Emma Freud Cooks For Monica Galetti

Our columnist talks to the celebrated chef, TV presenter and Masterchef: The Professionals judge about her tough upbringing and succeeding in a male-dominated profession. Turn to page 126 to make Monica’s baked Alaska from the menu of her new restaurant, Mere

Monica Galetti has judged Masterchef: The Professionals for the last 10 years, was the first senior female chef at Le Gavroche, and now owns and runs Mere restaurant in London, named after her Samoan mother. For BBC Good Food’s 30th birthday present, she shared her recipe for baked Alaska. And on your behalf, I bravely cooked it when she came to my house to discuss her remarkable life.

Monica I was born in Samoa and was one of five kids. Mum was the main breadwinner, so we were looked after by her sister who had polio and was in a wheelchair. She minded the kids while Mum went out and made enough money to feed everyone.

Emma How did it feel not being brought up by your mother?

M I always missed her, though my bigger family were also very loving. But it became harder when Mum moved to New Zealand to make a better income for us. She took my brothers but left me and my sister with our aunts for a year or so. She sent money back to Samoa to feed us, but one of her relatives was taking it from the post office so we never got it. Without the money, I couldn’t go to school for a long time and there wasn’t much food for us. Once Mum found out, she got us on the next plane to New Zealand.

E You must have spent that time thinking that she’d forgotten you. Tough start. Do you think that’s part of what makes you so resilient?

M Yes, I think these things make us. Also, seeing my parents struggle to provide for us – at Christmas when I was 10, Mum said we couldn’t afford presents. I remember hearing her cry in her bedroom on Christmas morning. That’s a big part of what’s made me the woman I am – wanting to be better for them, and independent. I felt I had to be strong.