³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Food blog

« Previous | Main | Next »

From Miss Swansea to MasterChef

Post categories:

Alice Taylor Alice Taylor | 14:14 UK time, Friday, 25 March 2011

Appearing on MasterChef was such an honour. I still pinch myself as I find it hard to believe that I was chosen out of so many applicants. Naturally, there was no shortage of Tweeters dismissing my acceptance onto the show as being based purely on my looks and not on my cooking ability. But the majority of comments were undeniably supportive, which is really quite something, reflecting the enormous amount of effort we all put into the show.

As we got through the rounds, exhaustion began to take its toll, though I always had the overwhelming temptation to get stuck into a cookbook and do more research ready for each new challenge. Every day we were asked to create and develop new menus. At times my brain was awash with a variety of ideas and flavour combinations.

There was always that desperation to do something very different or outrageous to secure a place in the next round, but you never know how early on in the contest to unveil your most precious ideas. I treated every day as potentially my last, so I tried to pull complex techniques out of the bag whenever I had the chance - in case that chance was my last. When I decided to do my 'whisky balls' in the circus challenge, part of me wondered if it was too early on to be demonstrating this type of , but it ended up paying off as mine and Annie's dishes were voted as the best that day.Ìý

I was disappointed to leave the contest when I did. I thought I stood a good chance at winning, especially after having such a strong round the previous week. I now hope to pursue a career in TV and with food. I enjoyed filming so much and feel blessed to have worked with and met such amazing chefs along the way. The contestant who surprised me the most was James. For a guy who's a little rough around the edges, he is technically one of the most competent cooks I've met and possesses a huge amount of food knowledge. With regards to flair, it goes without saying that Tim has this natural ability to draw you into his dishes. He has an artistic personality and he was also an absolute pleasure to be around. The contestant who I find the most intriguing is Tom. His is love of offal and his knowledge of how to treat ingredients is phenomenal; he's a very skilled cook indeed.

I have decided to give up the modeling after the final. I will also forfeit my Miss Swansea title as of next month as I am getting married to my fiancé Christopher, father of my little boy Charlie. Chris is himself a grocer, owner of the largest independent chain of supermarkets in Wales.

John and Gregg have been great to work with. They were a couple of tough cookies though. You didn't get away with anything if you slipped up. You would pay the price. No exceptions...

Alice Taylor is a contestant on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One's MasterChef.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    I loved many of your creations and also your courage to push to higher levels which some were never to quite work. But hey, no better or worse than some of the others left in MasterChef, and some in my opinion a lot, lot worse. These will soon be found out!

    To be honest, even though nice to see more cooking in the last episode, the show has become a joke. How ridiculous to see hard worked cooks struggling across dangerous terrain with thier hot dishes was an accident waiting to happen as they did the same with Stacie (Beehive hair) Stewart last year at the Tower of London.
    The kitchens could have easily been placed nearer the buffet room even just to keep the food warmer.

    The show had many people eager to knock the new format but I thought it was very much due a revamp and I defended it (then) on the messageboards.

    I dislike knocking individuals and it takes a big person to prepare food in front of cameras but that Jackie so annoys me. She not only ramps up the drama so much, now she was banging on to keep meat away from her vegan food yet there she was happy to put butter on her dessert!

    Alice, on merit you should be still there but you are better off away from the muddling crowd! I will miss your smile and your love of food will I hope be your aspiring reward. I wish you every success and keep the faith.

  • Comment number 2.

    You don't find it ironic that you took exception to those who assumed you were included in the series based purely on your looks yet you refer to contestant James as 'a little rough around the edges' and seemed surprised at his technical skills?

Ìý

More from this blog...

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ iD

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ navigation

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ © 2014 The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.