‘PSYCHO COMPETITOR’ RIEWOLDT HAS FISH TO FRY
HE’S one of Australia’s greatest Olympians.
The other is a football legend, still disappointed an AFL premiership flag never came his way in his 16 years with St Kilda.
Put them together in — of all places — the kitchen and Ian Thorpe and Nick Riewoldt have different but important points to prove.
The pair is shaping as arguably the most competitive duo ever cast on the celebrity version of Ten’s flagship cooking program MasterChef.
“I’m a psycho competitor,” Riewoldt said, as he rolled out fresh pasta to go with his crayfish sauce on episode one.
Seafood is his go-to ingredient, evoking memories of the Fox Footy commentator’s childhood growing up on Tasmania’s East Coast.
For Thorpey, it is Italian.
In his first MasterChef hitout, the swimmer cooks veal saltimbocca – a dish he first tasted as a 17-year-old when he was racing in Italy.
“A mamma came out with this dish.
She was serving us all individually and I loved it so much. I hid my empty plate under the table so she’d think she missed me so I could have another one,” he said.
Cool and collected, Thorpe plates up with 10 minutes to spare.
“I like to finish first,” he said.
Celebrity MasterChef, Sunday, October 10, 7.30pm, Ten.