Awesome Hank
TWO former MasterChef Australia contestants from the first series of the TV cooking show are preparing to launch their first restaurant in one of Melbourne’s emerging foodie strips.
Chris Badenoch and Julia Jenkins — both finalists and favourites on the Channel Ten hit — are in the renovation stages at the 50-seat Josie Bones, which they describe as a ‘‘beer bar with food matching’’, near Gigibaba on Collingwood’s Smith Street. ‘‘It will be a high-end beer experience,’’ Badenoch says. ‘‘We’ll follow the share plates concept with a good showing of nose-to-tail dishes. I want to show people it’s not scary, although it will be a combination of both my and Julia’s styles of food.’’
Fans of the show were surprised that Badenoch, who had garnered a following for his nose-to-tail approach, didn’t immediately capitalize on his popularity. But the former beer merchant says he’s been too busy writing his cookbook, “The Entire Beast”, which will be released by Lantern in October. Badenoch and Jenkins received the keys last week and they’re hoping to be open in a couple of month.
For those who have a good memory, it was rumored that Badenoch and Jenkins were involved in a romantic relationship whilst on the show. Obviously denied at the time, this new projectventure may reignite those talks.
This has demonstrated that not just the winner of the MasterChef Australia hit show has been successful in a career outside of the program.
The winner from series one Julie Goodwin won the prize money, has just released her cookbook and has a segment on Channel Nine’s Today show.
Runner up Poh has her own cooking program “Poh’s Kitchen” on ABC1 which is quite popular.
Here are some of the other happenings from the some of the finalists from series one of the popular series:
Justine Schofield is currently doing advertising work, food demonstrations and involved in catering.
Lucas Parsons owns T’s Book Café in Sydney and is hosting ONE’s The Pro Shop during the US Masters.
It’s amazing that doors open and opportunities beckon with a little publicity. Many of these amateur chefs would not have dreamt of being in their situations 12 months ago. But with the stunning success of MasterChef are now enjoying the fruits of their labour.
It will definitely be interesting to see where the winners and finalists of series 2 will end up. Will the same opportunities be availed to them? And how long can the culinary industry continue to accommodate “chefs” that appear to fast-track their careers by being on a television show rather than work as an apprentice and doing the hard yards. In fact I am surprised that there hasn’t been a bigger backlash from apprentice chefs who are slogging it out for years on end for a chance to become a chef when some amateur chefs get their dreams over a couple of months being on television.
Only time will tell.
Tags: Entertainment, general, news, Television
Posted in Entertainment · August 30th, 2010 · Comments (0)
Lost: The Complete DVD or Blu-Ray Collection has to be the boxset I am most thrilled about since the release of the Beatles Remastered Stereo CD Box Set last summer. Yes, I have already watched every episode of the show but there are some cool bonus features in the complete series box set. Plus, I’m planning on watching the whole series over again, it’s really that good.
The DVD version of the complete collection (it is also available in Blu-Ray) contains an entire DVD of never before seen content. Just that makes the set worth it for me. There’s no more regular episodes for me to see, but I still want to see more!
In all there are about 30 hours of bonus features included along with every single one of the 121 original shows. This means there is a lot to discover in this box set even for a Lost fanatic like me!
There’s also some neat extras such as an exclusive episode guide, a replica of the Lost island, and a Senet game as seen in season 6 (do not worry if you haven’t seen season 6, that’s not really a spoiler at all.) The box set even comes with a black light.
And if you’re lucky enough to have not yet seen Lost then I have to tell you to not waste another second in buying the complete collection of Lost. You are in for a real treat. Lost is among the best TV series in history. It takes you on a trip that is chock full of surprising twists and turns. I cannot possibly recommend it more highly. I am actually really jealous of people who have not been on this adventure yet! Sadly for me, I can never see it for the first time again.
But whether you have never seen Jack, Locke, Hurley, Sawyer, “Freckles”, Claire, and the rest of the gang before or not purchasing this complete series boxset is an obvious choice.
Tags: dvd, Entertainment, lost, Television, TV
Posted in Television · August 23rd, 2010 · Comments (0)