If you’re a fan of the show Masterchef Australia, then you ought to know Andy Allen. The former contestant who won the cooking competition in 2012 is now a judge on the acclaimed culinary series. With so many Indian-origin participants highlighting regional Indian food season after season, it’s no surprise that Indians are fond of Masterchef Australia. Former contestants and judges associated with the show have made several visits to our country. However, this is Andy’s first visit to India, his first stop being Bengaluru. While he was spotted watching a match in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, that wasn’t his only agenda. He came to unveil ITC’s homegrown chocolate brand Fabelle’s new collection.
Fabelle is known for coming up with creative innovations every year. Last year, the brand roped in Australian chef Adriano Zumbo to create the world’s finest chocolate. This year, the brand has launched yet another fine creation to sweeten the festive season–Fabelle One Earth. Seeking inspiration from flavours from across the world, this exquisite limited edition collection includes 10 meticulously handcrafted truffles, each infused with a special ingredient inspired by 10 different countries. Think Afghan Figs, Australian Macadamia, Bangladesh-inspired Posto, England’s Morello Cherry, India’s Walnut, Condensed Whole Milk from the Netherlands, New Zealand’s Apple, Aqua Rose from Pakistan, Sri Lankan Coconut and South African Orange. (We’re salivating already!) Fabelle roped in Chef Allen to work on these sweet treats.
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It took the chef 10 years to get here but when he did–although for a short period–he absolutely enjoyed the experience. “The food’s been great here. The people have been amazing. I’ve eaten so much chocolate that I think I’ve put on about four kilos in 24 hours, but it’s all good,” he tells me ahead of the launch of Fabelle One Earth at Sheraton New Delhi, which he attended. Our conversation steered towards his collaboration with Fabelle, what he liked about Indian cuisine, his comfort food, future plans and more.
Excerpts from the interview below…
ELLE: Tell us about Fabelle’s new launch and your contribution towards it.
Andy Allen: The opportunity to work with Fabelle on the One Earth box came up a few months ago. The basis of the box was to really bring people together through the chocolates. Obviously, there’s a fair bit going on around the world at the moment, and what better way to bring people together with a bit of harmony and peace than a box of chocolates? So picking countries from around the world and highlighting an ingredient from each of those ten countries was such a good process. The entire team is absolutely at the top of the game when it comes to chocolate, and it’s been such a great process to work with them.
ELLE: You’re someone who’s mostly into savoury food, so what made you turn towards the sweet space?
AA: As much as I love savoury food, I have two passions when it comes to sweets. One is ice cream and the other is chocolate. So it was a no-brainer for me. When Fabelle approached me, and knowing how much of a premium product they are, that’s what really lured me to come over and work on the One Earth box with them. I knew it was going to be a sleek operation.
ELLE: What are some of the Indian dishes that you tasted and liked?
AA: I thought I knew what Indian food was and then I actually came to India. It really does open your eyes to how vast, different and how big a variety there is over here from region to region. Getting into Bangalore, I’ve just been eating. Yesterday, I ate three different types of dosas for breakfast, along with four different types of curries. Knowing that it’s the year of the millet, we’ve had so much millet bread and it’s just so vibrant, colourful and packed full of flavour. It’s my type of food and I’m really making the most of it while I’ve been here.
ELLE: I know it’s been only a few hours that you’ve been here, but was there anything that fascinated you about Indian cuisine, something that you’d like to take back and implement in your own cooking?
AA: I love the bread here. Every single country or region has its own variation of bread. And even when we were at dinner last night at Kebabs & Kurries at the ITC Hotel in Bangalore, I was just blown away by how many different varieties of bread there were, from roti, and paratha to naan bread. The naan bread stuffed with potato masala was unbelievable. It’s been an absolute breadathon. I’ve been eating bread and chocolates but I’m not complaining at all. So I think the different types of bread and the grains that they use for the bread are something that I’ll definitely take back home.
ELLE: You’ve been a contestant and winner on MasterChef Australia. Now you’re a judge on the show. What has the journey been like for you?
