MasterChef finalist Terry reconnecting with old friends

MasterChef finalist Terry enjoys reconnecting with old friends


Ciara Galvin
ciaragalvin@mayonews.ie

People all over Mayo were glued to the finale of MasterChef Ireland last week, and although Castlebar native Terry Lyons didn’t take home the €25,000 prize money, he has told The Mayo News he will be ‘definitely getting into the food business one way or another’.
South African amateur chef Tamarin Blackmur took the title of MasterChef 2012.
Having watched last Thursday night’s final with his two-year-old daughter Maisy, looking back at his dishes of scallops with a tomato consomme, quail wellington and a panacotta with raspberries, Terry admits he took a risk.
“I thought my dishes were adventurous. I’m not sure what the judges were looking for. Tamarin [the winner] had amazing dishes, like everyone else, but a lot goes on behind the scenes that you don’t see,” explained the 36-year-old, who, along with the other contestants, hadn’t a chance to practice cooking his final dishes.
Although the married father of one was disappointed with the end result, he admits he wasn’t surprised as ‘things didn’t go great in Stockholm’.
“Things didn’t go great for me cooking at the Frantzen/Lindeberg in Stockholm, and one of the judges maybe preferred other contestants,” explained the aspiring chef.
Referring to what he has learned from the entire competition, Terry highlighted the importance of trying new flavours when cooking, not letting people knock you, and above all ‘following your dream’.
Now that the winner has been revealed, the former Technology Manager with O2 can assess his options.
“People are contacting me to discuss options. With a mortgage and a family to support I need to sit back and see what works for me, but I’ll definitely get into the food business,” he explained.
Out of the entire experience, from cooking for Michelin starred chefs, to the Nathan Outlaw master class, Terry said reconnecting with old school and college friends was the highlight of it all.
“What I really enjoyed about the whole thing was reconnecting with old friends, people I hadn’t talked to in years were texting and facebook messaging me with words of support and saying ‘Up Mayo’ and that was really really good,” concluded Terry, who has lived in Dublin for the last 14 years.

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