Before I get back into food blogging as usual, I just have to say a huge thanks to everyone who’s supported me on the MasterChef rollercoaster ride. When I auditioned in December last year I wasn’t looking for my 15 seconds of fame, I just went with the intention of seeing where I stood in the pack of ‘best ever’ home cooks.
I’ve been humbled by the messages people have been sending through – I think many of you realised what I was going through even before the news piece came out and for that I am hugely grateful. I know that in the happy-happy narrative of MasterChef, my side of the story was never going to be told but never in a million years did I expect to get such a huge outpouring of support, especially as I was continually reminded by the powers that be that no one was going to like me because I was a ‘closed book’ (which I suspect is code for not crying enough).
There is a lot I have to say, and yet a lot I cannot say. I just want to send a heartfelt thank you to anyone who left a comment on the blog, messaged me via Facebook or stood up for me on various forums or social media. It has meant so much to me to have people, some whom I haven’t met yet, believe in me.
But, now onto a recipe that many of you have asked me for – the one from Taxi Dining Rooms and the infamous Marco Pierre White service challenge. I don’t drink Earl Grey tea, but I remembered my sister telling me about an Earl Grey dessert she’d had some time back – and this dessert was born. Like they say, necessity is the mother of invention! I’m pretty sure you’ll like it even if you’re not a tea fiend (I did when I tried it just then). It’s light, floral and pairs well with the berries, very reminiscent of traditional English high tea.
Just a couple of tips – frozen berries are fine to use. They’re not quite as nice, but it is the middle of winter now. This is a soft set jelly which means it’s deliciously wobbly, so if you’re in a rush and need the jelly to set faster, just add a tiny bit more gelatin (around 2g). I’ve substituted powder gelatin for leaf, as I find it’s a lot easier to get at supermarkets. If you have it on hand, leaf gelatin gives a much clearer set – use 2g per 100ml of liquid.
- 700ml water
- 7g powdered gelatin (approx 2 tsp)
- 2 Earl Grey teabags, or 2 tsp loose leaf Earl Grey
- 3 tbsp sugar
- mixed berries, frozen or fresh
- 350ml cream
- 50g icing sugar
- ½ vanilla bean, seeds only
- 25g melted butter
- 25g flour
- 25g icing sugar, sifted
- 25g egg white
- mixed berries
- splash of Grand Marnier/ Cointreau (or other alcohol, I used white wine in the challenge)
- Bloom the gelatin powder in 100ml of cold water.
- Heat remaining 600ml water in a small saucepan until just below boiling, then turn off. Add tea/tea bags and sugar and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to steep for 2 minutes - not too long, you just want a mild bergamot flavour. Strain, reserving the liquid.
- Add the bloomed gelatin and stir to combine. Strain again to remove any tiny bits of undiluted gelatin.
- Divide between 6 glasses and scatter in the mixed berries, then allow to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours. If you want the berries to be perfectly suspended in the middle of the jelly, you'll need to pour in half the jelly mixture, scatter with berries, allow to set for half and hour in the fridge, then top with remaining jelly mixture.
- Whisk the cream to soft peaks, then add the icing sufar and vanilla seeds. Put into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe onto the set jelly.
- Preheat oven to 180C. Reverse a baking sheet (it's easier to use the underside as it doesn't have the lip around the edges) and line with baking paper.
- Combine all ingredients into a small bowl, then spread onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 3-4 minutes until lightly golden. When cool, snap into long shards and store in an airtight container.
- Combine the mixed berries with just a dash of Grand Marnier. Actually, who am I kidding, go nuts. Make yourself a cocktail while you've got the bottle out. Place the macerated berries in the glass next to the cream, then top with the tuille.
be yourself, do not listen to “powers that be”
where was Tash tonight? edited out?
I know! There was no Tash at all! What a joke! We think you are great Tash! Definitely the favourite in our house hold! I am glad this recipe has the right amount of gelatin. Glad to see you are trusting your gut!
Welcome back to blogging!
