Update: Kozar’s pan-seared salmon dish wows ‘MasterChef’ judges
Katrina Kozar, UWM’s “MasterChef” contestant, passed her first test Wednesday on Fox 6, and will return at 7 p.m. next Wednesday for the second round of cooking competition.
Kozar had 30 minutes to prepare her “signature dish” – pan-seared salmon with panang curry sauce, rice and peas and slaw – and present it to three celebrity chef judges, including host Gordon Ramsay. In direct competition with Milwaukee resident Taylor Moore, Kozar received a “MasterChef” apron, and the right to join some 20 other home cooks next week.
Katrina Kozar was into organic and local foods before that was cool.
Kozar grew up eating meals prepared from her family’s Brookfield gardens and from other local sources. Tonight, she will bring her cooking expertise to Fox’s “MasterChef,” as one of 40 contestants vying to win a cookbook deal and $250,000. Milwaukee’s Taylor Moore is also a contestant.
The sixth season of “MasterChef” opens with a two-hour episode at 7 p.m. on Fox 6. Twenty of tonight’s home chefs will go on to compete on subsequent shows, at 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is one of three judges.
Kozar, of Milwaukee, has been the administrative assistant to Director of University Housing Kelly Haag for nearly four years. She has cooked for family and friends much longer, but never professionally.
She was one of hundreds who auditioned to be on “MasterChef.” In October 2014, she wowed judges in Chicago with her chilled Moroccan shrimp with a chimichurri sauce and roasted spaghetti squash, served with a jicama, fennel and apple slaw.
“I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and see if I could make it to ‘MasterChef,’” Kozar said in a recent interview. Although she is prohibited from disclosing details, Kozar said she did not seek fame as a chef, but rather the experience of learning from professionals.
Kozar did not say what she cooked for tonight’s show, but her “signature dish” is pan-seared salmon with panang curry sauce, rice and peas and slaw.
As for the famously bellicose Ramsay, “I could just tell from his eyes that he really cared about everyone on the show.”
