GATÉ KNOWS HIS PLACE ON TV MENU

CELEBRITY chef Gabriel Gaté says the drama of cooking reality shows is a necessary trade-off for the prime-time honour of engaging or inspiring people into the industry.

In fact, less over-the-stove action is more for the 63-yearold, who spends much of his Taste Le Tour segment as part of the SBS Tour de France coverage showing off the beauty of the French countryside, rustic villages and the seaside rather than in the kitchen.

Gaté said chefs knew they were crossing the line into entertainment, but defended their presence on our screens, at odds with Iain “Hewy” Hewitson who recently lashed out at the way cooking culture was portrayed.

“Yes, you can be a chef with technique but the producers

“When there’s drama and someone cries and someone is rude to others, that seems to be popular with others. It’s not my kind of thing.”

Gaté, who will be at his Queenscliff house this weekend pruning his plants to prepare for the upcoming spring, said the people of Geelong could learn from the French and embrace fish in their cooking.

“Most Australians feel a bit scared about cooking fish and they’re not sure what to do. People who catch their own fish know what to do and keep it simple,” he said.

“A lot of people think fish should be coated with breadcrumbs or deep fried rather than poached or steamed or grilled or in a fish soup. We are still yet to create an Australian fish soup.”

Gaté also lauded the “world-class” olive oil and “excellent” wine, meat and fresh produce of the region.