World class cocktails all in a day’s work for TV Masterchef Torode
ILOVE Masterchef. I’ve been a fan of the show ever since tuning in as a lad when the show was presented by Lloyd Grossman — the Yankee Simon Coveney lookalike who would patronise the living daylights out of the terrified cooks in their pristine chef’s whites.
I’ve had the privilege of being on set to watch Dylan McGrath and Nick Munier almost come to blows over a poorly cooked piece of salmon. And I gasped as Mundy attempted to deep fry a pigeon.
So, when the invite to have lunch and cocktails with current Masterchef co-host John Torode came, let’s just say I was happier than a pork belly in black pudding.
The Australian restaurateur has become a household name worldwide since taking the helm with pudding guru Greg Wallace.
They are the dynamic duo of the reality TV world of cooking and their personality traits are very much chalk and chips. While Wallace is the gourmand with a Dickensian sweet tooth, Torode is a sushi lover; a champion of spice and heat and every inch the bad cop of the TV relationship.
The antipodean was in Dublin to judge the Irish Bartender Of The Year competition, which sees the winner jet to Mexico for an allexpenses-paid contest to become the best mixologist on the planet.
Andrew Dickey from The Merchant Hotel, Belfast, was crowned World Class Irish Bartender Of The Year 2016. This year, in Zozimus Bar, Dublin, Andy Ferreira from Cask in Cork lifted the title.
IONCE worked in a cocktail bar in Edinburgh during a college summer. I had to learn recipes for more than 70 drinks and master a cinnamonbased shot that was set on fire at the bar, called the Fireball.
On one occasion, rapper Coolio came in eager to sample the famous shot, only for me to get overly excited with the flammable spice and almost singe his dreads. His entourage was eventually appeased by a pitcher of margaritas, but my job at the bar became tenuous. I now have a true appreciation for what it takes to mix a good cocktail though.
World Class is the world’s most prestigious mixology competition, committed to elevating the craft of bartending, which travels the world to find the best talent.
According to Torode, it’s vital to be as clever with cocktails,as it is with a classic food recipe. ‘A lot of young people left Ireland and went travelling, and they’ve come back now with these influences and are building restaurants and bars, and doing things with these worldly ingredients,’ he says.
‘Last year, the tests were really tough and it was mostly theory. This year it was a lot more pressure with people having to practically make drinks on the spot.
‘Designing a cocktail is one thing, but deconstructing a drink or a meal is another. A cocktail or a dish is like Lego, you make it for a reason. It’s like deconstructing your airplane model that you spent hours building. Why would you do that? A cosmopolitan is deconstructed before you construct it, why would you do that?’
John believes the magic behind great cocktails is to learn from the classics and then put your own spin on them. ‘Now what you have is people understanding that you have to know the rules before you can break them,’ he explains.
‘If someone has to ask why you put the black pudding in the martini, then you probably shouldn’t do it. And you know somebody has tried that.’
Launched in 2009, more than 25,000 bartenders have been inspired and educated in the craft of mixology using the finest spirits in the Diageo Reserve collection.
This is the second year Torode has judged the Irish competition, and he’s quick to admit it’s not the worst job he’s ever had. In fact, most of his gigs seem pretty good. Having wrapped on a series of Masterchef, he jetted to Korea and India for a new travel series.
John mentions the prize that awaits Andy Ferreira. ‘He’s going to be flown to Mexico and have all his expenses paid to make great cocktails and hopefully pick up a prize. How good is that? And it all came from a love of food and drink. He had a passion and stuck with it, and now look at him.’
Yes, well he never set Coolio’s hair on fire.