Jess Lemon is all too familiar with the pressures of MasterChef Australia and would consider taking on a new role on the show.
Speaking exclusively with New Idea to mark her return to the kitchen as part of Sweet Week, she’d think about adding judge to her experience in the kitchen.
“I would love to return to the show as a judge; it’s always so nerve-wracking cooking in the MasterChef kitchen because it’s always a whirlwind of emotions. It would be so lovely to come back to relax and see others cook for once,” she shares with us.
Considering she first competed and came third when she was 19 years old, came back for the Back to Win season, and even went up against the best in Dessert Masters, she certainly has plenty of experience to draw on if she becomes a judge.
“To be able to be on the other side was so surreal and really made me feel that all that hard work had paid off to have the chance to come back as a guest chef,” she continues.
She fondly remembers how much a guest judge inspired her to become a pastry chef in the first place.
Competing against this year’s contestants in the immunity challenge even makes her want to compete again, especially after she won.
In the meantime, she’s busy preparing to open her bakery in the heart of Melbourne, which will offer a wide range of pastries, including one with pork floss and hoisin.
Inspired by the classic Chinese scallion pancake and a pork floss bun, she says both dishes “feel like home”.
“On hard days of work, my parents would always pass by to drop me off a little lunch bag of pork floss bread and scallion pancake from Box Hill,” she reminisces.
To recreate this memory, the pastry is lathered in hoisin and a sesame spring onion paste, and then tossed in sesame seeds. It is also topped with Kewpie mayonnaise, crispy pork floss and the Japanese seasoning, furikake.
