MasterChef 2024 champion Brin Pirathapan on winning and crafting the perfect beer snacks

“I mean quite naughty, crispy, slightly spicy food that just goes perfectly with a beer. Imagine you've got your mates coming around. I wanted to do something vegetarian and slightly healthy. I don't want to deep-fry them – I put them in the oven.”

He’s not sticking with the status quo when it comes to flavours either.

“I want them to have a whack of flavour, for example I might add a Korean influence with some gochujang.”

What are his top tips for creating the perfect beer snack?

“I think you need crunch and spice. It's a bit like when you go to a curry house and everyone gets a Cobra – that cold fizz works so well when your tongue's a little bit tingly.

“We've had some peri-peri chicken wings, which are a little bit messy for beer snacks, I think. We've had mutton rolls, which are my favourite food since childhood. Sri Lankan mutton rolls are essentially dry mutton curry traditionally wrapped in a pancake that's made out of a batter, but often they're wrapped in filo pastry, dunked in some eggs and then coated in old-school breadcrumbs. I love panko, don't get me wrong, but this needs old-school, really bright orange breadcrumbs. The ones that come in a cardboard pack. They're deep fried and crunchy and spicy."

Changing the face of cauliflower

How does he make his bang bang cauliflower recipe?

“I coat it in a batter that's made with a bit of flour and a load of spices – onion granules and garlic granules and gochugaru. You make an egg and milk mixture and dip the cauliflower in that, coat it in panko and it goes into the oven for about half an hour.”

Historically cauliflower hasn't always had the best reputation, but Brin is trying to change that, one floret at a time.

“Roasted cauliflower is one of my favourite, favourite things. I like to cut it up into florets and roast it. I had it about 10 years ago and I just remember thinking this has blown my mind because it’s so different.

“Before roasting, it just tastes a bit bitter. When you have that char something comes through.”

Becoming a MasterChef winner

Growing up, Brin always watched MasterChef but never seriously considered applying.

“It's one of those shows we watched together as family. Even when I went to uni, I'd be on the phone to my dad talking about it.

“There was an element of me that always wanted to go on it, but I don't really think I ever thought I was going to be good enough. Although eventually I got to the point where I thought, if I don't do it now, I'm probably going to sit and watch them and think I should have done it.

“I applied this year, and I kept getting through the rounds of the auditions, and I was like, 'I don't want to do this'. I was so scared, I couldn’t get excited about it.”

But, after 'a stern talking to', Brin “ended up on the show”.

“I absolutely loved it. I think I just didn’t want to fail. The world can be fairly mean in general. I was worried about not doing well but also the backlash of what people would say about how I’ve done or about me as a person.

“I think you don’t want to be picked apart on social media. That was quite a big worry, which is a shame because it shouldn’t really influence whether you do something that you’ve got a passion for. But we’re in a world where it does.

“[But] everything was fine in the end and I didn’t really have anything to worry about.”

Listen to the full episode then delve into the Good Food podcast archive for more culinary adventures.