Woman’s Day chats to MasterChef‘s king of curry, Jimmy Seervai, who reveals all about his time in the house and his next culinary journey.
What is the easiest part about being on a show like this?
The easiest thing was probably the people that were there. We were all in the same mindset and even though we were away from our family, which was the hardest thing, because we were all away from our family we bonded together really well. The people were fantastic.
Were there any particular aspects of the show you didn’t like?
They were all completely different experiences. But I’d say the limit on ingredients because the type of food I cook has so many ingredients in it and if you see the actual cook-off’s that I did well in were the ones that I had free range in the pantry.
With the signature dish and childhood challenge where there was no limitation on the pantry and I did well enough to actually win those ones. Where there were limits like seven ingredients it was really hard with my cooking style because I usually use spices and things like that and simplistic cooking is something I really never grasped which I should have.
Who do you think is going to win the competition?
It’s hard to say. I’d probably say either Callum or maybe Jonathan. I think Callum has grown so much as a cook and as a person and I think if you look at him when we first started he was just so different. There are some other good cooks there too, such as Claire and Marion, but the thing with Callum is he’s learnt so much and also he’s one of my closest friends in there.
With Jonathan, he’s been in elimination so much, and in that finalist week it’s a knockout every day. And if you get people like Clare and Adam, who have done really well through the whole contest and are doing really well now, the problem is they haven’t faced that situation where they’re going to be cooking off and they’re going to be eliminated.
That pressure style of cooking. Jonathan, probably by the end of it, will have been through quite a few eliminations. He’s a seasoned eliminator so someone like him will probably do really well just because of that.
Have you been watching much of the show when it plays back?
I haven’t seen any of the last three weeks but I did watch the first few weeks.
From the episodes you’ve seen do people come across on screen the same way they do in the house?
To be honest with you I think they did. You can’t fake being on TV, the editors can cut and paste certain things but if people don’t like me for whatever reason, to be honest with you, that’s who I am.
It’s hard with the long filming. I think the difference with people at home is they think it’s just a half-hour show so it looks like it’s only half an hour. Whereas for us it’s a 12-hour day. A lot of emotions can be shown in those 12 hours so it’s how they’re cut and pasted but we still show them, so I don’t know.
You won’t see anything bad coming from Marion because she’s genuinely is quite lovely. There’s no fakeness, even when we get back into the house that’s the sort of person she is. Callum is like that too and so is Peter. They’re just nice.
You’ve mentioned Callum but was there anyone else in the house that you were particularly close to?
Peter and Callum definitely. In top 50 I didn’t talk to Callum at all. There were so many people and so many challenges but once we got to live in the house environment, Callum is just a really lovely guy and Peter is pretty much like me and he’s Greek. So we’re pretty much on par.
We try to be funny people and enjoy our cooking and support the people around us. Peter is probably definitely someone I’m closest too.
Do you think you’ll stay in touch with any of them?
Well I don’t know if I can say this generally but I’ll give an example. When I first got out I spoke to Peter like three times a day so I think I will definitely stay in contact with him. The most important thing that I will miss about the competition is the people. Not the cooking, not the judges, nothing else — just the people who have been on the show.
What is the most important thing you’ve learnt from your time on MasterChef?
Being away from my fiancé has been the hardest but for me. I don’t think I learnt anything but I think it’s probably put our relationship on bedrock because I’ve never had any doubts. It’s a case of: “This is someone I want to be with for the rest of my life.”
She’s the only person I think about when I’m cooking and when I’m in the house and that’s what I’ve learnt for myself personally. And for cooking I guess it’s just to open my eyes to different kinds of cuisines and tastes and different techniques.
So pasta was the dish that left you in the bottom three?
Pasta put me into the pressure test, yeah.
Have you cooked much pasta since leaving the show?
Yes, I bought a pasta machine and I’ve been making pasta left, right and centre. It was a case of 45 minutes to make something that I’ve never made before and it threw me.
There are no excuses, I made a really bad dish. I think every time that I’ve tried to make something that I’m not comfortable with it’s like doing anything for the first time — it’s just on national TV with a time limit.
You’ve said that the show has been amazing as a launch pad to go after your dreams. Has it opened any particular doors for you?
Well I’ve already started making my tin sauces and marinate sauces which I’m hoping to start getting into Coles. I’ve already spoken to them and we’ve already got butchers in Adelaide that are using them and I’m setting up a store in Adelaide in the Adelaide markets and one in Sydney as well so I can sell my sauces.
We’ve already got the formulations done and basically just trying to develop new recipe ideas and working really close with my mum on numerous ideas. I’ll never be able to sell pasta dishes but I’m confident I’ll be able to sell Indian.
A lot of the other contestants want to do their own restaurant. Is that something you’re keen to try?
We’ve already looked at a restaurant and hopefully coming up in September I’ll open one up with my parents. It’ll be based around modern Indian cuisine but I still want traditional stuff. So not a George Calombaris restaurant with fine dining but it’ll be a place where people can come at lunchtime.
I want people to be able to come during lunchtime in the middle of the city when it’s a cold winter’s day and you can get a nice bowl of curry or whatever.
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