Butter makes everything better.
by Matt Preston on 8 December 2009
21. Apparently butter makes everything better. That’s why I’ve sent a case of Western Star to Beirut.22. Cooking for one is no fun.
23. People love beetroot because you can beat an egg but you can’t beat a root.
24. Six am isn’t early; 4.35 am is early.
25. In the end I lost eight kilos while making MasterChef. I am not sure why. Perhaps standing around burns calories. I predict big things for my book outlining the ‘Dawdle Diet’.
26. Even great chefs can crumble in the kitchen under pressure. So when cooking for friends, reduce the stress as much as possible by using familiar recipes and familiar ingredients. Oh, and always practice anything new on your family first.
27. Good TV revolves around jeopardy. Great TV revolves about people you care about placed in that jeopardy. Oh, and lots of expensive cameras – ideally mounted on helicopters or on a Chapman, which is like a very, very expensive billy-cart with padded suede seats.
28. Always expect the unexpected.
29. It is possible to stand still for long periods of time if you run through all the cheesy male catalogue model poses you can think of, from the cuff pop to the thumbs in pocket. Although after twelve hours of that, you’ll understand why polar bears go mad in the zoos and swing from side to side.
30. Smart brunettes are hot. MasterChef judges are not – unless they are in Hong Kong and its 33 degrees.
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About the Author
View All Posts by Matt PrestonMatt Preston
Matt Preston is a food journalist and restaurant critic. Best known for his weekly restaurant column in The Age newspaper's food section, 'Epicure', and as a judge on MasterChef Australia, Preston is also an editor of Vogue Entertaining + Travel and delicious magazines, and a former Creative Director of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.[1].Preston was educated in Sussex and graduated from the University of Kent with a BA Hons in Politics and Government. He began his career in the sales and marketing departments of British magazines, including City Limits where he wrote the 'Backhanders' column for five years. He then spent four years with UK magazines, TVTimes and What's on TV, becoming head of their promotions and marketing department.In 1993 Preston moved to Australia where he worked as an Australian soap opera correspondent for British magazines What's On TV, TVTimes and Women's Own.In 2009 Preston joined Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris on the judging panel of the first season of MasterChef Australia, a reality television competition to find Australia's best home cook.Preston is a contributor to The Age Good Food Guide and Food and Wine (US). He has appeared on Network 10's 9am with David and Kim as well as SBS's Blue List, Channel 9's Postcards and Channel 7's Absolutely Melbourne.Preston has appeared on radio as a guest on Denis Walter's show on 3AW, and on 774 ABC Melbourne, where he has also co-hosted a number of times. Previous positions include five years as the National Chief Judge for Restaurant and Catering's National Awards for Excellence, contributing drink editor to Good Taste magazine and as the 'secret reviewer' on series one of Channel 7's My Restaurant Rules.In 2003, 2004 and 2006 Preston won Food Media Club of Australia awards for articles which appeared in the 'Epicure' section of The Age, and in 2008 he won the Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards, Food Journalist of the Year Award for articles published in delicious and 'Epicure'.









