West Lancashire Masterchef entrant Jay Tinker leads team in factory staff challenge

Feb 2 2012 by Michael Byrne, Ormskirk Advertiser

West Lancashire Masterchef entrant Jay Tinker leads team in factory staff challenge

MASTERCHEF contestant Jay Tinker showed his leadership when he was placed in charges of a kitchen cooking for 350 hungry workers.

Jay, from Banks, and his colleagues on the hit BBC show were given the task of coming up with three main meals for the staff at a tractor factory in Essex.

The former Liverpool doorman was put in charge of the operation as they prepared a chicken curry, a Lancashire hotpot and a vegetarian moussaka.

And they came out with flying colours in spite of the intense pressure.

Jay said: “It was really intense being in charge in the kitchen.

“I didn’t have to just think about one dish, I had to concentrate on three.

“But we managed to fulfil the task and everyone was happy.”

Jay and his colleagues were given the factory task after finishing on the losing team when the contestants had to cook for 100 people at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath.

After impressing at the factory Jay was also in fine form at the Masterchef kitchen. He cooked fillet of beef with an asparagus crown and an asparagus mousse, plus shallots and ceps (a type of mushroom) and a cep sauce.

Jay said: “John Torode and Gregg Wallace both really liked the dish. The food was cooked perfectly but they said the only problem was the piece of meat was too big for the dish.

“I told them I am a big man and used to big portions.”

Jay runs his own security company and his business partner applied for the show for Jay without telling him.

Jay began cooking with dad, John, when he was a child. He said: “My dad died of cancer when I was 12, but I carried on cooking because I feel close to him when I do. He used to say the kitchen was the heartbeat of the household.”

Jay said he has found a lot of people recognising him in the street after his exploits on the show.

He said: “I have been getting stopped by people asking if I am the guy from Masterchef. I was in the Trafford Centre and I was getting recognised quite a bit. People have been saying that I come across really well on the show and they are really impressed.”