Matt Preston reveals his favourite childhood foods

You might recognise Matt Preston as the cravat-wearing judge from MasterChef Australia.

But while he’s become a household name in the Australian food scene, Matt’s culinary ways begun back when he was a child growing up in England.

In his new book, Big Mouth, Matt sheds a light on some the favourites he ate as a child.

Much as you’d expect from a young foodie, his taste ranges from the wildly indulgent to surprisingly sophisticated. Read on for more

Matt Preston’s favourite childhood foods

Savoury

• White bread & tomato sandwich: Matt’s grandmother used to grow tomatoes, which he’d transform into a delectable lunch time treat. ‘Those tomatoes were best sliced thick with salt and too much pepper. You’d then layer them with acidic salad cream between heaving, buttered slabs of white bread,’ he explains. ‘It’s a weakness I still have to this day.’
• Scrambled eggs with white toast: You might think that he was born with his talent, but Matt learned some of his culinary skills from his family. His grandfather made the perfect scrambled eggs, with ‘just a splash of water and a lot of time.’
• Butter-soaked crumpet with Marmite: Now that Matt lives in Australia, we hope he’d choose Vegemite instead, but growing up, he enjoyed slathering crumpets with butter and Marmite to munch on while watching TV.
• Fish finger sandwich: When fish fingers gained popularity in England, fish finger sandwiches became a fast favourite of Matt’s. His recipe was simple: fried fish fingers between slices of well-buttered bread, seasoned with lemon juice and salt.

Sweet

• Ice cream: Growing up, the famous foodie loved ice cream so much that he even ran out into the street and got hit by an ice cream truck.
• Coco pops with whipped cream: Introduced to him by his grandmother this indulgent brekkie solved the issue of soggy Cocoa Pops. Visionary!
• World Cup Willie nougat bars: During the 1966 World Cup, England’s World Cup mascot, a lion named Willie, was branded on everything from tea towels to tracksuits. Matt’s favourite World Cup merch, however, was a delicious nougat bar which first awakened him to the ‘headlong tumble into pleasure that has become so much a part of my life.’
• Treacle tart: This unique tart is a traditional British dessert made of buttery breadcrumbs, golden syrup and lemon juice baked in a pie case. ‘Heated in the oven so the filling shimmered like fresh lava, it was transcendental.’
• Rice pudding: ‘Above all else,’ writes Matt, ‘was my mother’s rice pudding – not made in a pan like a peasant but baked in the oven in a casserole dish so a good skin formed on the top. Better still, the next morning thick slabs could be sliced from the cooled bowl to fry in butter for breakfast.’

Read Big Mouth to learn more about foodie endeavours as well as many other aspects of his interesting life!