Team Thailand’s tom yum wins as Port Hedland Masterchef delight tastebuds

The first Masterchef Port Hedland competition took place at Colin Matheson Pavilion on Saturday with team Thailand winning first prize and punters enjoying a range of delicious food. Contestants cooked for their country, with teams representing India, Thailand, Indonesia, Africa and Australia in a melting pot of cuisine and culture. The cook off was officially sponsored by Masterchef UK and the ten teams had 70 minutes to create a dish that “shared their vision of Port Hedland on a plate.” The public bought tickets which allowed them to taste every teams food and vote on the winner. The ticket also included a Thai cooking class prior to the cook off, led by Try My Thai owner and Master Chef Port Hedland founder Mudmee Vigar. Votes from the public went towards the popular vote while a panel of judges decided the overall winner, based on categories such as presentation, technique, originality and flavour. Lamyai James and Jarunee Mcelroy from team Thailand won the popular vote and judges vote with a tom yum dish. Team Indonesia’s wiwik crooks and Anita Dovanca finished second with a spectacular looking nasi tumpeng meal and Navneet Kumar Ahuja from team India rounded out the top three with a tandoori chicken dish. Masterchef Port Hedland creator Mudmee Vigar said the day was successful and showcased food from various backgrounds.. “Everyone loved cooking and trying the food and we tried to involve different countries and cultures,” she said. Vigar is in discussions with the Town of Port Hedland to host more events like this, with an eye towards a food festival. Tekohi Rivera, who represented team Australia with a king prawn stir fry, said the Masterchef concept was great. “I think it’s fantastic, I am really impressed with the competition and some of the presentation was unbelievable,” he said. Rivera hopes to see more events like this in the future. “I think it would be a real shame if somebody didn’t champion this.”