Masterchefs winner Mat Follas

[olicollett]

Come on guys,give the man a chance.

Whatever happened to optimism?

Are we to kill him off before he even gets started?

The reason he wants a Head Chef is so that he can work in tandem with him to learn the job.

He knows his limitations,but I'll tell you what.He's a bloody quick learner!

I'll tell you another thing,judging by everybody who tasted his food,he has an excellent palate!

Btw he does not have any ambition,other than to put good food on the plate.

As an aside,when he worked with Rene Redzepi at Noma you could see chefs admiration .

If he worked at ** level  with a chef of that calibre in time he would be a star.

And I bet he could walk into a job in that kitchen tomorrow!

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I'm with David here.

I'm not really a fan of the show purely because the presenters do my head in. I do usually catch the odd episode here and there and this year I did watch the final week.

Although the two other contestents seemed talented, this guy really did look like class. He seems to have that uncanny ability to just know what goes together in a dish and seemed to have an amazing ability to come up with original dishes that worked (I say that without having tasted them myself though!).

I hope he does get his head down and get some experience behind him at some kitchens and then on further to make it with his own restaurant.

[david goodfellow]

yeah... i dont know how to do it... but I did add a signature linking to my blog. My my you do spend a lot of time on egullet forums dont you!!!

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Making up for lost time

I will have to get a job(no way).lol

Dont mention it to my wife will you,she nags me all the time

[david goodfellow]

Come on guys,give the man a chance.

Whatever happened to optimism?

Are we to kill him off before he even gets started?

The reason he wants a Head Chef is so that he can work in tandem with him to learn the job.

He knows his limitations,but I'll tell you what.He's a bloody quick learner!

I'll tell you another thing,judging by everybody who tasted his food,he has an excellent palate!

Btw he does not have any ambition,other than to put good food on the plate.

As an aside,when he worked with Rene Redzepi at Noma you could see chefs admiration .

If he worked at ** level  with a chef of that calibre in time he would be a star.

And I bet he could walk into a job in that kitchen tomorrow!

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I'm with David here.

I'm not really a fan of the show purely because the presenters do my head in. I do usually catch the odd episode here and there and this year I did watch the final week.

Although the two other contestents seemed talented, this guy really did look like class. He seems to have that uncanny ability to just know what goes together in a dish and seemed to have an amazing ability to come up with original dishes that worked (I say that without having tasted them myself though!).

I hope he does get his head down and get some experience behind him at some kitchens and then on further to make it with his own restaurant.

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Thanks for that show of support.

I have a habit of sticking my head up,and getting shot at.

Something to do with standing up for the underdog.

[genuineness]

Come on guys,give the man a chance.

Whatever happened to optimism?

Are we to kill him off before he even gets started?

The reason he wants a Head Chef is so that he can work in tandem with him to learn the job.

He knows his limitations,but I'll tell you what.He's a bloody quick learner!

I'll tell you another thing,judging by everybody who tasted his food,he has an excellent palate!

Btw he does not have any ambition,other than to put good food on the plate.

As an aside,when he worked with Rene Redzepi at Noma you could see chefs admiration .

If he worked at ** level  with a chef of that calibre in time he would be a star.

And I bet he could walk into a job in that kitchen tomorrow!

←

I'm with David here.

I'm not really a fan of the show purely because the presenters do my head in. I do usually catch the odd episode here and there and this year I did watch the final week.

Although the two other contestents seemed talented, this guy really did look like class. He seems to have that uncanny ability to just know what goes together in a dish and seemed to have an amazing ability to come up with original dishes that worked (I say that without having tasted them myself though!).

I hope he does get his head down and get some experience behind him at some kitchens and then on further to make it with his own restaurant.

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Either he is a culinary genius or very good at ripping off ideas from other chefs. Not directly referring to Matt, but I am pretty certain some of the dishes presented during the competition will direct ripoffs from cookbooks/ magazines.

[Matthew Grant]

I saw the guy being interviewed on breakfast TV- Torrode sad he was the perfect winner with great attitude, food and a great "look"- WTH??????? Since when does looking like ming the merciless make you a good cook? Give me strength.....................

