LIFESTYLE IN PERSONTalentUncoveredAmina El Shafei of MasterChefSeason 4 Australia spoke to<strong>Muhibah</strong> exclusively about theshow and more.Why did you enter the competition?Because my sister gave me a push(laughs). We were watching Season 3and she said that I should enter becauseI’d be good at it. A couple of weeks later,the online application came out. I did itbut didn’t tell anybody and didn’t takethe application seriously. And when theaudition time came, mom and dad wereoverseas at that time, and when I toldthem, they started laughing. They thoughtit was really funny. I think it was more likedisbelief initially. It really hit home when Ihad to go to Melbourne for the top 24.56 MUHIBAH
No one looking at you can disregard theheadscarf. Do you think you’ve become arole model for Muslim women everywheresince being put in the limelight?Inadvertently, it has sort of gone thatway. People think I’m a good role modelespecially living in Australia. Fortunately,we have a very good tolerance for religion.Unfortunately, there is a lot going on in theMuslim world that’s not very positive. It wasa breath of fresh air for a lot of people tohave someone like me come on the show.I’m not saying I’m angelic or anything, butalso being a nurse – people relate to anurse – so automatically there’s a like.I don’t like to (be a role model). But I’m avery relaxed person, and in many ways, Iam Australian and that’s how I see myself.Did anyone advise you before goinginto competition about how challengingit can be?In all honesty, no one advised meanything (laughs). I walked into itcompletely empty handed. If anything,I was highly supported by the productionteam, and I cannot tell you enough howaccommodating they were from the getgo.Right from the beginning they usedto ask me before going into the house if Ineeded special requirements, any time topray – and I didn’t even say anything.I guess that’s another reflection of thetolerance we have in Australia for religion.One of the other things that was a hugesurprise for me was getting the halal food,meat and poultry for me to eat. All themeat they supplied for the show – andobviously this is not for advertising oranything – was all halal. That’s why I wasso comfortable to touch and eat the meat.There was no force in using alcohol and allthe time, even for meals, they would ask if Iwanted halal options. So it was all easy.When you’re filming, how did you juggleyour Islamic obligations?The actual time for filming varies, so theone hour you watch on TV would be about10-12 hours of filming, so it’s a long day. Inregards to my practices, a lot of the time if Iknew I was going to be filmed the whole day,I try and do the early prayers for later; othertimes I try to squeeze it in if I can. I’ve alwayshad the resources and the availability to doit, so there was never any issues.Is it difficult to gain internationalrecognition in an environment that’snot very halal-conducive?First of all, it’s a male dominated industry.That’s the barrier we’ve to acknowledge.Second, we’re amateurs going into theshow, and it’s hard to come out of theshow and then be put into the categoryof a chef. I don’t have formal training. I’m ahumble home cook that just got exposed.For me personally, I don’t want to beput in that position of being recognisedprofessionally.But halal food is growing everywhere. Theawareness of halal products is growingeverywhere. I think if anything it’s awonderful thing to be encouraging theuse of halal food.People always assume that halal foodis always Arabic food. Will you breakthe stereotype?I think people have this misconceptionthat the Arab world has the highestnumber of Muslim population, which iswrong. The problem is, Arabs are loud.That’s the only difference. They forget thatthe biggest population of Muslims is inSoutheast Asia combined. So, we need tobreak that stereotype. And of course I’mhappy to do it.You’ve got a column in AustralianWomen’s Weekly. How did thatcome about?On the show, obviously they saw meas a portal in terms of reaching out tothe minority population. But what theyreally enjoyed about watching me, thepublishers told me, was basically the inputof ethnicity and the story behind thefood. They approached me after the showfinished and asked if I could start writingcolumns for them and of course I flipped!They saw me as being able to bring outthe wonderful cooking that both myparents have shown me over the yearsand the stories that come with it.And I love the magazine. It’s been fun.They’ve got a huge cooking section andit’s fabulous.What’s your comfort food?I love chocolates (sighs). I have momentsthat I really crave things. It depends. I loverice. I’m not fussed. I like all things.Favourite ingredients to cook with?I’ve got three: Olive oil, garlic, and yoghurt.You can do a lot of things with them.They’re my favourite things to have alsobecause oil is universal. Garlic, too. Weuse a lot of garlic at home. And yoghurt –both savoury and sweet and, with MiddleEastern cooking, we use a lot of yoghurt.Do you plan to have your own restaurant?Yeah I do. It’s not gonna happen formany years. It’s too much of a headache.Sydney, economic wise, is not the besttime to open anything. I just don’t wantto jump into something without beingassured. There’s just too much to risk.For now, I’ve just reduced my hours innursing and gone part-time. I think partof the realisation was when I got backto work after the whole MasterChefepisode was I realised just how muchnursing was a part of my life. I really enjoybeing a nurse. I am really happy with it.So until I am absolutely sure that I canleave nursing to go to food, that will bethe time; but I need to slowly pull myselfaway from it.What did you take from nursing intothe show?From a nursing point of view, I think itwas a lot of controlling stress. I work inan acute setting for sick children, so (it’sabout) trying to contain that stress. Iguess the other is that communicationsand interpersonal skills help. And alsowith group work because in Australia, ourstyle of nursing is team nursing so thathas always helped me through the show.What’s next for you?I’ve been doing a lot of cooking classes.That’s been fun, because suddenly there’sa big boom in Middle Eastern food inAustralia. Besides that, I do a lot of demosand food events. I’m in the process ofwriting a cookbook. And I do a bit ofcatering as well.The other thing is Audra (Morrice),who’s also in the show, and I do a lot ofpop up cooking events. We’ve done aboutfive together. So that’s been fun.Catch Amina on Masterchef Australia S4 and MasterchefAustralia All Stars at 7pm and 11pm on Lifetime Channel(on Kristal astro Channel 709 for <strong>Brunei</strong>) beginning9 September, 2013.September | October 201357
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