Callum Q and A

Callum Q and A

Favourite ingredient and why? Garlic – I love the smell and use it in nearly every savoury dish I cook.

Favourite chef?

Jamie Oliver or Philip Johnson for an Aussie chef.

Favourite restaurant?

I'm biased, but ‘1918’, the restaurant in which I work.

Favourite cuisine?

Italian.

Favourite place to travel?

Any beach with some half decent waves! I love holidaying to Noosa, Queensland, where I have some family.

Favourite dish to cook?

I like making pasta and cooking fish.

Favourite vegetable?

Broccoli.

Sweet or savoury?

Savoury.

How do you like your eggs?

The best way; scrambled, but still really runny.

What’s your favourite meal of the day – breakfast, lunch or dinner?

Dinner is my favourite meal as it is when I have the most time to cook. Just quietly though, brunch is awesome. It’s not uncommon for me to devour a kilo of bacon after a night out with mates.

What dish would be the way to your heart?

Steak and jus, but I also have a sweet tooth so a Crème Brulee or Vanilla Bean ice-cream.

What are your favourite tunes to cook to?

I like listening to relaxing music when I cook, I often cook to Josh Pyke or Jack Johnson.

What do you think you’ll learn from being on MasterChef?

I’ll learn many new cooking techniques, and I think I’ll get an insight into how George and Gary run successful restaurants. Being the youngest in the competition I will mature and learn life lessons from some of the other contestants

Which judge makes you the most nervous?

Matt Preston, he has a massive presence and has a pretty intimidating stare.

Tell us about how you got into cooking and how old were you?

I had a sweet tooth as a child, so I remember cooking cakes and biscuits. But I have only been cooking seriously for the last three or four years.

What’s the first meal you remember cooking and was it a success or a disaster?

I remember making pancakes, they worked out alright.

What three ingredients would you take with you to a desert island and what would you cook with them?

Garlic, chilli and rum. I’d catch a fish and cook it with garlic and chilli. I assume it’s a tropical island so I would find a pineapple and a coconut and make a Pina Colada with the rum (because islands definitely have electric blenders).

If you were having any three people, alive or dead, over for dinner, who would they be and what would you cook for them?

My dad, Anthony Kiedis (lead singer of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers) and Adam Gilchrist. I’d cook sea bass.

What inspired you to go on MasterChef?

Watching the show last year and thought it looked like a great challenge. Working as a kitchenhand, I love watching the chefs work, so I thought cooking would be for me and MasterChef is the perfect opportunity.