Many people might assume that a career in prestigious restaurants would be a prerequisite for sautéeing your way to glory in MasterChef: The Professionals.
But Gary Maclean - the winner of this year’s series of the BBC TV show - works in FE, and he reckons his secret ingredient is teaching teenagers how to cook at City of Glasgow College.
Speaking to TES between classes, Maclean says that his FE background was an advantage in the competition, because standing in front of a class means he has “to get things right”. And helping students to prepare for cooking competitions gave him first-hand experience of the pressure-cooker environment of a show like MasterChef.
“I think one of the advantages - I would call it an advantage - of being in further education [is] we have to get things right,” he says. “When you’re standing in front of a class it’s got to work. [At] the competitions…you’re developing dishes, you’re always keeping yourself up to date with new techniques and that sort of thing. So I think that’s definitely helped. I think the [other contestants who work in restaurants] are relying on the standard of the restaurant they’re working in, you know, so they’re using dishes that they’re probably doing every day, or their chefs showed them, or they’ve developed themselves, so I think in college I’ve been lucky.”
College lecturer to star in MasterChef final https://t.co/odiL2PpV1z via @tes
- Gary Maclean (@Gmacchef) December 20, 2016
Maclean started his culinary journey almost 30 years ago as a student at the former Glasgow College of Food and Nutrition, now part of City of Glasgow College. He attended twilight classes and, after completing his studies, he was invited back to become a part-time lecturer. In 2010, he became a full-time chef lecturer. This year he was named City of Glasgow College’s lecturer of the year, and UK lecturer of the year at the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards, after helping his students win a canapé competition at Buckingham Palace.
‘Amazing support’ throughout MasterChef
Starring on national television at the same time as leading classes at college has been a “strange” experience, Maclean admits - particularly seeing the “looks from the students” who had been surprised to spot him on the show the night before their classes.
His work in a large department where staff are “always sharing ideas” also stood him in good stead for the competition, he adds, paying tribute to the “amazing support” he has received from City of Glasgow throughout the competition.
So, now that he has won MasterChef, what would be Maclean’s dream job as a chef?
“For me I’ve already got the dream job,” he replies. “You know, a lot of people are asking what I’m doing next. Next I’m just following my timetable. That’s what I’m doing next.”
Photo credit: BBC / Endemol Shine
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