I’m a bit disappointed that Masterchef only post recipes of the winner’s dishes. Good to see you’re picking up their slack as I know a number of people were looking for this recipe. Looks great and it was an awesome idea for the show 🙂
Thanks Simon! Yeah, it’s strange, you could get dish of the day but if you were on the losing team, you were never asked to submit recipes. As an avid viewer of previous seasons, I remember waiting for certain recipes to be posted (ahem, Dan Hong’s deconstructed lemon tart, anyone?) but some just never were. So I figured, since I was there, I might as well help out those who were looking to try some of these recipes.
Tash, I think you were one of the strongest cooks on MC. I have saved many of your recipes and look forward to many more. A shame about the cliques and head games behind the scenes at MC. Peter
Thanks so much Peter! Much appreciated – I love sharing recipes. Hope you like the recipes that you’ve tried from this blog 🙂
Hi Tash, You have been my absolute favorite…I no longer care who wins Masterchef now. In my eyes – you are the winner !! Btw – you will find a whole load of your supporters at the Reality Ravings watering hole – many missing you dreadfully
Aww, shucks – thanks! I’m actually a huge fan of RR (being really into Survivor and all that)- so I’ve been reading all the posts and comments. It’s nice to know that I’m missed 🙂
You are! I have lost interest now that you have gone. I was sure you were going to win it! Seems like you have come out of it with a lot of fans and supporters! I am new to your blog since Masterchef and I look forward to trying some of your dishes.
I loved this dish on Masterchef and you’ve come up with some amazing ones! Sorry to read about cliques and the not so nice going ons. Onwards and upwards !
That’s right Belinda – onwards and upwards 😀
I’m sorry to hear about what went on behind the scenes. You have my support all the way. As far as I’m concerned you’re the MC for 2014.
Ps: love your blog, it’s the first time I’ve had a look. I’m a kitchen gadget/amateur cooking enthusiast (but more of a dog person) myself!
Thank you – that’s really sweet. I love dogs too, I just can’t really have one in our tiny rental apartment – plus I’m not much of a walker. Maybe a rescye greyhound one day…
We have a rescue whippet 🙂 I’m not much of a walker either haha, that’s why I let the husband do the walking 😉
Ohmygod I love whippets! Rescues are the best 🙂
One question – if you are allowed to say – who do you think will win? If you are not allowed to answer that, then try this one, I know you weren’t close to the other housemates (their loss I say), but of the remaining contestants, who were you closest too?
Kira picked me up on my bad days. And Emily is a real down to earth honest girl. Both damn good cooks too.
Thanks for that recipe Tash. It looks delicious. I am so sorry you are no longer on MC, I truly believe you were the one to take it out. In this day & age it was so sad to read about the goings on in the house. I no longer watch this show, couldn’t care less who wins. But please keep us updated with your career. Good luck.
Thanks Raine 🙂 I’ll definitely keep you posted – hope you try some recipes from the blog.
Ohhhhhh Thank you so much for the recipe Tash!!! This looked SO good and I was so sad the recipe was never posted anywhere. Now I can give it a go!!!
P.S. About your Masterchef journey, It was SO obvious even if they tried to cut it out that YOU were being excluded. We (your supporters) watched the show to see you cook…SO glad you weren’t a blubbering mess…Although even if you were I’m sure we would still like you! But you took the whole thing as a competition and you cooked with your heart!! Well I didn’t watch your elimination episode (Couldn’t do it! My friend told me you got out) and really haven’t been following the show since then. What a shame you aren’t there anymore! I used to go to the gym and come home around 9, then stream MC online just to see you cook! No more of that now 😛 Sad but happy to have had the pleasure of following you on the show and now here and there 😛 thanks again!
Thank you for this recipe! When I saw you cook it seemed like the perfect dessert my upcoming summer BBQ that I’m planning and immediately set about looking for similar ones but they didn’t quite measure up.
