Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Day 3, as evil food takes over

Latest update to Good food equals love, bad food equals...?
Warning this is a long one so settle in, there will now have to be part three as well.

Day 3- Tuesday
Breakfast was more structured this morning and the tables where the food was stashed in stainless steel trays the day before, are now neat buffet warmers in a row.
I eat as much as I can of the provided scrambled eggs and wholemeal toast, filling up on some protein to make it through the day. I was now cautious from experience that it could be a traumatic food day, but also cautious that I had done no exercise for 3 days and didn’t know when I next could actually move more than back and forth to the studio loos.
Again today, lunch was served in cute the little lunch boxes. I was hopeful as soon as I saw them but my catering experience instantly told me that the chances that we would be having the same lunch as yesterday would be minute. (The caterer enjoys the opportunity to ensure the diners palate is kept wondering or tortured, whatever the brief maybe… and yes I was questioning this brief by the end of the week!) The boxes felt cold to touch as I picked it up, again not a good sign. As I gravitated back to the same table I lurked at yesterday, I took a peek inside and it wasn’t good news. There was a small chewy baguette with some processed meat, two mesclun leaves and too much seed mustard, served freezing cold obviously straight from the fridge, a rather strange salad of chickpeas, cannellini beans, spring onion and wait for it, chopped mushroom. The salad was squished into the box next to the baguette and dark brown, mushroom ‘juice’ had stained that side of my already unappetising roll. On top of the salad in the same box was an individual quiche that easily was the saddest attempt at something edible in a while. The French would riot in the streets if they knew how badly their classics; baguette and quiche, were being abused. I picked at best, ate the meat out of the roll and headed for the fruit basket. The crunchy nashi pears from the day before were gone (yes there was some smart foodies in the room) and some uninspired red delicious apples were in their place…
I stood staring at the table, realising that I didn’t have much of an appetite anyway and I was actually eating out of boredom and the fact that ‘food’ was put in front of me, something I rarely do. I decided to instead play coffee Russian roulette, so who will be my barista today…

Later that afternoon as my appetite did actually appear, I was tempted by that evil chocolate basket, I took “a break and had a kitkat”, the first for a very long time and reminded myself why I usually don’t bother, I ate it and was still unsatisfied but now also guilty that I had given in to the sugary dark side. I ‘mentally noted’ my out of character incident and convinced myself that I must be stronger and find the good(ness) in what’s offered for lunch.
Tiredness is setting in as I realise its already pushing 5.30 and it doesn’t look like we are going anywhere soon but to my surprise we were back in the bus heading to the hotel by 8.30pm.
Feeling like I have an early mark of such, as soon as my feet hit the street I am thinking about were I can head for dinner and end up convincing two other exhausted yet wired ‘Top 50’ to join me for some tapas at Bodega, in Surry Hills for some late dinner.
As I lay in bed later that night, I realise that an hour and half at Bodega has readjusted my outlook. A familiar feeling place, such as a restaurant, has made me feel somewhat normal again (or was it that extra glass of sherry helping?). Talking about food, drinking wine and some good company; yes that’s what I have missed.
Oh and I did taste some rich Bolognese sauce before lunch today, perhaps it was all the speculation about its ingredients that turned me off my meal, actually no on second thought, it was the lunch!

The end to this sorry saga to come over the weekend. Was I tempted to the dark side again, will it cause me to cry for the cameras, or was that just a 4.30am rise with 4 hours sleep again?

6 comments:

  1. Oh god, it sounds so bereft of joy. Exactly what food shouldn't be about. Glad you made it to Bodega to lift spirits and outlook!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for these posts Jack.
    What a pity that those involved with a show on, I assume good food, dont let this ethos filter down to the contestants(is that the right word?) & their own meals.
    It points to yet again another cynical bunch eager to capture the spirit of our interest in food, wringing every cent from it all the while contemptuously ingnoring some of the princuiples in which a few(us) hold dear, it shits me.
    Everyone wants 'in' on the Foodie world & its mostly those that dont really give a shit about it. The sad thing is that it is already beginning to lose its lustre & appeal as many are experiencing foodie-fatigue bought on by near saturation exposure of food related current affairs & issues.
    there is already several splintered unrelated backlashes occuring against the 'sermon like' preaching of uber celeb chefs supposedly out of touch with ordinary folk to projceted guilt at not buying organic, sustainable or ethical food stuffs. Soonish, these sentiments may cojoin to morph into yet another stab at a percieved elitism in food.
    I'm happy to sit that one out, tend to the garden & let it blow over until the target is locked on another & I'm hoping it might be fashion ha ha!
    I will though make time to check out the show, have you any details that you can share?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yet another awful sounding day Jackie.

    Can you share any details about the show itself or are you under legal contract not to tell?

    ReplyDelete
  4. As I'm sure you can imagine, I have a confidentially agreement with the program that is relevant until after it finishes airing on tv.
    Of course that is something to consider but for me the main reason I avoid the details is that is actually rather boring and I have found on reflection it much more interesting the strange lack of connection betwen the 'subject' ie food and what we ate, intriguing.
    The show starts at the end of April and I look forward to watching and seeing how the people I came to know well are portrayed. Filming for the top 20 has begun and the lock down condidtions are in place, I'm glad I can still share my food experiences with Eating with Jack.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It was interesting to read Matt Preston's take on the auditions. He obviously is also unable to share details or even mention the show, but the thrust of his article on Saturday 21st February was that he deduced each state to have a collctive conscious - resulting in a number of state finalists preparing dishes with the same preferred ingredients.

    In Victoria, risotto seemed to win out as the most often prepared dish for the auditions, with zucchini and beetroot being the most common ingredients.
    Check it out here

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey Jack - I saw photos of you and your fellow social experiment candidates, snapped during Master Chef top 50 audition week on facebook.

    ReplyDelete