Don’t worry everyone; even MasterChef judges panic about what to cook when they’re having someone over for dinner – if that judge is George Calombaris and the guest is Nigella Lawson.
In Friday’s episode of the Living Room, Amanda Keller interviewed George at his Press Club Restaurant and despite heading into Season 10 of Australia’s beloved MasterChef – George had plenty of time for a chat, dishing on the night he and his wife spent with Nigella Lawson and whipping up some Soft Shell Crab Souvlaki.
“The first year we had Nigella on, I turned around and said ‘come over on Sunday, and I’ll cook for you at my house.,'” Geroge said,
“And then I forgot! On Sunday morning I got a text message from her saying ‘what time should I come over tonight?’ and I’ve just gone what do I cook? I shouldn’t be panicking!!”.
“I remember cooking her osso buco and just really just sort of comforting dishes.”
But it was the VERY relatable moment that came next that left Nigella blushing, and Geroge’s partner, Natalie, with the giggles.
“There was this moment when we were standing around the kitchen bench, and I was mixing this salad, and I’ve gone to Natalie (his partner) ‘What is this bowl? I’ve never seen this before.'”
“And Nigella blushed, and Nat’s giggling, and I went ‘what’s going on?’, and then I lifted the bowl, and said ‘oh my gosh!’ It was a Nigella bowl.”
It turns out, Natalie had gotten the dish out of the cupboard knowing Nigella was coming for dinner and Geroge had no idea they’d even owned one!
There’s a reasonable explanation for that: Geroge doesn’t cook at home!!
He finds it too “domestic” and prefers the pressure of a commercial kitchen.
But that doesn’t mean he’s a perfect cook – far from it!
“Matt, Gray and I were recently away, and the three of us were making breakfast for each other and toast was burning, bacon was frying too hard … It was just chaos.”
Watch the full interview with Amanda and Geroge on Friday nights episode of the Living Room on Channel 10 at 730pm.
