MasterChef winner Larissa Takchi’s plans for The Hills

Now MasterChef filming has wrapped up and Dural’s Larissa Takchi has been declared the winner, she has something special to serve foodies in The Hills.

MasterChef winner Larissa Takchi at Wild Pear Cafe in Dural. Picture: Angelo Velardo

• MasterChef judges casting still open
• Nestle Golden Chef winners

Proving she is the creme de la creme after winning MasterChef could just be enough to impress Larissa Takchi’s mum Jeanette in the Wild Pear Cafe kitchen at Dural.

“I was never part of the cooking scene at the Wild Pear,’’ the Dural 23-year-old said.

“I wasn’t even allowed to cook there. My mum was very, very stubborn and she needs to make sure the standards are always there.

“It was like her temple. She’s slowly, slowly, putting down her veil … and would love to have me in the kitchen.”

Larissa hopes her mother Jeanette will let her in the kitchen now she’s proven she can cook. Picture: Angelo Velardo

Family matriarch Jeantette started Wild Pear with her brother Sidney Solomon and his wife Lorraine 12 years ago.

Dessert queen Larissa — Australia’s youngest ever MasterChef winner — has been assigned to polishing cutlery, washing dishes and greeting customers but her appearance on the show has boosted the already popular restaurant, which could soon open for dinner from Thursday to Saturday.

“Mum will say a handful of people come in every day to see me and customers regularly, for years, say ‘This is amazing’,” she said.

“People have always asked, even before MasterChef, for dinner.

Wild Pear Cafe Louis Takchi, Olivia Zeaiter, MasterChef winner Larissa Takchi, Georgia Zeaiter, Sarah Sakr and Jazmyn Gillies. Picture: Angelo Velardo

“People want Wild Pear to open for dinner. There’s such a demand for it. People are so often travelling to the city for food and this will put Dural on the map”

Along with having a MasterChef winner serving at Wild Pear, food lovers can expect to eventually dine at Takchi’s plate-to-paddock restaurant in her beloved Hills.

“I’ve been living in Dural and Glenorie my whole entire life and there’s such a

connection to food in this place,’’ she said.

“There’s a lot of side-of-the-road fresh produce.

Larissa, with her mother Jeanette and aunt and Wild Pear owner Lorraine Solomon, are still in celebration mode. Picture: Angelo Velardo

“A lot of people that are born in Dural or the Hills area kind of stay in the area and for a good reason.”

Wild Pear Cafe was also the venue for celebrations after winning MasterChef.

“It was such a huge high. I had a massive party at my family’s restaurant at Wild Pear Cafe and we had about 200 people, which is a huge amount of people, but a small amount of who I could have invited,’’ she said.

Takchi is also still buzzing from her engagement to flower wholesaler Luke Dominello, whom she met on a school bus (she was a Mount St Benedict student and he went to Oakhill).

He shares a food passion that sees them hit the city regularly.

“It was probably a bit problematic with my finances but I was probably going out two or three times a week in the city,’’ she said.

Wild Pear Cafe owner Lorraine Solomon with her star niece Larissa Takchi. Picture: Angelo Velardo

Larissa Takchi is proud to call The Hills home. Picture: Angelo Velardo

“I was sort of food blogging before MasterChef.’’

Takchi described MasterChef judges Gary Mehigan, Matt Preston and George Calombaris as father figures but took the news of their departure as a shock.

“I had not idea, I had no inkling, I was very, very shocked and saddened,’’ she said.

“I feel like I’ve known them for my whole life. They brought the show to what it is today so I was saddened by it but at the same time, although it’s the end of an era, it’s the beginning of a new era and exciting.

“The best lesson I learned from them was to keep things simple. The less you do, the more it says on the plate. They taught me if you’re not happy with something on a plate, you can take it off.

“I’m still so eager to learn more.

“Even though I did MasterChef I feel I’m still an amateur and there’s so much to learn in this industry and that’s what I love about this industry.

“I understand what Wild Pear all about but I want to branch out with other cuisines.”

Another highlight was Italian chef Massimo Bottura heaping praise on her tiramisu with passionfruit and cumquat, which he said gave him goosebumps.

“It’s insane, I was taken away by his passion,’’ he said.

“ … A lot of celebrity chefs have that passion but I didn’t feel it as much from them.

“It’s a high that will never leave me.’’