In regards to your experience on the show, I’ve recently got my partner into Masterchef so she’s catching up and we’ve had a few conversations about it – mostly talking about how lovely you are and how you would be the obvious one to excel as a chef in real life because of your composure under pressure. Personally, I appreciate the lack of tears. Sometimes these shows get reduced to sob stories and melodrama that I suppose the producers think makes great TV but I just tend to roll my eyes at it most of the time. I understand that it’s a high pressure environment and emotional responses are to be expected but it tends to go a bit too far. You were all about the food and kept your cool even when contestants were blatantly ignoring you or shutting you down (see: churros and gelatine). On top of that you remained pleasant, open and kind to them despite that. You’re a class act and a brilliant cook – I also really appreciated the way you talked us through your processes so thoroughly too. Although I really do miss watching you cook, like you said upon your exit; when the Masterchef door closes, a whole world of food opens up. I look forward to more recipes from you here and know you will be moving onto bigger and better things.
Side note: I’ve been wanting to foster kittens for the longest time but no one will let me because they say I will want to keep them (accurate) and I’m already a cat mother of three which I’ve been told is approaching pre-miracle serum Goldie Hawn in Death Becomes Her territory 🙁
Hi Joanne, Let me know how they turn out for your barbecue (you must not be in Australia because we’re in the depths of winter here). I did treat MC as a workplace, I figured that I wouldn’t cry in a professional kitchen, so why would I cry on set, right? Thanks for your support, I’m looking forward to that new world of food opening up.
OMG foster the kittens! Some are harder to give up than others. That’s the honest truth. But when an adopter gets down on the floor with the kitten and has that glazed over look, and you know they’re going to love them the same way you do, it’s all worth it. Pre-miracle serum Goldie Hawn made me laugh so hard I almost choked. Heehee. And you can’t be a cat lady if you don’t keep any more. Three is plenty! Personally, I think one cat per person that lives in the house plus one is acceptable. C + 1 😀
Hi Tash,
You were my favorite in Masterchef. 🙂
Loved the confidence with which you cooked. You always seemed to know what you were doing, and rarely got flustered. It was heartbreaking to see you go. But then happy to have a way to connect to you here 🙂
Have already noted some recipes to try. Do you have more recipes like the ‘stuffed mackerel’ that you cooked in Masterchef. That was an absolute delight to watch. 😀
Keep going strong..We all love you !! 🙂
Hi Lakshmi, thank you! I’m a very practical person and I guess for me I knew that getting flustered just doesn’t help (well, duh:) The other recipes are on MasterChef’s website – I’m blogging a lot of new stuff (plus I’m allergic to mackerel so even if I cooked it, it’d be a waste cos I couldn’t eat it). x
Oh ! Yup..I read that you’re allergic to it.
And yes, got your recipe for the same from Masterchef site 🙂
Tash you are such an amazing cook. each dish you cooked was superb! You could tell from watching the Masterchef episodes.. how you were cut out so much from each episode and that the other contestants weren’t as friendly with you as they should have been. I was rooting for you the whole way and I thought you would have won. I am so surprised you got kicked off right away. I love Masterchef but after watching this season and how they treated you I am really disappointed, its clear they have favourites despite the cooking talent. Hope you are successful in your future endeavors and kick butt!
Thanks Karen 🙂 Quite a long way from winning, but onto other things now. I just hope that I get to do some MC events and meet everyone who’s been so supportive.
U know was back before u were eliminated, we always use to watch out for you in the background as all the other faves were being glorified and we’d be like..how come nobody is standing near tash or when u use to cook and peeps upstairs would give u a strained cheer (for editing purposes) ‘go tash’ it used to be like a big conspiracy cos i was convinced u were not treated as fairly. Ive always been a fan on mc but this is the first season that ive noticed the amount of cliques and how everything is like high school! To put it simply..its like the movie Mean Girls!!
So evidently its pretty obvious that u were in fact treated not so nicely and i think its because u cooked so well and there was nothing controversial abt u. Having said that..u were always our favourite and mc is just a huge bowl of i could care less who wins now since u left. I cant wait to see what u get up to nxt and to quote Mean Girls ‘u go glenn coco!!’
Heehee Mean Girls 🙂 Tt’s amazing that people notice so much, I’m very lucky (and very flattered) to have so much great support! Thanks so much for stopping by to say hi.
You were totally the best cook on that show. I loved your quiet intelligence. They were not the group for you. I’m sure you get along with most people but this was just not the group for an intelligent cultured person such as yourself. I can’t wait to try your recipes !!!!
