The spices of India amaze me, says MasterChef Australia winner

Q How are you dealing with your celebrity status post the winA You get tired but it is fun Walking the streets and people wanting to take photos with you was strange in the beginning but its all part of the experienceOwens stood out due to his style choices be it wearing a onesie on the show or for tying his hair in a man bun which is now gone ldquoIt was both a style and hygiene thing My hair was long so I had to tie it uprdquo he told us picnimesh daveQ When did you start taking food seriouslyA When I was about 19 or 20 he is 25 now I started watching a lot of food shows and that showed me a different side of food They gave me an insight into the world of food and thats where my love startedQ What did you learn from your competitorsA Each individual taught me a lot And I sort of used their strengths for my knowledge which was handy Someone like Amy Shields who you wouldnt really pick as a great friend if I saw her on the street but Amy became like the mother on the show I would go to her if I had an issue and she would come to me for the same thing They are competitors but they arealso familyQ Who do you think were the strongest contendersAI think Ben MacDonald from New Zealand was very knowledgeable about food so was Amy Jamie Fleming was very creative while Emelia Jackson was great at desserts It depends on what the challenge was and thats what countedQ Who was the coolest judge to be around and who was the strictestAAt the start George Calombaris was a bit intimidating He has got this look in his eyes where you feel Oh god I just cant work I am scared But with time we became friends and they were all a ball of fun They were fun on camera and off camera They make sure that we enjoy as much as they doQ Whats your ultimate aim to achieve in the food industryA In Australia there is a gap in the market for fresh packaged food almost like fast food but healthy Australians are timestrapped and they want things onthego And to give them that healthy option is something that I believe in as I believe in healthy eating When I have the time to commit to it it will be available in stores and cafeacutes and I am hoping to do a line of themQ The Australian restaurant landscape is very competitive For an entrant what will you have to keep in mind to start a restaurantAThe thing with Australia and especially Melbourne Victoria where I am from is that food is everywhere It could well be the food capital of the world almost Every corner has a cafeacute or a restaurant with a new one opening in the next corner To break into that market is tough the main thing is to keep up with trends In Australia food trends change a lotQ What would you consider as signature Australian foodALaughs Australia doesnt have very much of its own cuisine apart from Tim Tams and Vegemite The cultural influences really define our foodQ Which country would you like to visit to experience their foodAI would really like to go to Spain and learn their traditional food I love Mexican food but I have been to MexicoQ What kind of food are you still wary of cookingABaking and pastries are really difficult for me I have practised it a lot and I enjoy eating it I am confident now but its still a bit scary because if it doesnt work it doesnt work at allQ Apart from Pani Puri that you mentioned earlier have you sampled Indian food especially in AustraliaAI have eaten at a few Indian places there is a nice restaurant called Tonka that does modern Indian food I make chai and chai ice cream at home too The spices of India amaze me mdash how its tempered and diversified I have never eaten an Indian dessert I am looking forward to trying all thats available while I am here MasterChef Australia Season 7 will air on Star World Premiere HD in May 2015