WEEK ONE - POLLY
Jun's first pupil is Polly, a 31 year old Advertising Sales Executive who can’t even fry an egg. She’s a self confessed takeaway addict, and struggles with the very simplest of kitchen tasks. Totally convinced that a potential husband would run a mile once they clock her atrocious cooking skills, she’s desperate to learn but has no idea how to start.
Jun's first pupil is Polly, a 31 year old Advertising Sales Executive who can’t even fry an egg. She’s a self confessed takeaway addict, and struggles with the very simplest of kitchen tasks. Totally convinced that a potential husband would run a mile once they clock her atrocious cooking skills, she’s desperate to learn but has no idea how to start.
To assess her level of cooking Jun starts by asking Polly to cook a basic dish from scratch in her own kitchen. Though deeply disturbed by the blood and guts when preparing a mackerel, she gives it a go. Whether anyone would survive eating the finished dish is a whole other matter as it bears absolutely no resemblance to Jun’s own attempt at cooking the same meal.
Though daunted by her task, Polly gives it her all and begins to walk, talk and dream food. She reorganises her kitchen, buys a grown up kitchen knife and spends nights practising.
Two weeks in and Jun has a surprise up his sleeve. He arrives at Polly house with a box of ingredients and she finds out to her horror that he’s secretly invited four of her friends round for dinner. The likelihood of Polly surviving this unscathed is slim.
She holds it together but makes one crucial mistake – she forgets to remove the inedible scales from the fish. Polly’s friends are loyal, but the guests are forced to quietly spit the scales out.
Next up, Jun introduces Polly to the apparently inaccessible world of fine dining. Having almost nailed the cooking basics, Polly is told about the starter and main course that she’ll be cooking in the competition – it’s time for her to step up a gear and really get cooking.
Jun takes Polly to meet Eric Chavot, head chef at the Michelin starred Capital Restaurant in London. Eric works with Polly to smooth off her rough edges and also shares some industry secrets to give her the best chance of winning in the Cook Off.
The day of the competition arrives and Polly stays on top of her nerves. She steels herself and prepares to give it her all. Her starter is served and it’s a clear winner but when it comes to cooking the main course things take a turn for the worse. Polly burns her peppers and begins to cry. After taking a break she then returns to find herself on the brink of a pan fire. It looks uncertain whether Polly will be able to pull this off.
But all that practise finally pays off. Polly regains control and goes on to win the competition – the critics rave about her dish and Polly is overwhelmed. Jun and Eric congratulate her and the champagne is cracked open in celebration.
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