Crossing the dusty roads on a sunny day and inhaling the massive construction work dust…..our car finally took a turn and led us to a road which was like never ending with the sign boards pointing upwards and saying you are just a kilometer away from your destination….Marriott….Yeah Marriott is the place where we were heading to…to meet Kate Bracks, winner of MasterChef Australia 2011.
As you know I have already done an e-mail interaction with her knowing more about her winning and trip to India, I was very much enthusiastic to meet her in person. Finally when I entered Marriott, the first word which came from my mouth was ‘wow’…it’s huge….and when I was guided to the Whitefield Baking Company…I was much relaxed….just the site of WBC rejuvenated my soul….
With in no time, Chilled Oreo Milkshake with lots of whipping cream was served as welcome drink….sipping a little… started to explore the place along way greeting the blogger buddies who kept coming and some where already here….Before Kate Bracks enter the Media Master Class…I wanted to take a closer look of WBC along with clicking some random shots…..
Without wasting time…I entered WBC….the ambience was contemporary….wooden flooring has given a magical touch to the place….You can make out from the pictures…there is live bakery…which is the main attraction of the outlet….you get sneak peak of the recipes which are going to be freshly baked at that hour…neatly written on the wall with chalk on a framed board……which was very attractive…
The lighting is just apt to the place with beautiful decorative red colour lamps hanging from roof….giving the place a charming view….according to me WBC is a perfect place to go when you just want to be with you, your book and freshly brewed coffee along with fresh baked muffin or cookie…a perfect place to share a warm conversation or just enjoy a refreshing cup of coffee….
When I just soaking myself to the warm atmosphere around….suddenly Mr.Mathew Cooper, General Manager, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield announced the arrival of Kate Bracks….with this news everyone who were busy clicking or chatting around rushed to grab a place. Vibrant, fresh, full of energy, sweet and simple Kate Bracks came and took the place by storm. With the greetings…she said she loves India and the whole place ooed her…then she said she has been to commercials, shopped till dropped, had Dosa, which she loved to full, butter chicken which was yuuummmm to her, she even tried gol gappas and loved the busting flavours of it…Tandoori roti cached her attention and she wants to get a tandoor at her place to get fresh and hot tandoori roti’s everyday….Kate Bracks said she is having a wonderful time being in Bengaluru….
This is Kate Bracks first official tour after her winning the title of MasterChef and she said she is very happy to be in India, where the replica of MasterChef Australia, MasterChef India is presented. As heading to live baking demo, Kate chooses to bake her all time favourite Chocolate Hazelnut & Raspberry muffins. Chocolate is her favourite ingredient and so this was her choice of recipe and as she is from a place where you get so many varieties of seasonal berries, Raspberry is her favourite too…so the recipe has got her two favourite ingredients….With in no time, she mixed up the ingredients telling about her journey in MasterChef….and started to line the Muffin cases.
Later Kate and Mathew sat on the kitchen counter to pose to the hungry shutterbugs which were dying to capture the moment of the time….At one point, we all just forgot what Kate and Mathew were talking as the aroma of Muffins just started to spread and capture the senses….Even Kate and Mathew turned around to see if they are done…When the muffins were fresh and hot out of oven….no one could resist themselves to capture the beauties and gulp one…within no time the tray was left empty….With some quick photo sessions with her…we headed to Mcafe, our destination for lunch. Lavish buffet was spread with lots more options in every meal course….had an mesmerizing lunch where the items I tried were one of it’s kind….I think I am going to hold this taste for long….After that we had got enough time to chat with Kate Bracks, where she has opened up some more interesting and memorable incidents across her journey in MasterChef.
When I asked Kate, do you feel any difference between the Kate before MasterChef and Kate after Masterchef…she simply said nothing more…I still remain the same by heart. That was really a touchy answer. When asked what kept you going in MasterChef, she said being mom teaches you many things gives you courage to do things and gives you strength to keep the things in the right way. No matter what or how long you are up at night taking care of the baby….the next morning is a new morning and you have to get up and take care of everything as normal as it is….This Mommy MasterChef rocks….Lamb racks still remain her personal favourite and she remembers how she use to stand with her Nana while making lamb cutlets. Talking about new flavours or flavours which she thought will never go together….Kate said during her MasterChef episodes she discovered apple and rosemary make a delicious combo as well as apricot and thyme.
