Australian Gourmet Traveller - (01)January 2019-December 2018 (1)

GOURMET TRAVELLER 21

How I eat

INTERVIEW LEE TRAN LAM. PHOTOGRAPHY TARSHA HOSKING.

You’ve now hosted Eurovision for SBS for

many years, from various locations. Any

particularly challengingmoments?In our

first year, in Moscow in 2009, we didn’t

know the lay of the land. Every day, we

were refused entry to the stadium and

had to talk our way in via our interpreter.

There was just me, my co-host Sam Pang,

our director Paul Clarke and Andy Topp,

our incredible one-man crew doing camera

and sound. The four of us would lug

camera cases around the stadium to

a “new” entry point every day. I think

they were playing with us.

Of all the places you’ve broadcast from,

which country has the best food?The

reality of the Eurovision job is that we

ate pretty average food backstage in the

stadium or at the hotel. There’s not

a lot of time for fancy meals. We ate some

delicious food in Baku, Azerbaijan by

the bay. And Sweden always had the

healthiest backstage food.

Is there a meal that will stay with you

forever?Smørrebrød in Copenhagen.

I adore it. Rye bread, egg, salmon, roast

beef, frikadeller, with a beer and an

aquavit chaser. It’s the eternal picnic.

How did it feel to host the first oicial

Sydney dinner for French President

Emmanuel Macron?Surreal. It was one

of the few jobs I’ve had where I was able

to use French and English. I was given

licence to be cheeky. During the breaks,

the French officials kept saying how much

they were enjoying how relaxed it was.

Macron was attentive and laughed easily,

and allowed me to take a selfie with him

at the end of the night.

Do you have any standout memories

from your time as a judge onGreat BBQ

Challenge?That you actually can’t cook

everything on a barbecue. Some things

need an oven. Like cakes.●

ForRocKwiz Livetour dates,

visit rockwizlive.com.au.

All Together Nowairs on

Channel Seven on Sundays.