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Around the same time that it became very important that you could write a decent passion statement

[RDB]

It has nothing to do with 'sticking up for underdog', it's the bizarre and may I say naive statement that this guy could achieve a possible Michelin star. Firstly let me give you an analogy, every weekend I do some amazing cooking for my family and friends, some innovative dishes, which receive great feedback. It may be deemed that some of these dishes may be Michelin level *. Now does that mean if I decided to open a restaurant I would achieve a star, would it hell, I would fall flat on my face, because a few dishes cooked for a few people a star does not make or keep a restaurant afloat for that matter.

Secondly, this guy may have no intention of aiming for a star and may know his limits, however I find it impressive that you can predict the possibility of this occuring. Unless you have been to this imaginary restaurant tasted the potential food and deemed it to be of Michelin level, then I am not sure what criteria you can judge his cooking or ability to run a kitchen. Unless of course your conclusion is based upon watching an edited television programme, which to my knowledge is not Michelin criteria.

Thirdly if Anthony Flinn has not achieved a star with his skill, background and ability, then this guy certainly won't.

I wish him all the best, but come on if we are going to play the Michelin guessing game and its rising stars, lets look towards the young people who have slogged through the kitchens to learn their art. Or if you want a decent competition to follow and spot some excellent chefs check out the Roux scholarship (see Corinna's post), which has actually produced some real starred chefs.

* Obviously I am being slightly delusional

[Prawncrackers]

Around the same time that it became very important that you could write a decent passion statement

General recipe for Passion Statement:

100g gushing

100g toadying

1 or 2 knobs

Splash of insincerity

Few drops of tears

Churn all the ingredients till sick, season to (bad) taste before dishing it up on our screens.

The only enjoyment I get from this TV show is shouting at the telly in disbelief and laughter at the eeejits in the earlier rounds (a bit like the X-Factor-Idol prelims). As each series of this show gets aired, its premise as a cooking competition becomes more and more tenuous. To the point now it’s not about finding the best amateur cooks producing the best dishes but simply “to find someone who can make it… blah blah”. WTFudge? Ok clearly it’s not serious cooking contest because you have: one judge with an obvious eating disorder and an east-end urchin child’s palette: and lack of a clear and transparent marking system. But to have strayed this far into this heavily edited reality TV guff is just so exasperating.

I actually caught the very final proper cooking test and fair play to Mat the winner he wiped the floor with the other two. His three dishes seemed to have been conceived and executed very well. If only the whole show was about cooking great dishes, analysing in detail the contestants’ culinary skills. What is the reason for that ingredient? How did you make that sauce? Etc. Instead we get mass catering on a warship for our boys fighting Somali pirates, probably. I just don’t see the connection with winning this show and the idea you can open your own successful restaurant off the back of it. Unless you have marketable telegenic qualities (the lady who won – Tommi was it?) then you’re still left paying your dues for years to come (the last two fellows). Good Luck Mat.

[david goodfellow]

It has nothing to do with 'sticking up for underdog', it's the bizarre and may I say naive statement that this guy could achieve a possible Michelin star. Firstly let me give you an analogy, every weekend I do some amazing cooking for my family and friends, some innovative dishes, which receive great feedback. It may be deemed that some of these dishes  may be Michelin level *. Now does that mean if I decided to open a restaurant I would achieve a star, would it hell, I would fall flat on my face, because a few dishes cooked for a few people a star  does not make or keep a restaurant afloat for that matter.

Secondly, this guy may have no intention of aiming for a star and may know his limits, however I find it impressive that you can predict the possibility of this occuring. Unless you have been to this imaginary restaurant tasted the potential food and deemed it to be of Michelin level, then I am not sure what criteria you can judge his cooking  or ability to run a kitchen. Unless of course your conclusion is based upon watching an edited television programme, which to my knowledge is not Michelin criteria.

Thirdly if Anthony Flinn has not achieved a star with his skill, background and ability, then this guy certainly won't.

I wish him all the best, but come on if we are going to play the Michelin guessing game and its rising stars, lets look towards the young people who have slogged through the kitchens to learn their art. Or if you want a decent competition to follow and spot some excellent chefs check out the Roux scholarship (see Corinna's post), which has actually produced some real starred chefs.

* Obviously I am being slightly delusional 

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Bizarre? Naive?

