Masterchef Brickie builds a name for himself with his cooking skills
❝ I would love to get into the Bristol foodie scene. Bricklaying’s a good job, but in the winter it can be horrendous. It’s a job, but cooking is my passion.
Adam Ball
ABRISTOL bricklayer who has just appeared on Masterchef said his workmates had no clue he was about to star in the nation’s top TV cookery programme – and now jokily ask him what’s for lunch on the building site.
But Adam Ball hopes his success on the programme will propel him into Bristol’s foodie world, and says he has dreams of showing off the culinary skills that impressed judges Greg Wallace and John Torode at food festivals, restaurants and private dining bookings.
The 34-year-old told the Post how he managed to keep it a secret that he is starring in the show, which was filmed last year, and none of his workmates had a clue he was going to be on.
The brickie from Barrs Court said the first day back after his heat aired last week was hilarious.
“It was so funny. Everyone loved it. They were leaning over the scaffolding calling down ‘Oi, Masterchef, what’s for lunch, then?’
“A lot of them knew I’m into cooking, but none of them had any idea I’d actually got onto Masterchef,” he said.
“Everyone’s been supportive. It was hard to keep it a secret – you’re really not allowed to tell anyone except for family. I think I only told my wife and I had to tell my boss to get the time off. It’s been really exciting waiting for the programme to come on, and know that you’ve got this really great secret,” he added.
Viewers of the top BBC show were introduced to the father-ofone in Heat 2 of the programme. On the face of it, Adam seems an unlikely top chef, having left school and gone straight into bricklaying – he didn’t even do food tech past his Year 10 options.
“It’s something I’ve always loved, but when it came to it with my options, I chose business studies, because my grandad was in business. I went straight into bricklaying when I left school, and you have to work hard and you can get to the level where it’s good money.
“Once I’d done that, it would have been too much of a drop to try to get into the food industry. So I never could. But I’ve always kept cooking and love it so much, it’s a passion. I remember baking cakes with my gran when I was younger, although I’d eat most of the cake mix before it was baked. I had a very sweet tooth as a child and still do now,” he added.
Adam’s passion for cooking is in part inspired by his wife Lesley, who is coeliac and so Adam gets creative with gluten-free dishes.
Viewers will be able to see how Adam gets on in the knock-out rounds later this month, but Adam hopes the people of Bristol will love his cooking too.
“I would love to get into the Bristol foodie scene. Bricklaying’s a good job, but in the winter it can be horrendous. It’s a job, but cooking is my passion. I’d love to do private dining, I’d love to do expert presentations at food festivals, guest slots at restaurants. I’ve got a lot of plans, and until the show has actually aired and finished, you’re not allowed to start anything, but there’s so many amazing places for food in Bristol, and I want to get out there, and also cook in people’s homes,” he added.