Here in the North East MasterChef contestant Tatjana Cass has enjoyed some of the best food she has ever eaten.
The freelance archaeologist, who appeared on series 20 of the BBC cooking competition, travels regularly for work and would have had the opportunity to dine at a vast array of restaurants, pubs and cafes. But a huge bonus for the 30-year-old is having one of her favourite eateries on her doorstep.
And she is also shared how some of her favourite meals of all time have been enjoyed in a restaurant overlooking the River Tyne – where the deserts were so good she would order all of them for the table to share.
Tatjana, from Sunderland, said: “One of my absolute favourite restaurants is Träkol in Gateshead. Some of the best food I’ve ever had has come from there. And if anyone wants the best pizza in the North East, Wild Fire in Sunderland is some of the best pizza I’ve ever had – and it’s in my home town which is a bonus!”
Wild Fire recently opened a new Pizza restaurant and bar on Hanover Place in Deptford, Sunderland. It serves 13 varieties of pizza, as well as an array of starters, small plates, desserts, cocktails, beers, and more.
Träkol, which means ‘charcoal’ in Swedish, opened on Gateshead Quayside in 2018 and went on earn a place in the Michelin Guide where it was recognised for its “bold, hearty dishes” and “enviable” waterside location. Despite outliving its original four-year “planned lifespan”, the restaurant closed in January 2024 to make way for the ongoing Tyne Bridge restoration.
Asked where she had her favourite meal in the region, she said: “Going to have to be Träkol, where every single time I went I had these mission spiced pig tails. And we would order all the desserts and share them. I can’t tell you a specific meal because every time we went, it was spectacular. But we always had those pigs tails.”
Tatjana, who has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, wowed MasterChef judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with her carrot tacos in the third week of culinary heats of the BBC competition. Torode said the dish was “really quite delicious” and “something you would order in a restaurant”.
It sent her straight through to the quarter-final and since appearing on the show people have already been putting their orders in for the flavoursome creation.
(Image: Shine TV/BBC)
Tatjana’s mum first inspired her love of cooking when she was child. Tatjana and her sisters, who grew up in Palmersville in North Tyneside after moving from Cardiff in 2000, were never out of the kitchen, she explained. Years later, when Tatjana was cooking for her mum at their home in Grangetown, Sunderland, her mum suggested she should apply for MasterChef. And now she looks back on her time in the competition with pride.
Tatjana said: “Having Aspergers Syndrome has been a challenge my entire life. Cooking was always one of the ways I dealt with it, something that made sense and made me happy.
“If I were to go back in time and meet my 15-year-old self and tell her I was going on MasterChef, I don’t even think she’d be able to process it! I’m proud of how far I went in the competition, and I hope it can show others with neurodiversity that it’s not a weakness.
“If anything, it’s a strength, because once you get past those obstacles and push yourself, even if it’s hard, you’re stronger once you get past them. Then one day you do something you thought could only be possible for other people, like go on MasterChef!”
The grand Finale of MasterChef is on Wednesday, May 22, and you can catch up on all episodes on BBC iPlayer.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/north-east-restaurants-masterchef-contestant-29208936