Come on lighten up.

Who are you to judge a fairly light hearted comment with such venom

Everyone on this forum is entitled to an opinion.

Its clear I'm not on your xmas card list,but please lets not get personal!

[Dave Hatfield]

As a test of MC winners ability/ambition does anybody know of a kind of "where are they now" type of forum or information?

I would find it very interesting to find out how the past winners (finalists for that matter) have done since their win.

Does anybody know anything about where they are now?

[Timperley Chris]

I can't believe how harsh some people are being to this guy who is clearly just taking his hobby up a few notches, nor how seriously it's all being taken! Barring the two shouty fools who host the programme (and I think you have to take the whole 'cooking CAN'T possibly ever, ever, EVER get any tougher' with a large pinch of salt) I thoroughly enjoyed watching the good and the (very) bad cooking that took place throughout the series.

Mat obviously has some real talent and if he wants to go feet first into his own restaurant then good luck to him. Is he likely to win a star? No. Is his restaurant likely to stay open for more than 12 months? The stats would say unlikely, but let's wish him good luck eh?

[Timperley Chris]

As a test of MC winners ability/ambition does anybody know of a kind of "where are they now" type of forum or information?

I would find it very interesting to find out how the past winners (finalists for that matter) have done since their win.

Does anybody know anything about where they are now?

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/mas...mni_index.shtml

[david goodfellow]

As a test of MC winners ability/ambition does anybody know of a kind of "where are they now" type of forum or information?

I would find it very interesting to find out how the past winners (finalists for that matter) have done since their win.

Does anybody know anything about where they are now?

←

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/mas...mni_index.shtml

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[/quote

Very good link Chris,I read it last night and its clear Thomasina Myers has done very well for herself.

The other guys have sort of mixed fortune.

Its clear that with the right financial backing and a huge amount of input from the individual it can and has worked.

[RDB]

It has nothing to do with 'sticking up for underdog', it's the bizarre and may I say naive statement that this guy could achieve a possible Michelin star. Firstly let me give you an analogy, every weekend I do some amazing cooking for my family and friends, some innovative dishes, which receive great feedback. It may be deemed that some of these dishes  may be Michelin level *. Now does that mean if I decided to open a restaurant I would achieve a star, would it hell, I would fall flat on my face, because a few dishes cooked for a few people a star  does not make or keep a restaurant afloat for that matter.

Secondly, this guy may have no intention of aiming for a star and may know his limits, however I find it impressive that you can predict the possibility of this occuring. Unless you have been to this imaginary restaurant tasted the potential food and deemed it to be of Michelin level, then I am not sure what criteria you can judge his cooking  or ability to run a kitchen. Unless of course your conclusion is based upon watching an edited television programme, which to my knowledge is not Michelin criteria.

Thirdly if Anthony Flinn has not achieved a star with his skill, background and ability, then this guy certainly won't.

I wish him all the best, but come on if we are going to play the Michelin guessing game and its rising stars, lets look towards the young people who have slogged through the kitchens to learn their art. Or if you want a decent competition to follow and spot some excellent chefs check out the Roux scholarship (see Corinna's post), which has actually produced some real starred chefs.

* Obviously I am being slightly delusional 

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Bizarre? Naive?

Come on lighten up.

Who are you to judge a fairly light hearted comment with such venom

Everyone on this forum is entitled to an opinion.

Its clear I'm not on your xmas card list,but please lets not get personal!

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It is nothing personal to you David, it is the concept that I find bizarre and naive, which I have through my previous point tried to substaniate.

Of course you are absolutely right everyone on this forum has an opinion, that is what makes it a good arena for food related discussion.

Just to make it up I will happily send you a card next xmas

[david goodfellow]

It has nothing to do with 'sticking up for underdog', it's the bizarre and may I say naive statement that this guy could achieve a possible Michelin star. Firstly let me give you an analogy, every weekend I do some amazing cooking for my family and friends, some innovative dishes, which receive great feedback. It may be deemed that some of these dishes  may be Michelin level *. Now does that mean if I decided to open a restaurant I would achieve a star, would it hell, I would fall flat on my face, because a few dishes cooked for a few people a star  does not make or keep a restaurant afloat for that matter.

