Delicious UK - (07)July 2020

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 13

people.

WHAT’SYOUR...

DESERT-ISLAND

FOODA loafofbread

withgoodbutter.I’d

eathalfstraightaway.

FOODHATE Blue

cheese.

FAVOURITEGADGETS

Microplanegraterand

miniprocessor.

WHATDIDYOULEARN

ONMASTERCHEF?

Worksmart,work

clean– andremember:

everydetailmatters.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES

STORYWhenwefilmed

inMauritius,I got

drunkandsuffered

heatstroke.I wasso

hungoverthenextday

Iwasbrightredon

camera.Thecrew

teasedmemercilessly.

It didn’thelpthatwe

wereina redtent.

FIRSTPLACEYOU’LL

GOTOEATAFTER

LOCKDOWN?Salon

restaurantinBrixton.

It’smindblowing.

FOODBOOKYOU

TURNTOMOST?The

FlavourThesaurus by

NikiSegnit.

FAVOURITECHEF

IusedtoloveKeith

Floyd.He’sa man

aftermyownheart–

alwaysa glass of wine

onthego.

FAVOURITEFOODIE

FILM?Heat(1995),with

RobertdeNiro.

...ANDWHATWOULD

YOUEATWHEN

WATCHINGIT?My

guiltypleasure– ice

cream.Saltedcaramel

ismyachillesheel.My

BigNanalwayshad

a blockofWall’sin

thefreezer.LittleNan

alwayshadchocices.

FOODSECRETI’mnot

afraidtouseaninstant

gravypotforthe

Sunday roast.

QUICKFIRE Q&A

PHOTOGRAPHS:

BBC/ENDEMOL

SHINE

“ISPENTAGES

RESEARCHINGTHE

SCIENCEOFTHE

PERFECTYORKSHIRE

PUDDING”

Y

ouwouldn’tthinkcooking

pieandmashwouldgetyou

acceptedasa contestant

onMasterChef,butthat’s

whatThomasFrakeserved

upintheaudition.Hiscommitment

tothetraditional– witha cheffy

edge– workedmagicwithjudge-

presentersJohnTorodeandGregg

Wallacetoo.Timeandagain

Thomaswowedthemandthe

notoriouslypickyguestcriticswith

dishesyou’dexpecttoseeona pub

menu(ah,thosewerethedays...).

ButtherewasmoretoThomas’s

cookingthanthat.“Mystyleis to

takedishesweknowandloveand

makethemthebesttheycanbe,”

hesays.“Thebubbleandsqueak

bonbonsI madeontheshoware

anexample:a classic,doneina way

thatlooksbetterontheplate– but

howit tastesis theimportantthing.

“Itwasa boosttomyconfidence

whenI realisedJohnandGregg

understoodwhatI wastryingtodo.

Myaimis tocreateflavoursthat

danceinyourmouthandtheygot

it!I neverfeltincompetitionwith

theothercontestantsbecauseour

stylesweresodifferent.I wasin

competitionwithmyself,withthe

aimofpleasingthejudges.”

Hedidthat– andmore.

MasterChef 2020 hadthesecond

highestratingssincetheshowwas

rebooted 16 yearsago,withthe

finaldrawingin6 millionviewers,

soThomas’sprofileis upthere.In

a normalyearhe’dhavea diaryfull

ofTVandfoodfestivalappearances.

Surelythat’sa downeraftermonths

(thefinalwasfilmedinDecember,

wellbeforelockdown)of

anticipation?“Onthenightthe

finalwasaired,watchingwith

friendsandfamilyonvideolink

ratherthaninperson,it was

emotional.Sincethenit’sbeen

differentfromhowI wasexpecting,

obviously,butinsomerespectsit’s

beengoodtohavetimetotakeit all

inandthinkaboutmynextsteps.”

Thomasworksasa banker,so

winningthecompetitionattheage

of 32 couldbea pivotalmoment.

“I didn’t go into MasterChef

thinkingit wouldchangemylife,”

hesays.“Ienteredfornoother

reasonthantosharemyloveof

food,forthechallengeandfor

enjoyment.Butastheseriesgoes

onandyougetnegativecomments

andconstructivecriticism,you

grow.That’sthefirsttasteofthe

showbeinglife-changing.”

Whenyoucookaswellasthis

mandoes– relaxed,confident

enough to add a dash of dark beer

toa fondantmix– therehastobe

someseriousinspirationgoingon.

HegrewupinLondon’sEastEnd,

wherehismum’shomecookinglaid

downhappymemoriesandThomas

can’tremembera timewhenfood

wasn’timportant.“Iusedtomake

shortbreadandcupcakes.Thenasa

teenagerI’dtrytocookthingsfor

MumandDadfroma magazine,”

hesays.Buttherewasa hurdle:“I

didn’tlikecheese,veg,fruit– orfish.

We’dgotoCornwall,andoneday

wewentfishing.I’dneverconsidered

eatingfish,neverwantedto,hated

thesmell.I rememberDadusinga

swissarmyknifetogutthemackerel

wecaught,thencookingit onthe

barbie.I wasn’tsqueamishand

thetastewassogood.It changed

me– butI wasstilla fussyeater.

“Itwasn’tuntilI was 20 and

startedtravellingthatmymindwas

openedtotheincredibleflavoursin

theworld.WheneverI ateout,I’d

trytore-createit later,spendingsix

hoursmakinga three-coursemeal.

I’ma bitobsessive...I spenthours

researching the science of how to

maketheperfectYorkshirepudding

beforedoingit onMasterChef.”

OflateThomashasdeveloped

anInstagramfollowingwithhis

#lockdownlunchvideosputting

a Frakespinonthesandwich,

butwhat’snext?Haveweeksin

lockdowncrystallisedfutureplans?

“I’dliketoexplorethecountry,

promotegreatBritishproduceand

tellthestoriesbehindit,”hesays.

“Weneedtounderstandwhere

ourfoodcomesfrom.Apartfrom

that,it wouldbelovelytohave

a gastropubandservethefoodthe

viewersenjoyed,butobviouslythat

can’thappenatthemoment.”

Fornow,he’shappysipping

a coldbeerinthesunshine,reliving

hiswinandlookingforwardto

thetimewhenhecanhavepeople

roundfordinneragain.We can

all raise a glass to that.

↗FOLLOWTHOMAS

ONINSTAGRAM

@THOMAS.FRAKE