AA: Unreal. 11 years ago, I was an electrician. So when I sit back and reflect on that in itself, and how lucky I am to be in India with an amazing company, launching an amazing product, it really does put things into perspective. It hasn’t come without a lot of hard work, but I’ve been so lucky to be given such amazing opportunities from ten years ago when I won MasterChef, right through the way to becoming a judge four years ago. It’s been life-changing. It’s as simple as that. And I’ve enjoyed every minute.
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ELLE: Mental health became a huge topic of discussion in the Masterchef kitchen last year. What is something that you do to unwind when you’re under pressure or feel too overwhelmed in a professional kitchen?
AA: Yes, working in hospitality is a high-pressure environment. I’m well aware that you can go really hard and sometimes forget about the things that are important, like your own mental health. So for me, it’s just surrounding myself with my family and friends. They help you relax and forget about things. You have really important conversations to connect with. And so for me, spending time with my wife, mum, dad, two sisters and their partners and their kids now, that’s what really brings me back to reality. Those are the things that are important to me.
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ELLE: When you’re not busy being a judge on MasterChef Australia, what else do you work on?
AA: A lot of things, actually. I think the most amazing part of this process is that I’ve been introduced to so many different things in the food industry. Now I’m adding chocolate to the repertoire, which is great. But back home I have five restaurants under Three Blue Ducks, so I do a lot of cooking in those. I’ve recently launched a beer called Travla in Australia. It’s only a year old, so there’s a lot to do with that. But I still like to get out, get away and cook over an open fire and cook for my family and my friends and as I said, there’s a lot going on. But when you do those little things, it really does make everything a lot clearer and easier.
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Photo Courtesy: Kitti Gould
ELLE: Talking about your Australian lager brand Travla, what made you venture into the alco-bev space, beer in specific?
AA: I launched Travla one year ago with Australian actor Travis Fimmel, Who’s quite famous for his role as Ragnar Lothbrok on Vikings. It’s a mid-strength lager; 89 calories and ultra-low-carb. So it’s in that ‘better for you’ range. It’s doing really well in Australia. So hopefully one day we can get it over to India for all of you to try because it is just a clean, crisp lager and it goes so well with some of the dials, dosas and curries that I’ve had over the last 24 hours.
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ELLE: What made you venture into the alco-bev space, beer in specific?
AA: Being in hospitality for the last eight years, I’ve always wanted to do something in the alcohol space, whether it be wine, beer or spirits. And when this opportunity came along, I was really amazed at its potential. I’m a very proud Australian and we based our beer around the nostalgia of being Australian. So it’s really close to me and I love how much potential it has, especially, like I said, for the overseas market.
ELLE: What dish would you define as your comfort food?
AA: Definitely ice cream. But if I have to give you an Indian comfort food, I think it would be the black dal at K&K at the ITC restaurant. It was super rich and velvety. I think it was called Dal Bukhara. I could just see myself on the couch with that with some naan bread and there’s nothing really much better, to be honest. So that’s my new favourite.
ELLE: What is one dish you love having with your wife?
AA: We have a very strong bond over anchovies to the extent that when we created our website for our wedding, our password was anchovies. So we share a strong bond. We just went for an eight-week trip around Europe and we probably ate a kilo of anchovies, which I’m not complaining about either.
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ELLE: If someone is travelling to Australia for the first time, what are some of the local dishes they must try?
AA: Instead of pinpointing dishes, I would like to highlight some of Australia’s indigenous ingredients, which are really interesting. One of the most common but unique ingredients is our finger limes. It’s part of the citrus family and it is the size of your pinky finger. If you cut them open and squeeze them, you squeeze out all of these really small pearls. So they’re the size of caviar and they’re filled with an acidic natural citrus flavour, which is why they’re nicknamed Citrus Caviar. So I think if anyone travels to Australia, they need to find some finger limes because it’s unlike anything you’ve ever had before.
ELLE: What are you working on next?
AA: I’m really keen to work on a new macadamia range with the Fabelle team. Macadamia is an indigenous nut from Australia and it has a really oily, beautiful, robust flavour. It’s a featured ingredient of one of the chocolates in the One Earth box. But I think that’s just the beginning. There’s a lot of potential that I see with Australian Macadamias and the Frabelle chocolate linking up and creating something special. So I’m trying to see how we can produce that.
