Thursday September 13, 2012 – Riverland Weekly • 23
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Marion’s scrumptious menu M
ARION Grasby has come a long way since working as a journalist in Renmark five years ago. The MasterChef contestant will be the celebrity cook at this year’s Riverland Field Days and she is more than happy to be back. “It is just nice to go back to a region that I really loved living in,� she told the Riverland Weekly. “Even though I’m not South Australian, I still think of myself as a South Australian.� Inspired by her Asian heritage, Marion plans to give those in attendance at the Riverland Field Days an infusion of delicious flavours during two demonstrations daily. “Asian flavours are my favourite food, so everything has a bit of an Asian slant to it which hopefully everyone will enjoy,� she said. Providing an example of what she will be cooking at the Riverland Field Days, Marion said a recipe of crispy prawn noodles and another involving lamp dumplings and also a dish with local lamb cutlets are on the menu. She said the demonstrations will be targeted at home cooks and will be simple but tasty. “I don’t think of myself as a chef, I think of myself as a home cook,� Marion said. “Most people in the food industry would love to be a two Michelin Star chef but I don’t have 10 hours to spend cooking a dish for dinner. “For me food is about being able to enjoy the cooking process which means if it has to be quick, it has to be quick but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be tasty.� It has been quite a journey for Marion since leaving the ABC newsroom in the Riverland in 2007 and studying a masters in food and wine history in the city. “I had been doing that for two years and wondering how I was going to make food my job,� she said. “What MasterChef has done is really push me into the food industry that I wanted to get into anyway. “Going on MasterChef really helped me to realise that I could do something like a food range, I could be a food writer and write cookbooks. “For me it was a really big launching pad.� Since then Marion has released her own food range, written cookbooks and for magazines and held cooking demonstrations and talks across Australia. “I love doing the food range, it has prob-
ably been one of the biggest accomplishments I’ve been able to achieve so far,� she said. “More than 120,000 families buy my packs to take home for dinner every month and when I had just left the Riverland and started my masters in food and wine history, I would never have realised that would be the case. “While it is weird seeing my head on the box, it’s nice knowing that it’s there.� Recently returning to the MasterChef kitchen for the All-Stars series was a great experience, according to Marion. “MasterChef All-Stars was so fun because when I did MasterChef the first time we were living in the house for six months, so you become really good friends with the other contestants,� she said. “Being able to go back and hang out with everyone, plus meet a lot of the guys from the other series was really fun, I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in a small space of time as I did filming that show.� Marion said her career has shown that anyone can pursue their dream job. “Food has always been such a natural part of my life,� she said. “My mum’s a chef and we grew up travelling all over the world and my family are really big foodies and I’ve just always loved it. “It’s like anything, when you have a passion for something...you just want to do it all the time.� Her knowledge of the food industry will be passed on at the Riverland Field Days when Marion judges the High Schools Cooking Challenge, where she will also provide advice. “I think it is great to be able to chat to high school students or younger people and say to them, ‘it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, what school you go to, you can always achieve something in life’,� she said. “I love being involved with young people just to let them know that they can get somewhere one day.� What about some advice for budding chefs and home cooks? “You need to not get so stressed out, I always feel that food can sense when you are scared, so you just need to relax,� she laughed. “Everyone makes mistakes. “I’ve cooked plenty of disaster meals and I think there are far worst things going on in the world, there are droughts, there are fires, famines and wars and burning your roast lamb is not the end of the world.�
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TOP FIVE INDGREDIENTS 1.Coriander 2.Garlic 3.Chillis 4.Fish Sauce 5.Prawns
■COOK: MasterChef Marion Grasby will cook Asian inspired recipes at this year’s Riverland Field Days. Photo: PANMACMILLAN