MasterChef Finalist, Hannah, Tells Us About Her Experiences

In this entry, MasterChef 2007  finalist, Hannah Miles, has kindly agreed to tell us a little bit about her experiences on the show.  Keep an eye on Food Matters in the future for some of her fabulous recipes.

“My MasterChef journey was one of the most amazing experiences in my life and, although I didn’t win on the final day, the show’s catchphrase “This is going to CHANGE THEIR LIVES” really has come true.  The winner, Steven Wallis, is an amazing cook and has a palette unlike anyone I have ever known – he can make even the simplest things like scrambled eggs taste stunning, just by adding a dash of truffle oil and some chives – completely elevating the dish to a level I would never even have thought of.  I couldn’t have lost to a better person and am very happy for him.

I was a last minute stand in for the programme and came to the heats with 24 hours’ notice (hence the rather rushed decision to make blueberry duck and saffron mash – thank goodness I won’t have to see “that” clip any more!!!)  I am so proud of what I achieved – I learnt so much with expert tuition from John and Gregg, who would quietly pass on useful tips when they were walking round the kitchen and who saw something in me which to this day I still find hard to see in myself, and the amazing Giancarlo Caldesi of Cafe Caldesi, who was there for me at my lowest point in the competition, who picked me up, dusted me down and taught me about getting amazing flavours from a few ingredients which give a dish the wow factor that I was seeking.  I was lucky enough to have been taught by some monumental chefs – particularly Helene Darosse in Paris, who was truly inspirational with her silent kitchen – I have never worked anywhere more calm and relaxed and really loved it, and also the Ritz Paris, which sadly never made the final programme, where we learned some remarkable dishes.

The highlight of the competition had to be cooking at 10 Downing Street for Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern.  10 Downing Street is not somewhere I would ever have imagined that I would visit, let alone cook in.  The kitchen itself was very small and there were just the three of us cooking.  The kitchen has no equipment and we had to pack everything we needed for our dishes from the studio.  There was also no one to wash up and, although we tried to stay tidy to start with, the kitchen soon descended into absolute chaos.  Luckily, John and Gregg stepped in and helped us out, which enabled us to get our food out almost on time.  There can’t be many people in the country who can say they have kept Tony Blair waiting for 5 minutes!  I also loved cooking for the Michelin-starred chefs at the Savoy.  We cooked in the kitchens for 11 hours non-stop, just to make 8 plates of food.  Each course was a trio, with over thirty cooking processes (many of which we had not tried before) for us all to complete.  It was all so complicated and fiddly but I felt a real sense of achievement at the end of the day seeing the final result.  I had been so busy cooking all day that I had not had time to think about who we were cooking for.  It came as a shock when I entered the room to see Raymond Blanc, Marcus Wearing, Pierre Gagnier and Michel Roux (amongst others) sitting in front of me, eating my dessert!  To this day, I still can’t quite believe the praise I was given by these amazing chefs for my dessert and am very proud of myself for what I achieved that day.

Since the programme ended in March, I have been really busy!  I have cooked a charity dinner for 86 people, joined the writing team of Country Kitchen magazine and will be writing articles for them on a monthly basis and am working on a cookbook.  I have given cookery demonstrations and made guest appearances at farmer’s markets and fetes and was lucky enough to be invited to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards (the foodie equivalent of the Oscars).  This summer, I am providing Rose Petal Afternoon Teas and cookery demonstrations for the National Garden Scheme.

I recently spent time at the amazing Fitzbillies bakery in Cambridge, where I learnt so much from their wonderful patissiere, Tom, who is 79! Fitzbillies’ speciality is Chelsea buns, which they send all over the world, and I was lucky enough to make over 350 when I was there!”

You can follow Hannah’s journey on her wonderful food blog, which contains many of her recipes and also gives an insight into her village life.