31-year-old Dan Dumbrell may have been eliminated from MasterChef Australia 2021, but his food journey is far from over. The research project officer from Sydney is already on the hunt for work experience and has plans for some pop-ups in the coming months.
Speaking to POPSUGAR Australia after his elimination, Dumbrell revealed that he was most excited about and proud of his ricotta ravioli and whey broth dish that earned him immunity during the competition.
“I was super excited, firstly, to learn how to make ricotta, but also how to make a broth out of the by-product of ricotta,” he said.
“We waste so much food on a day-to-day basis,” he continued. “So, by actually using the by-product of something that you would usually throw away, that really excites me so I was super stoked about that dish.”
Another thing that Dumbrell is stoked about is the new friendships he made during his time on the show — particularly with fellow contestants Conor Curran and Tom Levick, who collectively call themselves the “Muskequeers” and who he says he cannot credit enough for making his experience so special.
“But then I also formed really close bonds with the NSW crew — Tommy, Jess, Linda, Depinder…they are all such fantastic people but also really willing to share their recipes with me,” Dumbrell told POPSUGAR Australia. “As someone who’s new to cooking, getting help from these people was probably the reason I made it as far as I did.”
Giving us a sneak peek into what these friendships looked like when the cameras were not rolling, Dumbrell said, “It’s funny because it’s obviously very stressful in the kitchen. But then, once we finish our cooks, we all go back and we all have a big meal with each other.
“We all rehash what happened that day, and we all just want to make ourselves better. I think that’s the beauty of this show — we all support each other. We congratulate each other if our dishes are good, we tell each other if our dishes are bad. We’re super honest and I think that’s what makes us such a dysfunctional, close-knit family.”
