When you go into a hugely popular show like MasterChef with little expectation, coming off of it may seem disappointing at first glance, but in reality, what you gain is a whole lot of perspective. Such was the case of Genene, who may have been eliminated on Monday's episode, but told us that just being on the show was a huge "privilege" in itself.
"I went into an elimination during my third cook, and I thought, well if I go home, at least I've cooked in the kitchen," she said over the phone. And from there, the 49-year-old just consistently set mini-goals for herself, many of which she surpassed. Here's what she had to say about the whole experience.
POPSUGAR Australia: How did you find your run on MasterChef?
Genene: It's been a wonderful experience. It's been daunting, and there have been times where I've thought, what am I doing here? But really, the opportunity that the show gives you in the time that I've been there — to cook at the MCG, for Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson — they're opportunities you wouldn't get normally. All that is quite amazing. Also, the opportunity to meet the other contestants, who are a great bunch. When you throw in 24 people who are all different ages, from different walks of life and of different nationalities, there's room for problems, and obviously in any family situation, there's always bickering, but we all got along well. I actually got along with everybody and really liked everyone. I've made some really good friends as a result of it.
PS: Tell me about that elimination challenge and where you think you went wrong?
Genene: Well, I was surprised with what they called the dish, because everyone was saying "lemon meringue pie", but I think they just called it "lemon meringue". There was no "pie" in this lemon meringue pie. And as a home cook, I make a lemon meringue pie all the time, or variations of it. But this was something I'd never attempt. The dish was beautiful and when I look back, if you had more time, it was actually quite achievable. Obviously no one's going to have their own 3D food printer or liquid nitrogen, but where I went wrong was the ganache. I didn't cook it long enough, so when I put it in the freezer, the texture wasn't right, so effectively, I had to redo it. That put me behind the eight-ball, which put me behind with using the 3D printer, and then I just needed to catch up.
I was actually quite comfortable with the cook overall. Yes, there's always the time constraints, but because you'd never cooked the dish before, you know you have three hours so it can be done in that time, but it's also the pace that you have to work at. I do remember reflecting back on [George and I ] watching the 3D printer, and I didn't have to stay there and watch it for as long as I did. It was just fascinating! So I ran out of time and that was because I didn't pace myself enough, and had to redo that first element. At the end of the day, I didn't get my garnishes on the plate, and in some cases, they aren't the be all and end all, but in this case, that was my undoing.
PS: Were you surprised to be going or did you expect it?
Genene: I expected it. I'd been in two eliminations before and this was my first Pressure Test, but every elimination I got myself into, if I went home that day, I went home. I was cooking to stay, but if it was my turn, then it was my turn. I was quite comfortable with that. Every time I went into the kitchen and cooked, I thought, if this is my last time, that's my time up, and I would have had a fabulous time. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would've made it to the 15th person, and I did. I made it a goal to sort of look at as the competition went on, so I was wrapped.
PS: What has surprised you about being on MasterChef?
Genene: Just being on it! [Laughs] Just being on has been amazing. The time pressure is real, a lot of people think when the clock starts, surely you have an idea or you've got a recipe, but no, when your time starts, off you go. You're basically on your own, and yes, the judges come past, which is sometimes not helpful . . . So yeah, just to be on the show was amazing, and anything else that happened was just wow.
PS: You mentioned earlier that you found parts of it daunting. What did you find the hardest?
Genene: It was always that time in the kitchen where you had no idea what the ingredient was going to be. I loved the Mystery Box challenges — they were my favourite because you could only work with the ingredients that were there. You had to cook something, but it was still daunting because it was the brain fade and blanking out that were my biggest fears. So as soon as you established what you were going to cook, I just thoroughly enjoyed things and just went with it. It was the lead up to not knowing, mainly. Fortunately, I didn't really have many problems until the cook that got me into the Pressure Test! [Laughs] It was an Invention Test but you were working with two people, having to feed 500 . . . Our plan went a bit awry, and it was just falling back from there. I didn't mind the Pressure Test, but the cook that got me there was my horror cook.
PS: You're turning 50 later this year and I love that how you still have taken MasterChef head on at this age. What advice would you give to women who may feel like it's too late to pursue their true passions?
Genene: It's never too late, absolutely not. People who know me were absolutely amazed that I was stepping out of my comfort zone and doing what I did. I'm not a centre of attention person, I'm not someone that likes the limelight. I'm happy to work — I kind of imagine myself as a worker-bee — I don't need to be front and centre, I just like being involved. And as a mother and people who are older, we tend to take a step back and let other people shine, I'm happy to be there for support and everything. So for me to do this and step out of my comfort zone, was just so not in my character, but I did it, and have been so grateful ever since for doing it. So if I can do it at almost-50, anyone can do it. Stepping out of your comfort zone, regardless of whether you're on TV or not, once you do it, you think, why didn't I do it sooner?
PS: What have you taken away from MasterChef?
Genene: I feel a bit more confident as a cook. I never expected to make it this far. I knew I could cook, but knew I was never going to be like Jess or Reece — they're the real gastronomical kind of cooks. That's not my type of cooking, but I feel more confident now and I've learnt a lot about myself. I've grown a lot more as a person having experienced everything that I have experienced. The longer I've been out of the MasterChef kitchen, the more I look back and think how fortunate I've been to have had that experience, because it's a once-in-a-lifetime privilege.
PS: What have you learnt about yourself?
Genene: I always thought I was quite tolerant, but I think I'm even more tolerant now! [Laughs] I've learnt to be a bit calmer in the kitchen. With the kids growing up, dinner had to be on the table at 6:30 p.m. and there was all that routine, but now I sort of think, if it's not ready, it's alright, it'll get there. So I've become a bit more calm as a result of it.
PS: What are your plans now?
Genene: I'm not 100 percent of what the next step is. I know it won't be going back into recruitment, and I know it will be food-related in some way, but what that looks like at this point in time, I'm not 100 percent certain.
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