The proof, as the proverb goes, lies in the pudding. Or in the case of MasterChef Gary Mehigan, the proof of his star status lay in the number of people — ranging from knee-high kids and gangly teens to PYTs and their mothers (and fathers) too lining up just to take a photo with him at this party that was held for him and co-host George Calombaris at Fava. And trust us when we say the line was l-o-n-g.

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Thankfully, for his superstar status, Gary in person is very much like the warm, genial mentor he is on MasterChef, a show that, to put it lightly has achieved a cult status across the world today. He patiently signed autographs, and posed gamely as some 500 cameras went flash-pop. And yet, amidst all the brouhaha surrounding him, he found time for this rather snappy chat with After Hrs.

First off, it has to be said that MasterChef has made cooking an acceptable passion for men. Men who cook are not looked as sissy anymore owing to shows like his and Gary agrees with the statement. “Things have changed a lot. You know, when I started cooking was a funny thing for a guy to do. It wasn’t considered a sexy job.” Rather than give sole credit to his show, Gary attributes this change in perception to, “a lot of people including chefs like Gordon Ramsay are responsible for this change. Earlier, the people who hosted cookery shows were home economists who also cooked, like Julia Child or Keith Floyd. But now, it’s a different thing.” To cite how ‘different’ things are, he recalls a conversation he had recently with a young contestant in the latest Junior MasterChef “This kid, Jack, tells me that he didn’t want to cook for his friends and when I asked him if the reason was because he thought cooking wasn’t cool, he said: I don’t want to cook because I don’t think I am good enough. For a young kid to say that... it just shows how much the thought process has evolved over time,” Gary says, sounding quite pleased.

A quick look at Gary’s impressive resume throws up a few details. For instance, the fact that besides hosting shows and running two restaurants — Fenix and Maribyrnong Boathouse — he has penned three cookbooks: Comfort Food; Your Place or Mine that he co-authored with George Calombaris and most recently, Cook with Us.

What’s it about penning cookbooks at a time when TV shows rule the roost, we wonder and Gary says, “A TV show is spontaneous and everything happens right on the moment. A book on the other hand goes to the point and is more focussed. Every recipe is thought through and tested. More importantly, a cookbook lasts forever. You write a book and it’s going to be housed in the National Library of Australia for eternity.”

Finally, we ask him the only question that seemed appropriate at that point of time and that is — minus all the hype and frills of celebritydom it has brought him, what does cooking mean to him? “It is everything! It is my life,” is his unvarnished response. “If it wasn’t love, I would have left it all and would have travelled around the world. Everything I do today is around food and that explains why my body is in the shape it is in!” quips Gary before rushing off to face the flashing cameras.