Helen’s passion for cooking is recognised

A NURSE and mother who loves cooking so much she reads recipe books in bed has been crowned Gourmet Chef of Ireland.

Helen Rafferty, from Dublin, slaved over a hot stove and cooked up a masterpiece for television personality Loyd Grossman in two hours yesterday.

Loyd, who judged all the dishes presented by the five finalists in Dublin, said it was all about taste in the end, and Helen’s culinary creation won out.

Helen’s dinner menu started with spicy fried prawns with Loyd Grossman Tomato and Chilli Sauce, followed by marinated pork tenderloin with Loyd Grossman Yellow Thai Sauce, jewelled fruits, nuts and a basmati tower. For dessert, there was hot pineapple pudding with a ginger custard.

Helen, one of hundreds of amateur chefs who entered the competition, said the main course was based on a recipe she had found in a magazine a few years ago.

“It was delicious as well as being very, very beautiful to look at,” Loyd said.

What Helen had achieved with her three-course meal was a succession of tastes that went very well together, he said.

“It started off quite spicy and then there was burst of sweet curry, followed by a creamy tropical pudding,” he added.

The Gourmet Challenge was set by Loyd, who is probably best known for presenting the award-winning MasterChef programme on British television.

Loyd wanted budding chefs from all over Ireland to create an unforgettable eating experience using his sauces and their own original catering ideas.

Helen, who lives with husband Kevin, two-year-old Lily and six-year-old Thomas in Bray, Co Wicklow, told how she almost ended up a hotel manager instead of a nurse.

She had applied to the School of Hotel and Catering Operations at Dublin Institute of Technology in Cathal Brugha Street, where the competition was staged, before an opportunity for nursing came along.

Joseph Erraught, head of culinary arts at the institute, said he thought Helen’s cooking was as good as some of his best students. Perhaps, he suggested, it was time for a career change.

Helen, who also won a two-week holiday for two in Tuscany in Italy, said her love of cooking started in the 1980s when she got a hold of a wok that her brother, John, had bought for himself.

She has four friends who gather regularly in each others homes where they experiment with different dinners.