Cape Town - Ten thousand kilometres. That’s how far MasterChef Australia judge Matt Preston has travelled for the love of food.
One of Australia’s most loved TV personalities and an award-winning food critic visited the Bo-Kaap in Cape Town this week to learn how to cook famous Cape Malay dishes.
Preston was also here to launch his latest cookbook, The Matt Preston Cookbook, which will be released in October.
During his Bo-Kaap visit he learnt about the area’s history before cooking his own version of Cape Malay chicken curry and roti.
He also learnt to fold samoosas before enjoying the food he had prepared.
“I am so excited to do this,” Preston said.
Shireen Narkedien, a tour operator who leads walking tours through the Bo-Kaap with an option to include a Melting Pot cooking experience in a traditional Bo-Kaap home, said Preston thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“It was something different for Matt. I normally do the tour, but I decided on something different and gave him a cooking experience in the home of a family. The only difference was that he did the cooking himself,” she said.
As the ingredients and food were prepared for Preston, all that was left to do was produce a dish worthy of “MasterChef”.
Narkedien said Preston was impressed by the combination of flavours that make up a traditional curry. She said he was used to using curry pastes and was surprised by the depth of flavour achieved by using dry spices. “He loved the flavour,” she said.
He was also impressed by the sambal, a spicy condiment made from chillies, onions and other ingredients. Preston said the dishes he had cooked were reminiscent of Indian descent.
“It tasted delicious and there are clear Malaysian and Indian features in the dishes,” he said. Preston flies back to Australia next week. -
Cape Times