Thanks Vickk, let me know which ones you try 🙂
Just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed perusing your old blog posts, especially having grown up in Canberra. I think I’ll give the Crack Cookies a go this weekend. Congratulations on your MasterChef efforts – you certainly saved the day with your churros at the markets challenge. Hopefully more exciting foodie projects await for you. PS Thrilled to read you are a Survivor fan – how good was the last season!
Those crack cookies are the bomb! LOVED Survivor – I wasn’t thrilled about the concept at first but the season just got better and better. I’m such a huge Survivor fan that I wished they hid a hidden immunity pin in the MasterChef garden 😉
My cats and I were very sad to see you leave MC the other night, and not be given a proper chance to get back in during the comeback ep. It’s pretty clear MC thinks your lack of unnecessary drama makes for poor ratings, but how wrong they are- I know so many people here in WA who won’t be following MC owing to your departure.
You are a brilliant, delightful, beautiful (inside and out), bright young lady. I would’ve given anything to be in the MC house with you to be your friend and support. Unfortunately, aside from being an instant food chef, I can’t cook.. so I shall leave the culinary creations to you and be comforted that your cooking is no longer constrained by the joke that MC has become.
Hi Deb (and yay for cats!) I think lots of people have commented how the comeback challenge was not quite a level playing field, but there’s TV for you. Thanks so much for stopping by the blog – it means so much to me that people have stopped by to say hi and offer their support 🙂 It makes the rough times worth it.
Even though I’ve never met you and I’m not the type to comment on blogs etc, I really felt compelled to comment so I could say I’m so sorry about masterchef – you were clearly the best cook (not to mention the most likeable by far – and it probably speaks well of you that you were not good reality tv fodder) and seeing how you were treated has actually really soured the experience of watching it for me. I hope it wasn’t an entirely negative experience for you and I look forward to seeing you go on to better and brighter things!
Thanks so much Gaby, yours and all the other lovely comments have given me some perspective. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, so I guess only time will tell – but you know what they say – what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!
Hey, my husband and I are huge fan of yours, will try this recipe and many more from your blog :).
Can you share the vegeterian dish as well, it looks amazing and I am sure it tastes great too!!!!
Thanks
Love from Vietnam 🙂
Hi Huong, What kind of vegetarian dishes are you after? I’ve got a few on the blog already, but I’m not sure how easy the ingredients are to get in Vietnam.
What “closed book”? All I saw was someone trying their very best to cook their butt off week after week. You were very inspiring and created a lot of aesthetically beautiful food. I only wish that smell-o-vision existed already.
Thanks G! I did try and cook my butt off. The food blogger in me of course always wants to only put up aesthetically pleasing food – so that helped too 🙂
Tash you have always been my favourite ever since the the very first episode of MC that I watched. Such a shame that they pull you out that fast on the risoto challenge. Nevertheless, you are one of the best young cook from Malaysia that I had seen in MC.Keep up your spirit and you will always go far.
Cheers.
Thanks Shea May 🙂
For what it’s worth you were my family’s clear favourite. We thought that you had shown you had the skill, talent and the strength to win. We also loved that you hadn’t shed a single tear through the competition and I suspect many viewers felt the same way.
It’s unfortunate you had to experience what you did while in the competition, as it was clear as day what went on through the tele, even my mum noticed it from so many episodes before you had to leave. Such an experience can be discouraging but from what we’ve seen, we know you’ll do great.
Thank you for your support. It was frustrating, especially in team challenges, but it’s very vindicating to know that others noticed it too, even from watching the edited episodes. But, onto other things now! New projects, new ideas – I definitely feel like I have so much more to share.
Hey Tash, I just wanted to say that you were by far my favorite contestant and I absolutely know what you were going through. I went to boarding school in Brisbane and went through the same thing. So I guess it was easier to spot, it must have been tough but they could never stifle your talent! I look forward to seeing what you do next. Stay strong :).
Thanks Karina 🙂 I think the important thing is that everyone has felt on the outside at one point or another in their life. And it sucks, but I hope that I’ve given some hope to people who live in situations like that. It can be hard to get perspective on bullying sometimes.
Absolutely Tash, I hope so too.
Hi Tash, I became a fan of yours from the start and someone mentioned this blog at Reality Ravings and after reading about you , I became even a bigger admirer.
