MasterChef masterclass served up for pensioners
PENSIONERS were given a MasterChef masterclass to show how they can save cash with some clever cooking.
MasterChef: The Professionals 2016 winner Gary Maclean gave a cookery demonstration to a group of 20 older people at Nan McKay Memorial Hall in Pollokshields.
Using a smart meter to measure how much energy was being used, he demonstrated dishes that cost as little as less than 1p in energy to make.
Gary served up braised shoulder of lamb with button onions, root vegetables and Ayrshire bacon; a stuffed jacket potato with chestnut mushrooms, leeks, smoked cheddar cheese and Arran mustard; and for afters a bramble and heather honey sorbet.
City of Glasgow College senior lecturer Gary said he started to take notice of gas and electricity costs when his bills hit £300 a month.
The father-of-five said cooking for a household of seven takes forward planning – and gave tips to the pensioners about how to save money by batch cooking.
Lesley Sweeney, 74, said Gary’s cooking reminded him of how her mother used to cook.
She said: “My mother was a wonderful cook and she used to coat lamb in flour before cooking it, which is just what Gary did.
“A lot of his advice was good common sense but it was interesting to see how the smart meter can measure what you’re using.”
Gary gave his cookery demonstration as the new series of Masterchef: The Professionals started on BBC1 last night.
He said: “We had great fun today – it’s always good fun playing around with food. But what I was trying to do was show people how to get the most flavour out of their food for the least cost.
“So, like Lesley was saying, there are tricks such as coating meat in flour.
“There are generations who haven’t learned to cook but that’s changing. You have cookery programmes attracting five or 10 million viewers, which is more than football does.
“But, like football, people are watching and not taking part. So it’s about turning that interest in cooking into practical skills.
“And that’s happening, there’s a definite move to cooking.”
The afternoon was organised with the help of Age Scotland and the Nan McKay Memorial Community Hall.
Keith Robson, Charity Director of Age Scotland, said: “Age Scotland provides older people with advice and support about the issues they may face including energy use and keeping warm.
“The event with Gary was a fun way of showing older people how they can get their gas and electricity under control with smart meters.
“His low energy recipes were well received and I’m sure the participants are looking forward to trying them out at home.”
As part of the event, Smart Energy GB was on hand to talk about smart meters and demonstrate how they work.