MasterChef winner blown away by diversity of Indian flavours

For fans of MasterChef Australia, it’s hard to forget how the initially quiet, calm and composed Billie McKay stunned her competitors by taking on British celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal’s 55-step, 17-element extravaganza, the Botrytis Cinerea dessert, that won her the title in a fitting finale in the popular show’s seventh season. Since then, McKay who grabbed a job at Heston’s restaurant, The Fat Duck in the UK, has travelled the world learning various cultures and cuisines. McKay is now touring the Indian subcontinent as the brand ambassador of Societe de Chocolat, an exclusive chocolate masterclass from Fabelle, a luxury experience in hand-crafted chocolates. Designed to impart a keen understanding of chocolates, it is an enlightening experience on the origins of cocoa, chocolate making techniques, making your own chocolate, to even plating and serving chocolate creations. We caught up with McKay during her stopover for a masterclass in the city at ITC Chola on Saturday. Here are a few excerpts from the conversation.

This is my first trip to India! I have been in the country for a week and it has been a rich experience travelling across the diverse parts of the country meeting people and exploring different food. It has been an exhilarating journey in India and I love every bit of it. I have been learning something new every day and love to experiment with flavours churning out unique creations.

I’ve always wanted to visit India and explore Indian desserts and cuisines, but somehow the plan never worked out. When Fabelle reached out to me to invite me for launching their new initiative, Societe De Chocolat, I had to take it up. I was especially intrigued by their concept and that made the trip even more tempting. I am happy to say that my trip has been worthwhile.

When you think of Indian food, you think flavours, techniques, textures and unparalleled visual appeal.

Indian food around the world is perceived as a flavoursome combination driven by diverse cultures and ethnicities. It is adventurous, and with every dish, one can expect something new and exciting. I am very excited to be here trying out all these different preparations. My favourites are the breads – rotis, naans, chapatis etc. I just love mopping up the gravy with them!

My love for chocolates and desserts go back ages.

For as long as I can remember, I was always partial towards desserts and used chocolates for innovative creations. As an ingredient, it is versatile with endless options on how you work with it and what you create with it. The art of chocolate making is exquisite and precise, it is also extremely enjoyable. When you get to create chocolates and eat them too, it makes the experience richer and more memorable. 

Everything we do in life or experience in life gives inspiration for the creative process. But it also depends ultimately on what the consumer wants. I look at interesting trends and what people want, to come up with something that’s going to work.

It’s a fun process and sometimes challenging but I think the rewards you reap at the end of it through the gratefulness and the love of seeing something you’ve created being appreciated by everybody trumps it all.

Chocolates are extremely temperature sensitive and hence a lot of attention needs to be paid to it to ensure that the right texture and consistency for a perfect chocolate-based dish.