'd know that dinner was about half our way

595
00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:51.000
if you started coughing a little bit in the other way.

596
00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:55.000
Are you immune to spice, do you think?

597
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:56.000
No.

598
00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:59.000
No, I mean, my dad and my brother are

599
00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:01.000
near on immune to it, I would say.

600
00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:03.000
I'm definitely not anywhere near there.

601
00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:04.000
Yeah.

602
00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:06.000
So we've got a garvy to go with this.

603
00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:09.000
So let's have a little glass of garvy to go with it.

604
00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:11.000
Delicious muscles.

605
00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:12.000
Thank you.

606
00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:13.000
Cheers.

607
00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:14.000
Cheers.

608
00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:15.000
Right.

609
00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:16.000
Lovely.

610
00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:17.000
Delicious.

611
00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:18.000
Let's tuck in.

612
00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:19.000
So we've got a sourdough bread.

613
00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:20.000
So I'm going to take some bread.

614
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:22.000
I'm actually using the juice first and a muscle.

615
00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:25.000
You definitely, this is just perfect for,

616
00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:26.000
definitely.

617
00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:27.000
Yeah.

618
00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:29.000
Oh, that's lovely.

619
00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:31.000
That's really good.

620
00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:34.000
When I tasted the base before we put anything into it,

621
00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:35.000
it's much spicier.

622
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:37.000
And what really helps to melt it out,

623
00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:40.000
one is the coconut milk, of course.

624
00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:41.000
Yeah.

625
00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:43.000
But also the sweetness of the tomatoes helps to

626
00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:45.000
just knock it on the head a little bit.

627
00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:47.000
So it makes it a lot more,

628
00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:50.000
most I mentioned, or it's just spice.

629
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:52.000
But it's the right amount of coconut milk.

630
00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:54.000
So it doesn't taste like I've got loads of coconut milk in it.

631
00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:57.000
What I can taste is the muscle and the flavour.

632
00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:02.000
But it's just like when you cook any kind of muscle and white wine,

633
00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:05.000
white wine dish, the muscles have to be at the forefront of that.

634
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:07.000
They bring so much flavour.

635
00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:09.000
And this is such a lovely Friday night dinner,

636
00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:12.000
or part of a starter when you're hosting people,

637
00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:14.000
you get your hands involved,

638
00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:16.000
you get a little bit messy,

639
00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:17.000
it tastes incredible.

640
00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:19.000
Go great with the white wine.

641
00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:20.000
Just, yeah.

642
00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:21.000
Exactly how I like to eat.

643
00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:24.000
Or, you know, sitting outside in the sunshine,

644
00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:27.000
eating this on a sort of summer's day with the absolutely.

645
00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:28.000
Absolutely.

646
00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.000
Brilliant.

647
00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:30.000
The sun's just kind of setting

648
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:32.000
and you've just got loads of curry muscles,

649
00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:33.000
anything that's perfect.

650
00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:34.000
That being in trance out.

651
00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:35.000
Oh yeah.

652
00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:38.000
So one of our viewers has got a question for you.

653
00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:42.000
The question is from Janie Sox 87,

654
00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:43.000
I want a great name.

655
00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:46.000
If you could only use three ingredients for the rest of your life,

656
00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:48.000
what would you choose?

657
00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:49.000
That's good.

658
00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:53.000
I think that's a really tough one.

659
00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:57.000
I think fennel seeds up there,

660
00:25:57.000 --> 00:25:58.000
they go into a lot of things.

661
00:25:58.000 --> 00:25:59.000
They're not in this,

662
00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:02.000
but any meat-based curry,

663
00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:05.000
they're very abundant in, in the base.

664
00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:08.000
But also when you look at other cuisines,

665
00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:10.000
pork and fennel in Italian,

666
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:13.000
it's just made for it, isn't it?

667
00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:15.000
And I use it in everything.

668
00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:16.000
I use it in desserts.

669
00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:17.000
There's a lovely dessert in there.

670
00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:21.000
Fennel pairs with a ricotta and cardamom ice cream.

671
00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:23.000
Oh, it's one of my favourite recipes in there.

672
00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:26.000
The fennel just adds this whole new level to it.

673
00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:28.000
Decent tomatoes.

674
00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:29.000
Decent right tomatoes.

675
00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:31.000
I think they just change a dish.

676
00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:33.000
Whether it's a curry like this,

677
00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:35.000
where you're building it into the flavour,

678
00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:38.000
or it's a really fresh salad,

679
00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:41.000
where they are the hero ingredient.

680
00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:42.000
I think they're beautiful.

681
00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:43.000
And then limes,

682
00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:45.000
they go into so many dishes to add acidity,

683
00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:48.000
which I think lifts everything.

684
00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:52.000
We get through so many limes every week in our houses.

685
00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.000
I'm probably a bit too much,

686
00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:58.000
but I'm not great for my stomach.

687
00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:00.000
Limes, fennel and tomato.

688
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:01.000
Amazing.

689
00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:03.000
Well, that's very interesting to hear.

690
00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:05.000
It's been absolutely pleasure having you on the recipe today.

691
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:06.000
Thank you.

692
00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:07.000
I had an absolute blast.

693
00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:08.000
Cheers.

694
00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.000
Cheers.

695
00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:10.000
Let's have a look.

696
00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:36.000
You