Former Otago student Alice Taylor’s MasterChef run came to an end last week with a solid third-place finish. This isn’t the end of the culinary road for her, though, with judge Michael Dearth offering her a new job at his Italian restaurant Baduzzi. Alice sat down with Critic Te Arohi to talk about what it all means for her.
Speaking just a few days after the episode went to air, Alice still seemed a little bit in shock about the result. “While part of me was gutted that I didn’t make the finale, I gave it my absolute best.” An academic at heart, Alice says that MasterChef was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to “add to her portfolio of food… Every single time you cook, it’s a chance to express yourself, show your skills and grow. I got a lot out of the show that wasn’t just about winning!”
With the end of MasterChef comes a new career in a new city, something which Alice is still grappling with. “I literally forget that I’ve just completely changed my life… Fuck, there’s been some huge changes!” Speaking to Critic Te Arohi the morning after a big dinner shift, she reflected on how her foodie journey all began.
As a first-year in Arana, where the only viable options for life seemed to be law or health sci, Alice said she “always worried about what people would think about me if I did go down the food route”. Eventually, she decided that she wanted to “stop worrying about what other people think, and do something that makes me happy”. So she quit law, and devoted more of her time to her passion. From working stints in restaurant kitchens to running a food Insta, writing a cookbook manuscript, weekly recipes for Critic Te Arohi and whipping up countless birthday cakes, she said every little bit of experience helped. Even flat cooking was useful: “It’s a bit like a mini cooking challenge; you’re trying to extract as much flavour from shitty ingredients as you can, with time pressure and judges watching your every move!”
When asked about if she would change anything her fresh-faced, first-year self did, Alice was thoughtful but resolute. “I wouldn’t… the person I was five years ago contributed to who I am now.” She did, however, have some simple bits of advice: “It’s all right not knowing what you’re going to do… Life changes and shit happens. Just do what makes you happy, treat people well, and you’ll figure it out!”