Mike Rowe, 27, recently competed in BBC’s MasterChef cooking competition and won the coveted apron to which all contestants aspire. The first round is always nail-biting as no-one wants to leave at the first hurdle. Michael impressed the judges with his dishes and received great feedback.
Mike knew for some months that he was going to appear on the programme so he set about practising lots of dishes. He loves to work with fish and wanted the best so he headed to Rye Bay Fish and not only bought some but gained a lot of useful advice.
Shane Haddon owns the fishery and his family come from a long line of Hastings fishermen. They are one of the oldest fishing families in Hastings, dating back as far as the 1600s. The philosophy of how they run Rye Bay Fish is to concentrate on local day-boat fishing. Quality and freshness are key.
Mike found their advice very useful and the dish that sparked the most positive feedback was for his Salmon Ceviche which he cooked for former winning contestants.
He has started up a YouTube Channel called MikeRoweCooks and he is going to share a new recipe a month with the readers of Rye News. In May he will start with his Salmon Ceviche recipe.
Mike is an entertainer for Disney Cruise Line, but it had always been his ambition to appear on MasterChef. He started cooking when he was about thirteen years old and he began with dishes that could be made in batches and frozen down, like curries and lasagne. He learned to make pasta from scratch and his love of cooking grew from there.
Mike made some good friends and one of the group that he started with went on to the final. Mike said, “It was an amazing experience and Greg and John were really supportive.”
Image Credits: kt bruce , Kt Bruce .