Cape Town - The Junior Masterchef Australia stars, Isabella and Sophia Bliss are in town – tasting, touring, and about to cook up a storm at the Good Food and Wine Show from May 23 to 26.
The twins entered the first junior version of the popular cooking show in 2010. Isabella took the title, while Sophia made it to the top four.
Three years on and the girls, now aged 15, can’t imagine how their lives would have been were it not for the show.
The twins will be part of the Checkers Celebrity Chef’s Theatre on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. They also have a busy schedule at the Woolworths Little Chefs’ Kitchen.
The pair say visitors can expect really simple but tasty and healthy dishes.
The Bliss sisters were born in Brisbane, Australia, and as soon as they could walk, they were in the kitchen with their mother learning to bake.
It started with them learning to mix batter, then they graduated to baking biscuits for tea parties, and eventually they were making family recipes.
“Our mother is part of this experience. She’s our inspiration to cook,” says Isabella.
Their mother, Sylvana Spina, is also the one who keeps them in check. She says that they are very grounded, and she constantly reminds them of how fortunate they are to have all the opportunities that they do. “They are still normal girls. They do well at school and have to clean their own rooms,” says their mom.
The girls have spent the last week seeing what Cape Town has to offer, and tasting it too. In their time here, they have acquired a taste for game and malva pudding. “Malva pudding is so yum!” says Sophia. They have written the names of their favourite dishes down in scrapbooks, and they will try to make them at home.
Since their success in the Masterchef competition, they have published a cookbook called A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit Of That. The book is filled with family recipes and the girls say there are many more where those came from. The book will be on sale at the expo this weekend, and it will be the first time it goes on sale internationally, say the sisters.
“The competition has opened so many doors for us. Coming to South Africa, going to Indonesia, the US. It’s been really amazing,” says Isabella.
This is the first time the entire family – Sylvana, dad, Simon and younger brothers Ruben and Roman – have travelled internationally with the girls. They will spend two weeks in southern Africa and after leaving Cape Town, they plan to go on a safari.
These are the opportunities that may not have materialised had the girls not gained fame on the show. “It’s been a dream come true,” says Isabella.
Their cooking is largely influenced by their Italian heritage. Their mother is the youngest sibling in her family, and was born in Australia. But all her sisters and many other family members live in Sicily, a destination they would like to visit on a world food safari.
“We really want to tour Europe and especially Sicily and taste the traditional dishes there,” says Sophia.
The girls are hoping to put together another book, and possibly do a television show. While there are plenty of cooking shows, there aren’t really any aimed at or presented by teenagers.
“Food and eating are part of our lives. Everyone has to eat, so why not make it fun?” Sophia points out.
Their ultimate dream, when they finish school, is to open a restaurant.
Although Sophia is interested in medicine and Isabella wants to study design, the plan is to open the restaurant while they are studying. Their mother would definitely have a job to run things, the girls joke.
But nothing is cast in stone. They still have a few years to decide in which direction they want to go. But, the girl’s strength is that they will decide together.
“This whole experience has been amazing. To be able to share that with your twin sister is special,” Isabella explains.
The Good Food and Wine Show is on at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
The line-up of celebrity chefs includes Michelin-award winning chef Gordon Ramsay, baking guru Eric Lanlard, spice prince Reza Mahammad and Australian chef Bill Granger.
* For more information visit: www.goodfoodandwineshow.co.za. - Cape Argus