From Australia to Pakistan: ‘Anybody can become a splendid cook’

MasterChef contestant Amina Elshafei believes women in Pakistan are great cooks in their own right.

KARACHI:

Stardom can sometimes suddenly happen to you — sometimes overnight, without you having a clue. Amina Elshafei has one of those stories. Her rise to fame allows the common man to dream big.

A contestant from MasterChef Australia’s fourth season, Amina is hands down the most loved contestant on the show, possibly because viewers can relate to her. We have seen her laugh, cry and stand through the test of time to create flawless dishes from the simplest of ingredients. Be it innovative octopus pakoras or her Masterclass-worthy salmon sashimi with Korean dressing, each invention is a delight to watch.

After some globe-trotting, the fan-favourite landed in Pakistan last week. While the news of her arrival swept many off their feet, Amina too, has had a rather exciting trip. “It’s been a really great experience — doing so many activities with the High Commission and meeting new people. It was surely filling,” says Amina, adding that she is in complete awe of the “simply stunning” Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.

She also got a chance to flex her fingers with some traditional Pakistani cooking alongside Chef Anjum Javed at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Lahore. Considering that the main dish of the evening was Chicken Karahi, it is rather a brain-teasing surprise that she found Pakistani cuisine to be mild! “Compared to what I had in India, Pakistani cuisine is actually mild. Nonetheless, the flavours, herbs and sauces are truly delicious and wholesome despite being minimalistic in presentation,” says Amina. Out of all the ingredients used in Pakistan, gourd (loki) seems to have caught her attention and is highest on her list of food to experiment with.

Amina may well have been taken aboard to add a hint of cultural diversity to the reality show, but she asserts that she was welcomed with open arms. A devout Muslim, Amina’s elimination right before the top 10 selections caused quite a stir across the globe with fans taking on social media to express their sheer disappointment. Many even concluded discrimination to be the primary cause. However, the cheerful Amina negates any such assumptions. “I did not face any kind of racism on the show. I was welcomed with a whole lot of warmth. Even all the meat, except pork, was Halal certified so there wasn’t a problem at all,” she says.



So how did she cope with the use of pork and alcohol in some dishes? “I wouldn’t say I was at a disadvantage in any respect. During celebrations, I could easily take another drink while my friends drank wine. And to be honest, I did experiment with pork but of course, I did not taste it or anything,” she shares. “Utensils, on the other hand, were shared between all of us but I tried my best to be careful and not have mine contaminated.”

With a personality as fresh as the dash of parsley on her signature dish of delicious lamb koftas, Amina not only juggles between two different cultures in her family (Arabic and Korean), but also two demanding jobs — a pediatric nurse and a chef. “There is not much of a difference between the two but the commonality is that both of them are madhouses! They come with a great deal of pressure but of course, cooking is nothing like someone dying in an emergency room,” she giggles.

Her story is an example of a dream in the making. Can one then assume that having the drive and passion is enough? “Anybody can become a splendid cook if you have the drive for it, but there is a distinction in being a cook and being a chef. For the latter you need to go through a process of training and learning. But I must say all Pakistani women are great cooks in their own right,” adds Amina, who advises aspiring chefs to learn the basics first and then move on to complicated stuff.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2013.

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