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The Cook Up with Adam Liaw
series • cooking
PG
series • cooking
PG
I have always said that the thing I love most about is that I get to learn so much from the guests who join me in the kitchen. I don’t just mean about cooking either – people share so much about themselves when they’re doing something they love.
This season we have so many wonderful guests in the kitchen – sportspeople, musicians, comedians actors and, of course, chefs – and sometimes, I find the conversation might be even better than the food.
Here are five of the most important things I’ve learned – both about food and life – from some of my guests in .
Ask questions with confidence
I’ve been a fan of Kitty Flanagan for a long time, but after cooking with her in The Cook Up kitchen I’ve seen a whole new side to her.
It’s easy to see why even after such a long time in comedy and on our screens, Kitty’s career keeps going from strength to strength.
Find a flavour combination you like, then try it out in different ways
Tom Sarafian might be Melbourne’s king of hummus, but his Persian BBQ chicken on this season of The Cook Up is absolutely delicious. It’s marinated with fenugreek leaves and turmeric, which is a flavour combination we’re probably most familiar with in butter chicken.
Credit: Jiwon Kim
Sometimes you have to be 'selfish' to achieve your best
We all know Ariarne Titmus from her extraordinary feats in the Olympic swimming pool, but did you know she also loves to cook?
Ariarne enjoys cooking for her friends and family, but she doesn’t get to do it as often as she’d like. She explained to me that in order to be the best in the world at something, she feels bad about what she describes as the “selfishness” she needs to have to achieve that goal.
Ariane strikes me as far from a selfish person, and cooking with her really has made me realise how much sacrifice goes into creating those golden moments we all love to cheer at.
Ceviche is better with sweet potato
, carpaccio, and sashimi are certainly nothing new in Australia. It seems like every restaurant has a similar raw fish entrée on the menu these days, but having Peruvian chefs Alejandro Saravia (from Morena restaurant) and Matias Cilloniz (from Rafi restaurant) in The Cook Up kitchen has taught me that there’s plenty more we can do with it.
Credit: Jiwon Kim
Never, ever force your kids to eat foods they don’t want to
Nobu Perth head chef Pingping Poh isn’t one of those unlucky folks with the gene that makes coriander taste soapy, but she can’t stand the taste of it all the same.
I’ve long believed in the theory that all food aversions relate in some way to bad experiences in childhood, so when Pingping told me that her hatred of coriander very clearly came from a single experience she remembered from the age of 10 when she was forced to sit at the table and eat an entire tray of coriander macaroni cheese, I think I can consider that theory confirmed.
Over the more than 800 episodes of The Cook Up I’ve spoken to thousands of people about food, their likes, dislikes and memories good and bad. So it’s with some authority that I can say that the best way to have a positive relationship with food is to have positive relationships around food.
The people we share our food with are the secret that make it all worthwhile, and I am forever grateful to every single of the guests who have agreed to share my table, their food, and a piece of themselves with all of us on The Cook Up.
