Profession: author, journalist and host of SBS' Dateline
Signature dish: greek lamb with pasta and seasonal greens
George Negus has been cooking for over 40 years but he can safely say he did not pick up his cooking skills from his mother.
“My mother used to burn meat to a cinder. The first time I cooked, the meat wasn’t burnt and I realised that food was not just about stopping you from being hungry. You could actually enjoy it.”
“I’ve been cooking since I left home in my early twenties and I’m predominantly self-taught. I’ve done a lot of travelling and eaten a lot of cuisines all over the world. My wife and I lived in Italy for several years and that’s been a strong influence on what I cook now. Most of my cooking skills have been learnt informally, just observing other people who cook better than I can.”
George takes cooking very seriously and although he isn’t concerned about cooking in a challenging and new environment in the MasterChef kitchen, he has a warning for the MasterChef judges.
“My friends tell me I’m a great cook but my family are more critical because they know I take it seriously. I’ll be interested to see what the judges think. I don’t mind when people criticise my journalism but if they criticise my risotto, I get angry!”
“I haven’t killed anyone with my cooking and I know people don’t just eat what I serve them to be polite. Most people would say I am pretty good. My strength is Italian and a weakness is I don’t take enough care with Asian food.”
Although he considers himself an experimental and reasonably adventurous cook, there is one thing George will not cook.
“I won’t cook brains. Bill Cosby once said: ‘I’m not going to eat anything that people have been thinking with and I’m standing by that.”
George thinks he may have an edge on his competitors in the MasterChef kitchen.
“I’m not a frantic cook, I don’t get stressed. I just think about the timing and work back from there. I’m hoping that will serve me well when I’m doing the challenges. I’m not competitive, but whoever’s going to be better than me will have to be pretty good!”