Stir fried Brussels sprout is something she doesn’t like till date. When they were final five contestants remaining in the MasterChef show, they announced to choose the theme for the cookbook, which will be published on winning the title…That evening when Kate was alone in her room thinking of cookbook…she decided to go with desserts and thought of penning down the recipes…within no time she penned 64 recipes, which was wow….so she had finally decided to go with cookbook loaded with desserts….
Upon asking about the title ‘The Sweet Life’…she said I am living the sweet life, meeting people and talking food are my favourite things and that’s my job now. I pinch myself a little every now and then just to make sure it’s all real….Her daughter once has asked whether she can join MasterChef Junior….to this Kate said, one MasterChef is enough at home…all smiles….and she explained if her daughter has got real interest and passion she will never stop her and encourage her to achieve her dream.
Upon asking about MasterChef Junior she said it is after all a TV show and you get to see what people like…There is
no force on the children to work hard…But some kids are really fab. She wants her kids to grow into a world where they can know about healthy and organic eating and she also added she never uses low fat or skim milk kind of things…If she is making a dessert she makes it with all the full rich ingredients and relish on….but the only thing is she makes the items little less or with a gap of time so that she can burn out the calories easily….How nice is that?
no force on the children to work hard…But some kids are really fab. She wants her kids to grow into a world where they can know about healthy and organic eating and she also added she never uses low fat or skim milk kind of things…If she is making a dessert she makes it with all the full rich ingredients and relish on….but the only thing is she makes the items little less or with a gap of time so that she can burn out the calories easily….How nice is that?
To end with…it was like my dream that came true…meeting her in real, greeting her and getting a chance to attend her Master Class is an awesome experience….Got a chance to feast on the delectable muffins made by her and had very good time at Marriott….To sum up WBC has spelled a magical spell on me…the place, ambiance, décor, light,
seating, food, etc….everything was so mesmerizing that I remember it for days to come…..apart from this WBC has packed muffins which Kate has baked a day ago and huge bread to relish on later at home.
seating, food, etc….everything was so mesmerizing that I remember it for days to come…..apart from this WBC has packed muffins which Kate has baked a day ago and huge bread to relish on later at home.
On a sweet note, I want to thank my sweet lil sis for baby sitting lil’M and giving me peace of mind when I was busy at Media Master Class. If she would have not there….then it would have been mission impossible to me to attend the event….
DISCLAIMER: The opinions and thoughts mentioned in the post are purely mine.
prathibha Garre says
very nicely written Lubna…loved it..I m sure you ppl had gala time there and meeting Kate..
Beena.stephy says
good post
Archana Kumar says
Wow Lubna, must have been so amazing, cant wait to check out the place when I am in Bangalore next. You guys are so so so lucky, getting to meet Kate and interacting with other food bloggers so often.
Sebeena Loyd says
Lubna, nice post. had been to whitefield once. you are so lucky to attend her class.
Pari Vasisht says
Seems u had a rocking time and its always inspiring to meet people like Kate. very well narrated post.
Asiya Omar says
Wow! Yummy post..
Raksha says
lovely write up. I missed it. Hopefully she will come again 🙁
Sailaja says
wow.. lucky u
Shobha Kamath says
It must have been a very memorable day for you, Lubna. Very well written. Enjoyed reading it too.
Amina says
wonderfully written… it must have been a truly wonderful experience….
Jehanne says
Glad u had an amazing experience, Lubna! The ambience is so colourful, and I bet you had good time..i hope u managed to get the muffin recipe!
Priya Suresh says
Lucky gal,guess its one of ur life time experience, seems you have a wonderful time there.
M D says
Wow! Lovely post Lubna! That must have been a lifetime moment for you!
Nagashree says
Nice write up, I am sure it was a great experience meeting Kate.
Valarmathi Sanjeev says
Nicely written. Must have been a wonderful experience to you 🙂
escribble says
What a fun event! I'm sure there's a lot to learn with Kate 🙂
Shama Nagarajan says
loved reading dear…lovely clicks
Rashida Shaikh says
What a lovely write-up.good night. 🙂
Bam's Kitchen says
What an awesome opportunity and well written article. I love how you let the story unfold. I am so delighted that you stopped by my website so that I could find yours. Looking forward to keeping in touch. Take care, BAM
Lail Hossain says
Must have been a great experience. So happy for you.