COVER STORY
The Sweet Life
Baking brownies, no matter how yummy, didn’t really give Nalat Chiravirakul a sweet life because of the uncertainty of online orders, with her parents concerned about her survival in e-commerce and pursual of a culinary career.
The resolute native of Lampang proved herself to her parents by competing in the second season of MasterChef Thailand which aired on Channel 7. Although a runner-up on the show, Nalat is an admirable rising talent who shone thanks to her baking background. As one of the older contestants, worth noting is her gutsy journey from the bottom of the food chain, despite an easier timber heiress position that awaits back home. An occupation in the kitchen is not one many parents would support, but Nalat braved the heat and obstacles to show that she does have a promising future in cooking.
The finale on May 27 was a battle between the pretty online entrepreneur and another northerner, 21-year-old Tanapat Suyao, who won the title, 1 million baht as well as the publishing of his own cookbook. The second season attracted contestants from all walks of life, including an agriculturist, a flight attendant, a musician and a physician, who contended for the coveted white apron that got them into the MasterChef kitchen.
Nevertheless, the amiable runner-up equally made it big on the iconic cooking show and now has more customers ordering scrumptious brownie fudge and lava dark choc from Lamelo Bake Studio.
“I often had to pick myself up when my baking business wasn’t doing well,” said the 30-year-old contestant. “Competing in MasterChef Thailand has given me a new lease of life. Not only did I develop my cooking competency, the programme made me a tougher person with a brighter outlook on life.”
Nalat’s pastry background from Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School gave her a competitive advantage in creating desserts.
For instance, she showed her pastry prowess by whipping smelly pla ra or fermented fish into a delectable sauce for a dried-shrimp cake in the Mystery Box Test, and by making luscious fruit tarts in the Invention Test during the second episode of the TV show produced by Heliconia H Group.
On the contrary, she was a beginner in pounding curry paste, slicing a fish fillet, grilling a steak — skills she learned among many other things from the MasterChef workshops and competition.
“I had to develop my cooking skill as quickly and as much as possible to stay in the game. In each round, I had to give it all as if I were creating my last dish in the competition,” she said.
The most thrilling task for her was when Nalat, along with two assistants, prepared a fine dining dish for 30 chefs from Michelin-starred and Michelin-plate restaurants in the semifinal round.
Sous vide then grilled salmon topped with dill and rosemary crumble served with beetroot caramel sauce and lemon curd earned her victory over Komsun Wongsa and Tanapat Suyao.
The semi-final winner walked through the cooking stations lined with the 30 top chefs clapping their hands to welcome her.
“I almost broke into tears. It was overwhelmingly a great honour to have cooked for the professional chefs,” she said. “In this round, I incorporated a sweet element, namely the lemon curd, into a savoury dish, and discovered my signature in cooking.”
The finale against Tanapat challenged her to create an appetiser, a main course and dessert for judges ML Parson Svasti, ML Kwantip Devakula and chef Pongtawat Chalermkittichai.
The celebrated trio, known to be tough on contestants, highly approved of her flaming main course — medium rare beef steak seasoned with nam prik larb placed on charcoal mushroom pies, shaped like lumps of coal and lit by a little vodka.
As impressive was her mouthwatering dessert featuring black sticky rice pudding and ice cream served with coconut crumble and taro purée, which demonstrated how she could tastefully combine multiple elements on a plate.
“The menu that I created for the final round reflected on my roots as a northerner. Both the nam prik larb and black sticky rice are synonymous with northern cuisine, and I used these ingredients in creating contemporary fare,” she said.
The complexity of the dishes with many components come with a risk of incompatibility but Nalat knows well how to orchestrate a palatable recipe.
“When designing a dish, I consider the smell of each element that needs to complement each other in enticing olfactory senses. This aromatic symphony is a prerequisite, as it tempts people to taste the food,” she said. “Another consideration is balance. Cooking, like other things in life, is about achieving the right balance.”
The female finalist eagerly juggled many tasks in dishing out the black sticky rice ensemble, and the disorganisation might have been a reason for not winning the title, which considers management along with passion, creativity and technical skills in crowning a master chef.
Still it’s a self victory for the high-spirited Nalat, who said “the cooking show isn’t about competing against others, but with oneself in overcoming obstacles, handling high-pressure situations and never ever giving up”.
Moreover, it affirmed that the committed amateur cook is on the right track — she would otherwise be trading dressed timber or suffering from office syndrome.
Nalat’s first job was as a lighting and composite artist at an animation production studio after graduating from Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Information and Communication Technology.
“I was sitting and manoeuvring the computer mouse almost the whole day. Because of staying in the same posture for a prolonged period without sufficient movement, apart from using my hand, I got sick often. So after one year in the digital world, I quit the job and asked myself what I want to do next with my life,” she said.
Having listed various options, Nalat found a calling in becoming a pâtissiere. The first step to her dream took her to a restaurant famous for its variety of cakes at Siam Paragon, where she worked as a waitress.
“Just standing in front of the display counter made me happy in seeing the array of cakes, not to mention the pleasure of buying them for sweet treats,” said Nalat, who was a waitress for only three months because her parents asked her to return to Lampang.
There, she helped out at their timber store for a year while yearning for a baking education at Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School.
“At first, my father didn’t approve and reasoned that the money spent on taking the pastry course could be used in expanding our family business. In addition, he couldn’t give me any advice on baking,” she said.
Eventually, her determination won her parents over. The wannabe pastry chef attended the prestigious culinary school in Bangkok and founded Lamelo Bake Studio. “Previously, my passion was purely in pastry but MasterChef
Thailand expanded my interest into various cuisines. My ambition now is to open a chef’s table restaurant,” she said.
THE COOKING SHOW IS ABOUT COMPETING WITH ONESELF, HANDLING HIGH- PRESSURE SITUATIONS AND NEVER GIVING UP