Well done.
Thanks Peter. Much appreciated – hope you try some recipes from the blog – I was a blogger before and I will continue to be a blogger long after MC is done 😀
You were my absolute favourite Tash! (despite one of the other contestants being a friend of mine!) So glad you didn’t break into all those sop stories and tears and kept your journey all about your cooking. You are an inspiration to many and I wish you all the best in your future endeavours!
Awwww, that’s so nice! <3 I won't ask who but I must admit I'm curious! Thanks Elaine.
you were the only reason i watched this season tash .i thought you were by far the best cook and to tell you the truth sick of the competitors crying and trying to come up with a back story or sob story anyway i will be following your recipes and blogs good luck you certainly had my support
Thanks Trevor! Much appreciated 🙂
I just stumbled onto your blog (after googling ‘Tash Shan blog’ haha!!). I am a huge fan of MC Australia – not many of us here in Canada. 🙂 This dish looked delicious on the show! I felt so bad for you being eliminated because your dish was obviously amazing. I had to look up the news after you mentioned it in your post. I saw a hint of that when you left the kitchen, mostly with your wave. It told me you couldn’t care less about leaving them, even though you obviously wanted to stay in the kitchen. You were definitely one of my favourites! I was so sad you were gone. Needless to say, I’ll be following your blog from now on. And trying this Earl Grey jelly. Chin up. Even if you felt lonely, there was a huge contingent of people cheering you on from the other side of the television screen. 🙂
Thanks so much Erin! That does make it feel better 🙂 It’s nice to have so much support post the show (and people Googling me is still new!)
Dear me! I have a big problem now! I was going to make your curry puffs and then I saw this recipe..oh the dilemma..
Make the curry puffs. Trust me.
Liling , make them both.
Hi Tash,
I was attempting to try to replicate the recipe, but then I found your blog! Yaaay!!
I have some cooling in the fridge now 🙂
As it’s my first time working with gelatin, and I’m a bit worried, I was wondering how I would go about doubleing the batch and maaayyybe adding vodka?
Thanks!
Hi Ana, How did they go? They’ll be fine to double the batch, but adding vodka will affect the ability of gelatine to set, so you’ll need bump up the amount of gelatin a bit – just by 1-2gms should work.
Hey Tash,
They went well – all my friends loved them! I stuffed up the cream chant illy though, so I just added purple food colouring hahaha and instead of the macerated berries I just added pomegranate.
Thank you for the recipe. I shall definitely be making more of your recipes!
Mmm pomegranate, good addition 🙂 Glad you liked it!
Such a wonderful photo capture.
Still warm here in Queensland Tash, you should come here and enjoy the sun and fab fresh ingredients to cook with, we love your blog and loooooove your food , keep it coming !
It’s 3 degrees in Canberra. I think I might need to come visit!
Hi Tash so glad to see your blog up and running again! Loved seeing you on Masterchef, my partner and I were rooting for you the whole time! Good on you for speaking out. Marginalising is akin to bullying and frankly it was definitely noticeable on air. I have lost a lot of respect for the Masterchef show and won’t be watching it in the future. Wish you all the best on your culinary journeys!
Thanks for your support Lydia – marginalising is bullying, just as social isolation is also bullying. I am glad that people were able to notice on air even before I did that interview. It’s so nice of you to drop by and leave a comment – much appreciated! It’s nice to know that I have support outside the show- means a lot to me 🙂
I’ve got a bone to pick with you Tash – you’ve ruined Masterchef for me! Having been a big fan, I now cannot be any less interested in this season ever since your elimination and all I see are the desperate attempts by the producers to dramatise every little emotional aspect. I had previously shunned other reality shows for these tactics. And the Marco worship is getting a bit too much.
Just wanted to drop in and let you know that you were my favourite contestant, and I hope that the exposure you got opens more doors for you. You’re strong, talented, passionate and good looking(!) so I hope we see more of you soon.
Aww, thanks DC – that’s really sweet! I’m a huge Survivor fan and I really hated it when people whinged about the rain, no food, all that jazz – so I guess I applied that to MC too. I mean if you’ve watched the show, I guess you kind of know what you sign up for right? 🙂
Thanks for dropping by and the message of support – means a lot to me.
