Tim Read - Gather: Fresh, Tasty Recipes for Sharing

introduction

Food for me has always been about two things: gathering together the freshest of ingredients, and gathering together people to share in the event that is eating. This book, Gather, is a direct reflection of my food philosophy.

In my eyes, the kitchen is not the start of the process, nor is the dinner table the end of it. I believe food begins with the planting of a seed or the 5am start to a day fishing or hunting. From that point on, everything is part of the process towards the meal that ends up on the dining table and it doesnt stop there, either. In a way, food continues beyond the moment in which its eaten, through the friendships, memories and moments that are built and gathered during the entire process things that last much longer than the final dish being washed and put away.

I have purposely tried to create recipes made for sharing at the table, with servings generous enough to feed any latecomers who turn up just as youre about to sit down. My hope is that youll take the time to engage in the field-to-table process as early on as possible, and that you wont worry about rushing things. I hope you find the chance to enjoy first the time it takes to create a meal and then the pleasure that comes from sharing it with others.

Some people are born with a whisk in one hand and an oven mitt in the other; Im not one of those people. Growing up, I was always far more interested in the outdoors, whether kicking a ball around the backyard or making up adventures with friends. Cooking for me was limited to a barbecue or what we called a hobo stove a small fire built under an upsidedown 1litre can, which wed cook bacon and eggs on the top of.

When I went to university, a group of us boys began to do more and more spearfishing together, usually based at my friend Sam Milnes family beach house in Tawharanui. Scottie, Sams dad, was my first food hero and is the one responsible for turning my love of the outdoors into a love for the kitchen. At the Milnes house, fish is a breakfast meal, so we would come back in the afternoon and prepare the fish for the next days breakfast before moving on to dinner prep. Scottie is brilliant at including others, so we would all be involved in getting a dinner together that was usually based on a large cut of protein, cooked on the barbecue, with myriad vegetable accompaniments. I loved these times all of us working together and sharing in the spoils of a hard days work with an incredible dinner and a glass of wine, then again in the morning with fresh fish on toast.

The spark, however, was really ignited when I shot my first deer. With my crude understanding of animal anatomy, I decided to butcher it myself, cutting off the major steaks and reserving all the trimmings for salami. Then a group of uni mates and I congregated at the Milnes house and hosted a dinner party, splashing out on some nice wine and serving a venison osso buco. The field-to-table process starting with the hunt right through to being able to share food and create an occasion with friends became one of my greatest joys.

As I began to collect more and more fresh produce, I also began to cook more and more pigs, paua, crayfish, rabbit, duck and even mussels off the 200-metre buoy. When I put my mind to something I tend to go all out, and I guess that trait helped me to pretty rapidly improve my culinary skills. Cooking became a way of releasing my inner creative, as well as an excuse to hit the outdoors.

MasterChef first crossed my mind after watching the Australian 2014 series with Beck. We got really into it, and that helped a lot with improving my knowledge of and experimentation with different techniques. Beck and I would wander the markets together in the weekends and pick up whatever was in season. Id then whip our purchases up into something for her family.

We joked that if there happened to be another season of MasterChef New Zealand I should give it a go. So it was only natural that when I saw the application form I filled it out. I never entered MasterChef thinking Id win I just wanted to continue to learn and maybe get some confirmation that Im not a bad cook.

Fast forward a few months and I got an apron with my audition dish of venison with autumn veges. I thought I had made it! The apron alone was all the confirmation I needed that I was a decent cook I could have gone home happy then no matter what. In saying that, I decided to work as hard as I could for as long as I could, so that if I did go home it wouldnt be because of a lack of effort. The rest, as they say, is history. I made it into the house, then to the top 10, then the top six, then the top four (and the trip to Dubai), and at last to the final, pipping Leo at the post to win MasterChef 2015.

It wasnt all highs though; there were some moments of serious lows. On top of being away from loved ones, routine, the bush and the water, there was also the pressure to perform every day to the best of my abilities against some outstanding cooks. Many a time I had to pick myself up from a disappointing day in the kitchen, dust myself off, remind myself of my decision to work hard and get back to it. Beck, my family, Becks family and the boys were great with their encouragement during these times and Im really thankful for that.

One of the greatest things to come out of MasterChef has been the relationships Ive built with fellow foodies not just the ones in the house, but also from the auditions. To all of you, thank you for being who you are, thank you for sharing this incredible experience with me and thank you for creating an environment of sharing both knowledge and, of course, food. Thanks must also go to the judges and to the team who put MasterChef together. Josh, Mark and Al, you three guys are amazing chefs and even better people. Thanks for taking the time to invest in me, pushing me when I needed it and encouraging me to find who I am as a cook. I learnt so much from you three and am incredibly grateful. To Darryl, Simon and the Imagination Television team, thank you for creating a platform that has changed my life. Ill forever be thankful for the work you put in to making the show what it was.

Be blessed,

Tim Read

MasterChef New Zealand Winner 2015

Cooking became a way of releasing my inner creative, as well as an excuse to hit the outdoors.