Killyleagh man Adam realises dream to cook in MasterChef kitchen
A KILLYLEAGH man whose whole life revolves around food has wowed the judges of MasterChef with his amazing flair for local fayre, in a ‘dream come true’ experience.
Adam Morrison curated culinary masterpieces such as veda tart to get through to the knockout stages of the popular BBC show which regularly has audiences drooling on their sofas at home.
Fired to enter the televised competition due to a love of cooking spurred on by his parents, Adam has even dedicated his education to food by studying the subject at PhD level at Ulster University.
Appearing in the current series of the show, Adam emerged as a star among his fellow competitors for the creativity of his dishes and his gastronomic skills, earning high praise from new judges chef Anna Haugh and restaurant critic and journalist Grace Dent.
Adam, who is 24 years-old, employed locally sourced ingredients to impress the judges, using recipes inspired by classic French techniques in both sweet and savoury dishes.
Reflecting on the amazing time in the Masterchef kitchen, Adam told the Newtownards Chronicle: “I really enjoyed the whole experience and to get the opportunity to get onto the show from the thousands of applications was a dream come true.
“It’s a pressured environment with nowhere to hide, the cameras catch everything. You have to go in there and concentrate on the dish and remember you have practiced it at home but everything is different, different ovens, unfamiliar equipment and a whole film crew,” he said.
He described the judges as ‘fantastic’ and said the duo were great at putting him and the other contestants at ease and spurring them on to do their best.
Expanding more on the local flavours that the young chef has use to tantalise the judges’ tastebuds he revealed: “On the show I showcased some of the great flavours from Northern Ireland. My signature dish that got me one of the first two Masterchef aprons was my treacle and veda bread tart.”
Adam’s early love of cooking with his parents has evolved from cookbooks and beyond.
“Mum and dad were always keen cooks and I was always in the kitchen helping them from a young age,” he said. “I got into it properly when I was a teenager practising dishes I saw in cookbooks, on TV and on social media. Since then, I have really fallen in love with cooking as a hobby and have just started cooking more and more.”
Like most people, he has an especially fond memory of a special dish cooked by loved ones.
“My earliest food memory is helping my mum make birthday cakes in the kitchen. They were always chocolate cakes and the best part for me was getting to lick the spoon at the end.”
His palate has also developed into a love of one particular ingredient, which is a favourite in his own cooking.
“My favourite ingredient to cook with is cream. It’s so rich and you can add it to mash, finish a sauce with it and it can be used in so many great desserts. Best of all, you can turn cream into butter.”
Adam said participating in the TV cooking contest follows years of yearning.
“I have always watched MasterChef growing up and thought one day I’d love to do that. Food and cooking are what I love and it really is my passion. Going onto the show, I wanted to try and take my food to the next level
“I applied and never really thought it would actually happen. Getting the chance to go on MasterChef really is a dream come true,” he said.
Whatever the outcome, Adam is intent on fulfilling a career ambition with food at its heart.
“One day, I would love to have my own fine-dining restaurant serving great food and drink. Cooking the food from home that I like to eat and cook. First, I’d love to gain some experience in a great restaurant kitchen – it’s a big dream.
FoodNI chief executive Michele Shirlow, has been watching the show and is impressed with the local representative cooking among contestants from around the nations.
“We’ve been delighted by the impressive achievements of our friend Adam Morrison in the latest series of the excellent BBC MasterChef competition for the next generation of UK chefs.
“He really dazzled the judges with his exceptional skills using the very best local food and whiskey to create novel dishes with stunning flavours.”
The current series of MasterChef continues on the BBC One.
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