Hundreds of people turned out at Stockland Shellharbour to see 2018 MasterChef contestant Gina Ottaway in action on Saturday.
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It was the first live cooking demonstration at a shopping centre for the famous Shellharbour Nonna, one of this season’s most popular MasterChef contestants.
On the show she made headlines with her unique gnoccheloni pasta dish.
Her signature meal - a mix of gnocchi and cannelloni - was not on the menu on Saturday but her highly praised orange cake was.
“One little three-year-old girl came up to me and said, ‘I give you a 10 out of pink’,’’ Gina said.
‘’Her mother then said, ‘If you knew how much she loves the colour pink that is worth millions.’
‘’So I think that is the highest score I could ever have.”
Saturday’s live event was billed as an exclusive cooking demonstration for those interested in learning how to cook the meals Nonna Gina made so well-loved on TV.
Centre manager Amanda Whittle said everyone was so thrilled to have her at shopping centre that no one wanted to leave the 90-minute demonstration.
“The Illawarra has just been an amazing support for me. I want to thank everyone very much,” Nonna Gina said.
Many young children were in the crowd and gave her plenty of encouragement along with their parents.
“And people have posted messages on social media about how wonderful it was,” she said.
“One lady came up to me and said I have never had pasta like that before”.
Nonna Gina wanted to demonstrate how easy it was to make great meals quickly with Napoli sauce.
“You can make it any way you want. Everyone seemed happy with what I showed them.”
Nonna Gina will serve up her famous gnoccheloni pasta dish when she does her pop-up restaurant at Nardi’s on August 18 and 19.
She said it might be a good idea if people didn’t eat much for a couple of days beforehand.
“That is going to be a five-course meal. Tickets are selling fast. You can book at Nardi’s.”
Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
