MasterChef 2023 Contestants Week 5 Interviews: Endang

MasterChef 2023 Contestants Week 5 Interviews: Endang

Find out who is preparing their best dishes for MasterChef 2023’s fifth week of heats in the hopes of impressing John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

Endang, a 51-year-old mother of two adult children, is the owner of a gift shop. She moved to Scotland in the year 2000 after being born in Balikpapan, East Borneo, Indonesia. She and her husband have settled in Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway.

How would you describe your style of cooking?

“Spontaneous Indonesian dishes. I rarely follow recipes but love reading recipe books for inspiration and will often adapt dishes using whatever ingredients are available locally. My husband and children are both my biggest fans and biggest critics. I’m amazed and delighted at how much more accessible Asian ingredients have become in recent years. My mum was my biggest inspiration – she would walk to her local market every single day to buy fresh produce (no fridge in those days!).”

What is your earliest cooking memory?

“At the age of nine, helping mum prepare fried rice for our family of 10. Our kitchen was tiny and mum made do with what she had, and could afford. Meat was a luxury so our protein mainly came from fish and soya products. I have inherited that ‘make do’ attitude from mum.”

Why did you enter MasterChef?

“Our two children have started their own careers and the time just seemed right. It’s an opportunity to do something for me. I also really wanted to cook Indonesian food for John and Gregg.”

What is your food dream?

“To introduce the subtle and bold flavours, and wonderful smells of Indonesian cuisine to a wider audience.”

MasterChef Season 19 is currently airing weeknights on BBC One.

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