By: Edir Coronado
We last reported on hometown chef, Lisa-Ann Marchica Marchesi, who was selected to participate in the hit T.V. cooking show, MasterChef, currently in its 7th season. Unfortunately, Lisa-Ann was eliminated, but not before she made her mark, in the top 16; although Lisa-Ann left earlier than she would have liked, what she’s gained in knowledge makes the experience worthwhile.
Lisa-Ann recently reflected on her time with the show and confessed the difference of cooking at home and during a competition. “When I am cooking for pleasure, I am experimenting, tasting, starting over at my leisure. In a cooking competition, it is fast paced and you need to think fast and act quickly,” she stated.
The pressure of cooking under the strenuous cooking challenges presented on the show and among great chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Christina Tosi, can intimidate anyone and while Lisa-Ann was overwhelmed at the beginning, she quickly gathered her composure.
“I took a deep breath and realized Gordon Ramsay was there to really push us to be our very best and to think outside of the box, I began to look at him as a mentor,” expressed Lisa-Ann, who quickly established herself as one of the more vocal contestants on the show.
Lisa- Ann was sadly excused from the show on July 6th after failing to extract the right amount of meat during a lobster challenge. She was asked to create lobster tortellini, but the dish fell short of Gordon Ramsay’s expectations. This moment is her most regrettable, “I panicked! I should have made my dough first and worked on the broth second,” voiced Lisa-Ann, “If I would have taken a deep breath before it started, I would have won the elimination challenge.”
The feeling of devastation set in as the judges announced the competition would result in the elimination of one of the chefs, but through Lisa- Ann’s toughest moment, she still managed to draw compliments from Ramsay, “The filling was good, the flavor inside beautiful,” a difficult task to accomplish during a chef’s best moments.
techniques added to her arsenal, like baking, a cooking skill she feels was not her strongest. She is now focusing on her olive oil company, Bella D’Oliva by L.A. Marchesi. “With the new cooking techniques and passion for cooking traditional Sicilian family dishes, I would like to expand my brand. So I am collecting my family recipes from the past and the new to develop a cookbook that anyone at home can make,” stated Lisa-Ann, “but the best part will be the story behind the plate.”
Lisa-Ann continues to exert herself onto the cooking scene, with plans to produce a web/TV series in conjunction with her cookbook. “I would love to follow my culinary journey meeting new people around the country and globe, inspire others to experiment with different foods, learn about the many cultures out there and expand their palate!”
MasterChef, airs Wednesdays on FOX.
MasterChef Junior is currently casting for season 6.
For more information visit MasterChefJuniorCasting.com. To learn more about Lisa-Ann’s extra virgin olive oil visit www.belladolivausa.com.
(above) Lisa-Ann Marchica.
