She has gone from learning her craft at North East Scotland College to appearing on national TV in MasterChef.
But Evelina Stripeikyte said the heat she felt in the MasterChef kitchen was unlike any other experience she’d had before.
The Lithuanian-born chef, 28, appeared on the latest series of MasterChef: The Professionals, making it through her heat before getting knocked out at the quarter-final stage.
She has competed in competitions before, but said the atmosphere on the MasterChef was decidedly different.
She said: “I don’t know if I could compare it, it’s totally different things but at the same time I was really looking forward to it, and I was really excited to get in it and try something that I have not done before.
“When you walk into that kitchen you don’t know what to expect, and also doing it the first time, when there are many cameras pointing at you… it’s amazing, but it doesn’t seem real.”
Evelina moved to Scotland in 2013 and studied at North East Scotland College, completing a SVQ in professional cookery.
Then she honed her craft for seven years at various establishments in Aberdeen, including the Craftsman Company on Guild Street.
She now works as Chef de Partie at the Michelin starred Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in Perth.
Turning heritage into style
After a rocky start during her heat, Evelina recovered well with her signature menu, which fused her Lithuanian background and years living in Scotland.
Bouncing back like she did is part of being a chef, she said: “You really need to have some power I think, let’s call it a power, in you, that you bounce back so you can come back stronger. I think for me, I felt I crumbled inside really, but I knew that I had to just bounce back and come back and do what I do best.”
Her main of venison was sauced with kvass – a liqueur made from fermented dark rye bread — which is uncommon in the UK, piquing the curiosity of the judges on the day.
She said: “I know this taste since childhood. For me it’s something very, very familiar, and I’m like, ‘Why can I not showcase that to people too?’
“I actually made the kvass at work, and then took it to London with me. So, there were a few trials of it that I made… There were a few trials, a few explosions, which was quite funny, but at the same time, you need to do what you need to do.”
Practice makes perfect
She said her colleagues at Glenturret Lalique were very supportive during the process, especially the head chef there, Mark Donald.
The restaurant covered the cost of the produce needed to practice her menu. Including flavours from her culture, like the Kvass, was something her boss at Glenturret encouraged.
He said: “People love it when they bring their own flavour memories and heritage to the plate. I think people cook better when it means more to them.”
“I think she did really well and the dishes look really nice aesthetically, her stuff was great. It was a shame she didn’t go any further.”
Having that practice in the kitchen at Glenturret beforehand helped Evelina on the day.
She said: “He let me sit in that kitchen till two o’clock in the morning every day.”
“The rest of the team were really supportive, and they were really looking after me when I was like crushing in that kitchen, couldn’t get my timings right. It was almost like collectively teamwork.”
More TV appearances in the future?
While she said she’s hesitant to plan too far in the future, the Lithuanian chef did not rule out future ambitions to appear on TV again.
She said: “Now that I think about it, I was really, really nervous, but I loved it. So maybe one day yes, but not just yet.”
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