The 'MILBOURNE-matters'

Ben Milbourne on Newcastle Food & Wine Expo, on Andy & on his upbringing in Tasmania

For teacher turned foodie Ben Milbourne, food is about fun, creativity and adventure. Thanks to his best mate – MasterChef winner and Maitland local Andy Allen – food and friendship are also closely intertwined.

Milbourne and Allen appeared on the MasterChef 2012, the series which Allen went on to win with his new-found best mate by his side. In the years since the TV juggernaut, Milbourne has produced two cookbooks – last year’s Mexican Craving and Tasmanian Trail (out next month) – and travelled the country and the world. He is also set to launch his new TV show Ben’s Menu on Channel 10 in the coming weeks.

Milbourne is appearing at this weekend’s Newcastle Food & Wine Expo, supported by the Newcastle Herald, where he’ll host intimate 35-person degustations on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as demonstrating his cooking skills on the Celebrity Stage across the three-day festival.

Speaking over the phone from Tasmania on a break from filming his TV show, Milbourne’s passion for food is palpable: he counts his blessings for all the opportunities that have come to him post-MasterChef and the fun he’s had along the way.

‘‘I don’t think I’ve worked a day since MasterChef finished. Everything has been so much fun and so enjoyable and everything that I do now is a whirlwind and I’m loving it,’’ Milbourne said, adding that fun had been the constant factor in his relationship with food.

‘‘Food has always been fun for me. It was a passion for me before I went on the show and I guess that’s why people go on the show, to take their passion and turn it into something that becomes their life. 

‘‘I’m the perfect example of what you can do. I was also really lucky to meet a best mate on there, who I still do a lot of work with, in Andy.’’

Milbourne’s visit for the weekend’s expo is not his first to the region: he’s spent time in Newcastle and Maitland, and raves about weekends spent at Allen’s family’s property in Port Stephens. He and Allen, who is now Sydney-based and works at Bronte’s Three Blue Ducks, have also travelled the world together in pursuit of new flavours and techniques. Last year they travelled to Mexico (which is documented on Allen’s YouTube channel) and are soon jetting off to Spain and Portugal on another culinary adventure.

It’s part of Milbourne’s approach to food – that there are always new flavours to conquer.

‘‘In my past life I was a science teacher and I used to say to my kids:  ‘There are 120 elements on the periodic table and the universe was created with that.’ You have more than 120 ingredients in your pantry so imagine what you can create with that,’’ he said.

Like many great chefs, Milbourne is also passionate about eating seasonally, something that was fostered by his upbringing on the Apple Isle.

‘‘Being in Tasmania we’re very lucky that we get four seasons here.  We get really distinct changes in season and, in those changes in season, we always get changes in produce,’’ he said. 

‘‘My life has been based around the idea that at certain times of the year we eat certain things, and I think that’s really important.

‘‘The way things are going now, things can be grown year-round and shipped so quickly from one area to another that they’re always available. 

‘‘If you go into a supermarket you can always get things, which a lot of people want. Customers want to know they can get a watermelon any time of the year.

‘‘But if you want it to be at its best you have to get during its season. 

‘‘If you are buying from a greengrocer or a producer, that’s what they build their livelihood around, so it’s important we give as much support as we can give people for growing or supplying produce that is in season.’’

Seasonal and local produce will be the heroes on Milbourne’s menu for the degustations and demonstrations at the expo. On the celebrity stage he’ll teach punters how to make kingfish carpaccio with Mexican vinaigrette, avocado mousse and pico de gallo salsa and totopos (similar to a tortilla).

‘‘Kingfish is prevalent to that region, people are going to be able to get their hands on it. They might even be going out catching it. I know Andy catches a lot of it when he goes out with his dad,’’ Milbourne said. 

‘‘The best way to eat kingfish is raw or just seasoned with some acid, doing a ceviche or something like that. 

‘‘With a fish so delicate in flavour you can get away with eating it raw or just simply curing it. I’m also going to show you things you can put with it to give some texture or a bite, to make a dish out of something so simple.’’

The Mexican theme continues at the expo’s three degustations hosted by the Tassie cook, with all but one of the dishes designed during Milbourne and Allen’s Mexican trip. Milbourne’s menu not only draws on local produce but will also be prepared by the MasterChef star himself.

‘‘I’ll be in the kitchen during the day getting everything ready and then I’ll come out and dine with the guests and explain to each of them where the dish came from, where we went about sourcing the produce, where the idea came from,’’ he said, adding that he was looking forward to getting up close and personal with punters at the dinner.

‘‘When you do things like this it’s so much nicer if you feel like you’re almost at someone’s house or in a really intimate setting, it means I get an opportunity to get around to everyone, to talk to everyone and find out why they’re there, what they enjoy about food. 

‘‘For me it’s just as much a learning experience as it is for those people coming because I get to find out what makes people tick and why they want to come along to these things. It means I can hone my idea of what I want to do going forward, so I can give people what they want.’’

Milbourne is also hoping Hunter locals will give him what he wants: gossip about best mate Allen.

‘‘I’ll sit down and enjoy some wine and a chat with people and if they have any questions about what I’ve been up to or what Andy’s been up to or maybe they might be locals who know Andy and can give me some dirt on him, which would be handy,’’ he laughed. 

‘‘If I can walk away from the weekend with some dirt on him, I’ll be really happy. Even better, if they have photos I can lord over him while we’re in Spain so he can pay for every meal.’’

Milbourne appears at the Newcastle Food & Wine Expo, supported by the Newcastle Herald, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

(Source: Newcastle Herald)