In the very first week of MasterChef Australia, contestant Nat Thaipun won this season’s only immunity pin and a trip to London to cook alongside celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in his restaurant.
But the 28-year-old barista from Geelong, near Melbourne, says her early success on the show proved a double-edged sword.
“It was a hard thing to start coming out so hot,” confesses Nat. “I feel I set my bar so high. It’s like, ‘OK, I’m going to have to grow from here.’ It was a lot of pressure and it came from me because I’m so hard on myself all the time.”
While there have been ups and downs, Nat – who has 95 tattoos and now wants to get a “food-related” inking in honour of MasterChef – remains a favourite to go far thanks to her incredible Thai-inspired cooking, a nod to her heritage.
“I’m proud of being able to do that. A lot of the food I ate growing up wasn’t that pleasant-looking,” explains Nat, who also lived and worked in Wānaka for several years. “I’ve had to get creative to plate it up for MasterChef.
“It’s a proud moment when a judge tells me they’ve never eaten it before. That’s what I’m aiming for – to showcase Thai foods and dishes that people have never seen because they’re so good.”
Nat’s parents ran a Thai restaurant when she was younger. The announcement of her participation on the show shocked them.
“I actually didn’t tell my mum when I first applied, so they were confused,” Nat recalls. “But now Mum is so funny. She’s been watching the episodes and texting me at the same time, like, ‘You should have done this,’ or, ‘How did you overcook that rice?!’
“I’m like, ‘You know what? I don’t know how. But it’s done now – I can’t change it!’”
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