Ever since their MasterChef Australia days, Minoli De Silva and Courtney Roulston have been passionate about uplifting other women in the industry.
The chefs are the first pair to go up against one another on Chefs Ahoy, and were tasked with serving 4,000 guests on the Sun Princess cruise ship.
The pair visited the island of Crete and had to create dishes that celebrated local produce, and their dining experiences on the boat.
“I feel like if I’m not putting myself in a challenging role to try and come up with something new, I find it’s not as fun to me if I’m not creating, a challenge for myself,” Minoli exclusively tells New Idea.
Courtney may have taken home the medal, but both have been long-time fans of one another. Despite both finding success on MasterChef, Chefs Ahoy marked the first time they had met.
“I think we have a little bit, maybe a little bit less ego when you’re females in the kitchen together,” Courtney explains.
“I thought it was really nice that I was cooking against another female and that we both kind of nailed it on the day and everyone loved the food.
“I think we both walked away really happy that, yes, it was a competition, but the dishes were successful and everyone seemed to enjoy them.”
For Minoli, it was a privilege to go up against the Farm to Fork host.
“I was a little bit nervous to meet her, because she just seemed so nice and meeting her, she was even nicer than I imagined,” she gushes.
“And she’s so humble and just so kind and it was so fun to compete against someone that I became a really good friend with as well.”
While she’s served many hungry diners in her restaurant, called Ella, she’s never cooked for that many people before.
Despite cooking for the Sydney Swans players and their crew for 11 years, and cooking for her large family, serving thousands was also a milestone for Courtney.
“I hadn’t cooked on one before and I just, obviously the scale of how much food they go through was just off the charts,” she says, describing the magnitude as “mind boggling”.