Secondly, this guy may have no intention of aiming for a star and may know his limits, however I find it impressive that you can predict the possibility of this occuring. Unless you have been to this imaginary restaurant tasted the potential food and deemed it to be of Michelin level, then I am not sure what criteria you can judge his cooking  or ability to run a kitchen. Unless of course your conclusion is based upon watching an edited television programme, which to my knowledge is not Michelin criteria.

Thirdly if Anthony Flinn has not achieved a star with his skill, background and ability, then this guy certainly won't.

I wish him all the best, but come on if we are going to play the Michelin guessing game and its rising stars, lets look towards the young people who have slogged through the kitchens to learn their art. Or if you want a decent competition to follow and spot some excellent chefs check out the Roux scholarship (see Corinna's post), which has actually produced some real starred chefs.

* Obviously I am being slightly delusional 

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Bizarre? Naive?

Come on lighten up.

Who are you to judge a fairly light hearted comment with such venom

Everyone on this forum is entitled to an opinion.

Its clear I'm not on your xmas card list,but please lets not get personal!

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It is nothing personal to you David, it is the concept that I find bizarre and naive, which I have through my previous point tried to substaniate.

Of course you are absolutely right everyone on this forum has an opinion, that is what makes it a good arena for food related discussion.

Just to make it up I will happily send you a card next xmas

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Thank you kindly.

Your back on my list.

Edited March 4, 2009 by david goodfellow (log)

[thom]

More to the point why are they called Michelin "stars" at all when they are patently little more than glorified asterisks?

A three asterisk restaurant doesn't quite have the same ring about it does it? In grammatical terms it could be worse I guess, could be colons.

[david goodfellow]

More to the point why are they called Michelin "stars" at all when they are patently little more than glorified asterisks?

A three asterisk restaurant doesn't quite have the same ring about it does it? In grammatical terms it could be worse I guess, could be colons.

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Afternoon Thom ,good observation,lazyness on my part.

Thanks for your recommend on Sunday,However EastZEast,and Radjoot were both closed.

I tried to find Shimla Pinks on Bridge st but gave up after a while,and resigned myself to dining in another part of Asia. Thailand!

Had a super meal at Chaophraya

[Gareth]

I like Masterchef.

I like the ritual of the stock phrases: “This competition’s, gonna change their lives…”; “cooking doesn’t get tougher than this…”; “deep, deep flavours and then the sweetness…”; “This is a really tough decision, one of these people is going to have to go home…”; “Three exceptional cooks…”. And I like how many of these phrases are barefaced lies or vapid nonsense.

I like the standard elements. The contemplative chin-stroke when it comes to that “really tough decision”; the quarter finalists wandering through borough market and expertly selecting the produce (having 15 minutes earlier proved on the “ingredients test” that they can’t tell a cabbage from a cauliflower); the ‘Reservoir Chefs’ shot of them walking down the road in their whites to the restaurant they’ll be cooking lunch at (restaurants whose quality has steadily fallen over the series, so by next year it’ll be Pizza Hut).

I like the fact that it seems to be illegal on Masterchef not to cook scallops (because, as we all know, “cooking doesn’t get tougher” than turning a scallop). And I like the fact that the Masterchef kitchen remains the one small corner of Britain where raspberry coulis never went out of fashion.

I like watching the dog’s breakfasts served to sub-suburban dinner party standards. The catastrophe of another failed chocolate fondant. The opportunity to dive behind the sofa and hide your face at the horrors to come as another rank amateur is labelled an “experimental cook” (did anyone see this year’s peach and basil sauce dish ?! Joy! And was I the only one reminded of Peter Cook’s sketch about Arthur Streeb-Greebling’s restaurant serving “Frog a la peche”?)

As you can tell, I like the opportunity it gives me to assume an air of comfortable superiority, without actually having to risk competing myself.

And I genuinely enjoy those moments when a dish of real, finesse, flavour and ability is executed or a dish is cooked to genuinely 2-3* standards under the watchful, stressed or disbelieving eyes of a world-class chef. (A highlight of last television year was watching Marcus Wareing run down the street searching for the ‘Celebrity Masterchef’ finalist who’d just fled his kitchen half-way through prep in a moment of nervous implosion.)

