Bringing some Lankan cuisine to MasterChef’s latest season
MasterChef Australia is back with Season 11 and Sri Lankan born contestant Dee Williams has made it to the Top 24 of the competition. We managed catch up with her and get a sneak peek into her life both outside and on the show.
Magazine cover and inside pix courtesy of Channel 10
The 37 year old Dee slowly made a reputation for herself on the show through her incorporation of Sri Lankan cuisine to some of her dishes in each challenge. All three judges loved the aroma and the flavours of the food she put up.
When she prepared a Crab Curry with Coconut Rice and Pineapple Salad, Dee recalls Gary Mehigan commenting “We’ll remember this dish for a long time, brilliant stuff Dee.” George Calombaris, whose head is known to sweat when he eats spicy food, had the best compliment, telling her “Aw yum, I’d sweat every day of the week for that crab curry.” Matt Preston was equally impressed and before she knew it, Dee was wearing the coveted white apron. This was her ticket to the top 24.
Her Chicken Curry with Dhal, Coconut Roti and Coconut Sambol later earned her a spot in the season’s first immunity challenge, and was also named the dish of the day by the judges.
Dee, started cooking at the age of 12 with both her mum and grandma. Speaking to the Mirror Magazine she shares that her mum is her biggest influence in the culinary world. “It was my Mum who encouraged me to cook and read cookbooks, she is a very passionate cook herself.”
As she attended a boarding school (Mowbray College, Rakwana), Dee rarely got an opportunity to cook or experiment with food. In 2007 however, she moved to Melbourne, Australia to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Hotel Management. It changed her life.
She was inspired by the variety of cuisines and cooking cultures on offer. Through this, she found out her strengths in the kitchen were “Asian cuisine, such as; Sri Lankan, Indian, Malaysian, Thai and Singaporean flavours.”
Taking part on MasterChef Australia had been one of her dreams ever since the show started back in 2009. “I was inspired by previous contestants and their success in what they wanted to do in the culinary world, she recalls.
Her dream finally came true when she was invited to the Top 40 this season and eventually the Top 24.
MasterChef Australia is renowned for being both enjoyable and also stressful at times. And Dee wouldn’t have it any other way because to her, this is a once in a lifetime experience.
“I am eternally grateful for this opportunity.”
Being on the show also meant she picked up different cooking techniques and recipes from fellow contestants, judges and guest chefs. This has only made her a better cook. Aside from this, Dee is also glad she got a chance showcase the Sri Lankan cuisine to the people of Australia and the world.
We talk about how she’d face the various challenges on the show and Dee recalls finding it hard to focus sometimes on what to cook. “It’s at this time you really need to believe in yourself and also think what ingredients will go well together,” she explains.
Just like most Sri Lankan home cooks, Dee enjoys working with the local ingredients. Her favourites include curry leaves for their unique taste and aroma, chillies for there “fiery flavour,” cinnamon,cardamom and cloves because it can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes. Dee also finds coconut to be an essential in Sri Lankan cooking, as all parts of it can be used.
She also works with different Sri Lankan spices and hopes to launch a variety of spice mixes and curry pastes in the near future.
As future goals go, Dee also hopes to launch her own YouTube channel (Dee Williams) and a website (Dee-licious TV.com) that provides recipe tutorials, tips, techniques and product reviews. She also looks to launch her own cookbook that will feature a lot of “secret family recipes.”
Going into MasterChef opened the doors to lots of different opportunities. It has also given Dee the confidence to pursue her food dream. She hopes that once the new season is telecasted in Sri Lanka, it will encourage people to explore and cook food from the different cuisines around the world.
“I would also love to see Sri Lanka have their own MasterChef series someday.”