Join Matt Sinclair at Moreton Bay Food and Wine Festival

There’s no ‘smoke and mirrors’ to celebrity chef Matt Sinclair’s style of cooking and he’ll prove it at this year’s Moreton Bay Food + Wine Festival.

Chef Matt Sinclair will be at the Moreton Bay Food and Wine Festival. Picture: Adam Head

CELEBRITY chef Matt Sinclair may have impressed as a contestant in MasterChef in 2016 and as a mentor on the popular television show this year, but he still considers himself a home cook at heart.

“That’s who I am, I’m always going to be a home cook. I’m not classically trained, I didn’t go through the system that way,” Matt explains.

“The way I look at the process of cooking is, a lot of the time, from a home cook’s point of view, and that’s where all of my understanding of cooking came from, from home and the people around me.”

So, it’s his hope that home cooks watching his demonstrations at the Moreton Bay Food + Wine Festival on September 7 and 8 will take plenty back to their own kitchens.

“The food that I cook, there’s no smoke and mirrors. It’s food that is approachable for people to cook at home,” he says.

“So, if I can walk them through it, and even if they’re not cooking that dish, if they can take a little tip away, that’s what demos are all about — to try and share some knowledge.”

Matt credits his grandmother Elva and great-grandmother Elsie with his grounded view of cuisine and his love of cooking.

“They were probably the standout and the most influential. They established how important food is in the family and in the home. Every meal of every day was always considered extremely important … big, generous meals,” he says.

Matt fondly remembers cooking scones and roasts, and doing plenty of baking with Elva and Elsie. He says his mother’s sense of adventure is responsible for his open palate and willingness to try different flavours.

“We grew up in an era and neighbourhood where our friends were very much meat and three veg, but mum would make curries and stir-fries, and we’d have homemade pizza night. We were probably a little bit ahead of our time,” he says.

Matt Sinclair in action during the 2016 season of MasterChef. Picture: Martin Philbey

Matt was thrust into the spotlight during the 2016 season of Channel 10’s MasterChef, in which he was runner-up in the final.

It followed a career in hospitality from the age of 14 and a desire to see what he could do after a two-year stint as a coffee roaster.

“I learned the value of stepping outside your comfort zone. It (MasterChef) was very nerve-racking. Putting yourself in that arena and on that platform is very raw. There’s nowhere to hide and it’s hard,” he recalls.

“You have to prepare yourself to take the knocks and take the criticism and go through a bit of a battle. There was an enormous level of character building that came with it.

“I guess you find out a lot more about yourself too. You find out how badly you really do want this.”

Matt says the experience was a catalyst for a six-month foray into food trucks at Brisbane’s Eat Street Markets, before he and three mates opened their restaurant Sum Yung Guys at Sunshine Beach in June 2017.

This year, Matt returned to MasterChef as a mentor to contestants.

“I hope I helped them find their identity as a cook. For them to find out their strengths and weaknesses, what they like and dislike, what they’re about as a cook and finding their own style as a cook is the main thing to figure out,” he says. “If I’ve been able to do that, I’ll be really happy.”

Matt laughs when asked if he’s expecting a call-up to the judging panel next year, following the departure of the program’s three longstanding judges.

“No. They are enormous shoes to fill.

“Between those boys there’s over 100 years of experience, not just in the industry but eating around the world and rubbing shoulders with chefs and restaurateurs and they’ve got 11 years up their sleeves with the show,” Matt says.

“How those places are going to be filled, I don’t know but I can be pretty confident in saying I’m not going to be one of them.”

Matt Sinclair will be at the Moreton Bay Food and Wine Festival this September.

SEE MATT IN ACTION

The ultimate “home cook” Matt Sinclair will appear on the USC Cooking Stage at this year’s Moreton Bay Food + Wine Festival on September 7 at 11am and 1pm, and September 8 at 11.30am and 1.30pm

WHAT’S ON THE FESTIVAL MENU?

The Sunshine Coast’s Matt Sinclair and Samford’s own celebrity chef Alastair McLeod will bring their relaxed and entertaining style to this year’s Moreton Bay Food + Wine Festival on the USC Cooking Stage.

Matt says, for him, Moreton Bay bugs will “definitely get a run”. He’s going to whip up “a couple of nice little dishes” and there will be an opportunity for the audience to sample what he’s created.

Make sure you bring a notebook and your appetite.

MORETON BAY FOOD + WINE FESTIVAL PREVIEW