The isolation hasn’t stopped Dani from embracing nourishing ingredients and whipping up wholesome comfort food for her family. She has also been sharing those recipes online with fellow foodies.
“Sri Lankan food really heroes the produce. You get mind-blowing meals that are vibrant, unique and so fragrant in flavour - full of foundation spices, and aromatic ingredients.”
A 2011 MasterChef Finalist, Dani returned for MasterChef All Stars in 2012, and again in the Back to Win MasterChef 12th season. Mornington Peninsula-based Dani says MasterChef has been life changing.
Many of these ingredients find their way into Dani’s signature dishes like her Season 12 opening winning dish, Pineapple Mud Crab Curry.
“It’s allowed me to explore so many opportunities, to be creative, and to celebrate my own style of cooking and the aromatic flavours I love.” Dani says a stand out MasterChef experience was cooking for His Holiness, the Dalai Lama in 2011. “That was amazing. I’d followed his teachings for years, so cooking a Sri Lankan Vegetarian curry for him and winning the challenge was one of the best moments of my life.”
Dani had felt similar cuisine connections volunteering in Vietnam years earlier on a high school gap-year programme. “South Eastern flavours are as generous as the people who welcome you.”
Lockdown hasn’t been ideal, but it’s been nice to find pleasures in the simple things
“For me, cooking has always been about recreating food memories and I’ve loved helping share that with others.” Fast forward to her Mornington Peninsula kitchen in 2020 lockdown, and bubbly Dani has an apron full of thoughtful observations.
With Sri Lankan flavours making an appearance in many of her dishes, Dani is equally tickled to have been declared an honorary Sri Lankan: “That’s such an incredible honour; Sri Lankans are such wonderful people.”
“Like many of us, my concept of time has changed, the urgency to fit everything in has slowed, and it’s been a time of growth and change for me. Lockdown hasn’t been ideal, but it’s been nice to find pleasures in the simple things.”
With just a camera and a backpack, Dani first travelled to Sri Lanka to share the incredible stories of women’s losses after the Boxing Day tsunami.
While many of us spent isolation glued to MasterChef to watch Dani’s immunity winning curries, she’s been focused on whipping up nourishing meals at home for five-year-old Harlow and two-yearold Oscar. With a focus on family wellbeing, her Instagram account shows she just as nifty with the leftovers as the fresh produce, and she shares the fun of wholesome cooking with her kids.
“Resilience and hope kept them going, and food was a wonderful connection. Sri Lanka was life changing for me: meeting incredible people, and learning to recreate amazing curries.”
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10 | PENINSULA
August 2020