Georgia, Master Chef brings glory to Sri Lanka-BY INDUSARA PATHIRANA

You may be known by the entire world overnight for whatever your artifice is, in which you show your originality. For that, your size, age, gender, nationality and many other tags to which you belong, would not always be compelling. Because sometimes, it all depends on how smart your art is like that of Georgia’s in enchanting her loved ones by playing magic with their taste buds.

On November 9, Minikin Georgia was crowned as the winner of Junior MasterChef Australia 2020 for making a luscious two-course meal for four people with 90 minutes for each course including a main and a dessert. The judges were taken aback by Georgia’s mastery of cuisine and her delicate use of flavours and textures.

She was prized $25 000 at the Monday’s grand finale. Junior MasterChef Australia is known to be an Australian competitive cooking game show. In 2020, the JMC Australia was held as the third season of JMC after nine years since the second season took place in 2011. This third season was announced on April 27, 2020.

It was open for contestants aged between 9 and 14 years. The final round was a battle among three young cooks: Georgia, Filo and Carter. The contestants were challenged to rapture their judges and their mothers.

Sri Lankan comestibles

The victorious little Georgia has prepared several dishes, including cashew curry, pork curry, eggplant curry, papadams, cucumber raita and yellow rice for her main, being inspired by the Sri Lankan comestibles which she picked up from her grandmother, while representing Sri Lankan heritage where a part of her roots lies.

When making her dessert, Georgia has been nervous being unsure whether she would be able to finish on time.

Her dessert has not come out as planned. In the final few minutes that were left for Georgia’s dessert to be ready, her mother keeps on bucking her up saying ‘come on Georgie, you can do this! It’s okay, just put it on the plate, it still tastes good, you can do it my angel’ while Georgia saying ‘it’s not how it was meant to go, nothing worked, I can’t’.

Then her mother comes to her, hugs her and says that she loves her so much. I’m so proud of you. ‘The ice cream is delicious, the brown bread is yummy, the meringue will taste good, everything will be okay’ her mother constantly says and consoles her as both were bursting into tears.

As it came out nothing likewhat she intended, Georgia named her dessert a ‘tropical mess’. Still and all, it didn’t let her down that much because she was ultimately called a ‘genius’ for her mastery by the judge Melissa Leong.

Expertise

After trying Georgia’s main, which was a Sri Lankan cuisine infused meal, all the three judges leave enthralling remarks on her expertise.

‘This is an utter triumph, I could never have guessed that this was cooked by an eleven-year-old, it has so much guts about it,’ Melissa Leong said.

Jock Zonfrillo said that the real surprise is the eggplant, the onion, the mustard, the vinegar, they all have a bitterness there that ties everything together. ‘The beautiful colours and the vibrancy, that for me, is fancy.

She has nailed this!’. The judge, Andy Allen expressed his utmost delight by saying that the cashew curry of little Georgia is just earthy and that it settles everything, the rice is perfect and that the cucumber yoghurt is really fresh. In the end, he screams in happiness at Georgia’s mother ‘I’m jealous, I’m actually jealous, because you can just go, Georgia! Let’s do curry night!’.

Georgia’s was declared ‘the most scrumptious’ menu by the judges on last Monday night at the grand finale. Her rejoicing mother, after being her guardian angel, lifting up her spirits whenever she was feeling down and disheartened, voiced her thoughts saying, ‘I was eating this and thinking,this is my mom’s food, and I can’t believe my daughter has made it.

And it’s so special that she is cooking the food that I love eating, that my mom makes. Georgia always say that she cooks to show her love, and that’s how she expresses her feelings. That’s exactly my mom is like. It’s just wonderful, it means a lot to me’.

By the time the winner should be announced, the winner’s name did not just burst out as it happens usually in a contest.

Making it a very touchy evening, judge, Jock Zonfrillo just declared that Georgia has won $25 000 and the title of Junior Master Chef 2020 and then asked her, while pointing at the trophy, whether she can lift it above her head.

This pretty and graceful child who just brought immense glory to wherever her roots lie, expressed her afterthoughts saying, ‘I always try to get everything right.

But I mean, that’s just not how life works. Junior MasterChef has been the best experience I’ve ever had. And I’m not going to give up, I’m just going to keep pushing on and rely on these flavours’.