MasterChef winner Sashi Cheliah’s tough background helped give him mental edge to succeed
HE may be Australia’s newest culinary king after taking out MasterChef, but Sashi’s tough background in a completely different field is what gave him the winning edge.
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MASTERCHEF Australia winner Sashi Cheliah didn’t only have a cooking edge over runner-up Ben Borsht – he also had the mental edge.
Right from the start of last night’s Grand Finale, the 39-year-old father-of-two from South Australia seemed to have a psychological advantage over Borsht, a 31-year-old builder from Queensland.
Cheliah says it was his training in a Special Forces unit in Singapore that helped him achieve success.
Cheliah has worked as a prison officer in South Australia but before he relocated to Australia in 2011 he was part of an elite Police Force Unit for nearly a decade.
Members of the Star Unit are highly trained, dealing in special tactics and rescue operations. Cheliah worked in counter-terrorism and high-profile protection in the riot police.
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“Coming from an elite background it really helped me to be focused and have the endurance to stay strong throughout the Grand Finale cook,” Cheliah says.
“In the first round I did what I usually do – I went for flavours and texture. I played to my strengths and that helped a lot.
“With the dessert round taking five-and-a-half hours you need a lot of mental as well as physical strength.”
Contrast that with Borsht who was sweating up a storm as he struggled to plate up underwhelming blue swimmer crab with coriander and finger lime as well as whiting with peas and a parsley and garlic emulsion.
“I’ve had a tendency throughout the competition of studying too hard and getting tunnel vision,” Borsht says.
“They call it ‘shoehorning a dish’ – taking ingredients and turning them into something they’re not supposed to be.
“I had that trouble (with the crab dish). I had made it over the weekend. I knew what the faults were with it but I couldn’t get it out of my brain.
“I should have made something far simpler and not worked with crab because it is such a long process shelling it. For such a quick cook I didn’t have that luxury of time.
“With the fish dish, there were plenty of other better ingredients on the bench that I should have decided to pick. I should have put up a nice sauce with a puree or a roast vegetable. But I had a fixation on the peas.”
It was Cheliah’s ability to keep a cool head and make smart decisions that helped him shine right throughout this year’s season of MasterChef Australia.
Let’s not forget that Cheliah was the first contestant in the show’s history to hold two immunity pins at the same time.
“Definitely my background in Special Forces really helped me a lot in this competition,” Cheliah says.
“It makes me keep composed and calm during stressful situations so I have a much clearer understanding (of the cook).
“I am able to control my emotions. I don’t let them take me over when it comes to difficult situations.”
By the end of Round 1, Cheliah, who served up sambal prawns and fish curry with cumin rice, had already crushed his opponent – leading by a record-breaking 16 points.
By the end of the second round, a marathon five-and-a-half hour test to recreate Heston Blumenthal’s “Counting Sheep” dessert, Cheliah had scored 93 out of 100 – the highest ever result for a MasterChef Australia winner.
“For me to get that much of a point difference after the first round – I was shocked,” Cheliah says. “The last couple of days Ben had been smashing everyone.”
Originally published as MasterChef winner Sashi Cheliah’s tough background helped give him mental edge to succeed