So it’s fun.

As to whether Matt or anyone else is poised to seize a Michelin star simply on the back of his win. I doubt it. I really, really doubt it. Doubt it to the tune of some very sizeable sums of cash down at Ladbrokes, if you press me. And for much the same reason as RDB suggested; just because I can cook a Michelin-starred dish, doesn’t mean I can run any sort of restaurant, starred or not.

But just ‘cos the programme hypes up the expectation for the consumption of the Great British Public, it doesn’t necessarily follow that Matt (or anyone else) isn’t level-headed enough to take it all with a pinch of fleur de sel and recognise that the hard graft now follows to deliver success. And, whilst winning won’t short-circuit that necessary graft, if it gives him a leg up and opens a few opportunities that wouldn’t have otherwise materialised well, that seems fair-dos and prize enough. And I’m not yet so cynical as to think that if Masterchef kick-started his personal inspiration and he’s prepared to follow it with the necessary perspiration, then maybe it could “change his life…” . And good luck to him.

In the meantime bring on the next series (and preferably a re-run of “Professional Masterchef” where Michel Roux did provide the kind of informed and precise criticism that added real interest and understanding…)

G.

p.s. Anyone seen “Notes and Queries” in the Guardian today. The question posed is whether it true in relation to Masterchef that “cooking doesn’t get tougher than this…” ?

[adey73]

As man who as a teenager stormed out of his summer fish-frying job at Blackpool's Harry Ramsden's, after having his manhood involuntarily 'cupped' by a mustachoied aggressive homosexual, as I lightly battered a haddock. I think I can categorically say cooking can indeed be tougher than that!!!

[Gareth]

As man who as a teenager stormed out of his summer fish-frying job at Blackpool's Harry Ramsden's, after having his manhood involuntarily 'cupped' by a mustachoied aggressive homosexual, as I lightly battered a haddock.

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Are you sure it wasn't a codpiece ?

[MaLO]

Going back a few years, I seem to recal Beechers Brook restaurant in Liverpool was owned by a mastercher winner. I had a look in 1999 good food guide and the cooking mark was 5. A decent mark, seeing some very decent 1 star places score 6 or lower now. The chef was called David Cooke but the restaurant closed a number of years ago.

[Dave Hatfield]

As a test of MC winners ability/ambition does anybody know of a kind of "where are they now" type of forum or information?

I would find it very interesting to find out how the past winners (finalists for that matter) have done since their win.

Does anybody know anything about where they are now?

←

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/mas...mni_index.shtml

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Many thanks for the link.

Its interesting that none of the winners is running their own restaurant. Sort of reminds me of the old expression we had in Management: "Those who can't do, teach" Or in this case write as well.

[nickloman]

Its interesting that none of the winners is running their own restaurant. Sort of reminds me of the old expression we had in Management: "Those who can't do, teach" Or in this case write as well.

Thomasina Myers apparently has her own restaurant. Although presumably she has major backers and is a minority stakeholder. It is called Wahaca and was featured during one of this years heats. From what I saw on the telly, there didn't seem to be any compelling reason to go there - looked like pretty standard Tex-Mex to me (I realise the intention is that it should be rustic/authentic Mexican food).

[david goodfellow]

According to the Daily Mail,Raymond Blanc is considering offering Mat Follas a job,

So no restaurant venture now.

What's interesting in the comments section is the huge support he seems to have.

[RDB]

According to the Daily Mail,Raymond Blanc is considering offering Mat Follas a job,

So no restaurant venture now.

What's interesting in the comments section is the huge support he seems to have.

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What? He wins Masterchef and gets offered a job from the man behind the rival show The Restaurant. It's reality food TV gone mad I tell you

I am sure a stint at Brasserie Blanc should bring him a little bit closer to that predicted star.

[david goodfellow]

According to the Daily Mail,Raymond Blanc is considering offering Mat Follas a job,

So no restaurant venture now.

What's interesting in the comments section is the huge support he seems to have.

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What? He wins Masterchef and gets offered a job from the man behind the rival show The Restaurant. It's reality food TV gone mad I tell you

I am sure a stint at Brasserie Blanc should bring him a little bit closer to that predicted star.

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Well,it won't be the Manchester one

They just closed it!