Can you post the curry puff recipe with the pastry Gary seemed to love so much on the show?
I’m about to head off on travels, so don’t think I’ll have time, but it should be on the MasterChef website 🙂
Thanks Tash for the recipe! It looked so good on MC and I was searching everywhere for the recipe and was so disappointed when they didn’t post it on the masterchef website! I was rooting for you all the way and I was so sad when you got eliminated. I hope you’re doing great now even though you didn’t get to win!
Hi Tash, just found your website. Everytime I get fed up of the (mostly) manufactured melodrama or the crybabies on MC, I think of you, because you were so graceful, dignified and took your knocks without blubbering or begging for sympathy, even when you were brought down by your teammates, while doing a great job personally. I remember the Queen Vic night market challenge, for instance. I suggest MC stops this fake personal tragedy drama-making, and wish you were still there.
I’ve been so chuffed to get so much support post MasterChef. I’ve always wanted to be a chef and I guess I treated the MC kitchen like a workplace – I wouldn’t cry in a professional kitchen, so why would I cry to get sympathy on set? 🙂 Thanks so much for your kind words Dee, it’s very much appreciated.
Hi Tash,
The MC Final is over but I didn’t see you amongst any of the earlier contestants.
I can only surmise you were otherwise committed or weren’t invited.
Your absence was noted and I can only wonder why.
I so totally agree! I just believed you would win, because you made gorgeous tasty food, smart, business savvy, professional attitude. Just because you are not professionally trained does not mean we all cry when we cook. I have been in kitchens 30 years and cry babies never make it.
Yay! Thank you so much for posting this – I loved you on Masterchef, and was trying to make up this recipe myself, now I don’t have to 🙂
Taxi dining room just aired in Indonesia this evening. Gary just speechless when he tasted it, and ate till the bottom of the glass.
I want to taste it badly, but there is not much berry varieties in my town (actually just strawberry avaiable). Maybe I’ll mix it with tropical fruit like dragon fruit. May I? 🙂
PS: Now is mango season, I tried your mango pudding several days ago. It turned out good, my husband like it but the color not as yellow as you are, mine is paler.
If you can get frozen berries it’s fine too, otherwise substitute local fruit, probably will taste really good with dragonfruit, mango. Don’t use pineapple though, it can stop the jelly from setting. Also, don’t make the Earl Grey tea too strong.
The mango pudding is bright yellow because I use Indian canned mango puree – it’s very yellow.
Did this a few times and it is still a winner.
Used grapes (I didn’t know what to substitute for it then) and did a crumble instead of a tuile because I didnt have an oven, studying in a “jungle” in Malaysia.
Still think you were one of the strongest cook in the competition. And was amazed with the knowledge you gained from just the past few years of cooking. Keep sharing ur recipe, they are wonderful.
Great ideas for substitution – how do you do crumble without an oven? Thanks for your kind words – it’s been almost ten years now, I guess I’ve learnt a lot in that time. There are so many food blogs out there that are such an amazing resource.
Ha. Just saw this reply as I’m trying to recall one of the comments on the tropical fruit.
I actually saw the trick on masterchef professional. I used a normal crumble recipe and then just put on a pan on medium heat. Just use the spatula to separate them after the butter melted. It’s a finer crumble compared to the one in the oven.
This recipe is a favourite among my coursemates (and your churros) and I’m making this again for Father’s Day, with different fruits ? May use mangoes like you mentioned in earlier comments.
And maybe, can you introduce food blogs for beginners ?
Hi tash i’ve only discovered masterchef Australia love it more than the American one as you guys seem more compassionate and human…am loving the show and learning so many new things. just wanted to ask what else can I use instead of alcohol for the berries? Being Muslim alcohol is not allowed. Thank you kindly and keep up the great posts!
Not a problem at all, just omit the alcohol. The alcohol helps to break down the berries a little, but you could, substitute orange juice if you wanted.
Hi Tash. Is it possible to substitute a sugar in this recipe? Greetings from Poland 🙂
You don’t have to use sugar – it shouldn’t affect the recipe.