Former MasterChef favourite Marion Grasby’s cooking commandments

Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we’re told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they’re given. This week he talks to Marion Grasby. The former MasterChef Australia contestant, 42, is a businesswoman, TV presenter, cookbook author and founder of food company Marion’s Kitchen. She has more than 853,000 followers on Instagram alone.

Marion Grasby on date-night eating: “No one wants to be feeling like they need to undo a zipper … well, before you want to undo the zipper.”Credit: Louie Douvis

SEX

What initially attracted you to your husband and business partner, Tim? Food and wine. I was sent to work at the ABC in Adelaide as a cadet, and I didn’t know anyone. One of my friends said, “Oh, there’s this guy there that we met once at a bar in Brisbane. Why don’t you give him a call?” I was so desperate that I called him and said, “You don’t know me, but I have no friends. Could you help a girl out?” He was like, “Sure, I’m having a dinner party tonight. We’re going to drink a lot of wine, so make sure you get a taxi.” I wasn’t very well-versed in wine at the time. For me, there was white and red. So I rocked up with two bottles of Yellowglen. He very politely put the wine aside, then produced a six-course tasting menu.

And the rest is history. That’s right. Except he never cooked anything again. So it was false advertising!

What keeps you together? We’ve been running our companies for more than a decade now and we’re not divorced, which is amazing. We work together every day and have two young children. What attracts me to him is how he operates in our companies: his integrity, the way he treats people, his business mind. But sometimes it’s difficult because the kids will ask us, “Well, who’s the boss?”

And what’s your answer? I always say, “I’m the boss!” And Charlie, my daughter, will say, “But Daddy’s the big boss.” I’m like, “What do you mean?! I’m the big boss!” [Laughs]

Any advice for other couples thinking of going into business together? Either you can do it or you can’t. If you’re both really strong-willed and not able to give ground, I don’t think you’ve got any chance. You have to be really self-aware.

Lead me through an ideal menu for a date night. Nothing too heavy. No one wants to be feeling like they need to undo a zipper … well, before you want to undo the zipper. So oysters, caviar, champagne. Then something a little spicy, like a really beautifully seared, crispy-skinned fish, but with chilli crisp oil and Sichuan peppercorn. Fresh but fiery, to get everything warm and tingly. And a really good dirty martini.

POLITICS

What are you thinking about when you’re shopping for groceries or supplies? Growing up in Papua New Guinea and seeing a lot of Asia – and spending time in my mum’s village, Nakhon Chum, west of Bangkok – you see the scarcity of food and how that impacts life. For me, being able to choose food items is a real privilege. On one hand, I’m always looking for the best ingredients. But on the other, I’m very aware that a lot of people don’t have that choice.

Do you think much about the arguments surrounding culinary authenticity? You don’t want to get traditional recipes wrong and violate a cuisine and culture but, at the same time, food and culture evolve. Absolutely – I spend my life thinking about this kind of thing! For me, cuisines should be alive. Cultures travel and they change. In South-East Asia, and Thailand specifically, a lot of our cuisine is known for its chillies. Originally, though, these came from South America. The tomato was originally imported into Italy. So, cuisines have always been built on change. And yes, sometimes there are unwritten rules …

… which can result in culinary atrocities. [Nods] But at the same time, I think you’re right to say that cuisines should evolve. I’m probably the perfect example. I’m a little bit Thai, a little bit Australian and, sometimes, what comes out food-wise is a little bit Thai and a little bit Australian. I don’t see a problem with that. The more we share and the happier we are to bring people together to eat and cook, the better.

RELIGION

Were you raised in a religion? Sort of. We ended up with my mum being Buddhist, my dad being Anglican, and me being Catholic.

Wow, what’s the story there? When my parents moved to Australia, they lived in Darwin, where I was born. My dad initially wanted to baptise me Anglican. And this isn’t a reflection on the church in general, but the guy there at the time wasn’t cool with Mum being Buddhist. So, Dad was like, “Well, what am I going to do?” Coincidentally, he used to go to the pub with a Catholic priest and the priest was like, “We’re happy for you to bring her down”.

What do you tick on the census nowadays? I still put Catholic. But one of the things I used to struggle with was, “So … I’m going to go to the Christian heaven, but my mum is going to be reincarnated?” It’s very hard to wrangle that when you’re a child. Now I’m like, maybe I’ll just go with her on the reincarnation path.

Do you feel that food can be a religious experience? Food is my religion; I live for it. One experience was eating uni – sea urchin – in Japan from a market; you could just taste the place. Eating it gave me shivers. It’s less about religion, more about the sublime.

What are your commandments for good cooking? Thou shalt salt accordingly. Thou shalt get your pan freaking hot. Thou shalt not be judgmental about food.

What’s your favourite guilty pleasure? Hot buttered toast. White loaf, heavily buttered, smattering of Promite.

Marion Grasby’s Flavours of Heart & Home is on SBS Food and SBS On Demand.

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