The 2nd season of Celebrity MasterChef Australia kicked off just a few days ago with many familiar faces. Among them, we have Dilruk Jayasingha, a Sri Lankan born, Australian comedian and actor, who in fact, won the one and only immunity pin on the Opening Night.
Dilruk The Comedian
Dilruk moved to Melbourn over a decade ago for his studies. After successfully finishing his accounting degree, he managed to work for a major accounting firm for a while. In 2010, he went to perform at an open mic night, and that's when he recognised his true passion — comedy.
Right now, Dilruk is one of the main headliners in demand. He has been invited to perform all over Australia, and in many other countries. He is charming, upbeat and positive, which make his shows an absolute hit, every single time. This includes the Just for Laughs festival at the Sydney Opera House, The Art of the Dil at the 2017 Melbourne Comedy Festival, and this year's festival at the iconic Lower Town Hall, where he used to watch his favourite comedy heroes.
He has appeared in many award-winning TV shows, including Utopia (2017 – 2019), My Life Is Murder (2019), True Story with Hamish & Andy (2017 – 2018), The Assenders (2016) and the most recent one of this throng is How to Stay Married (2021). He has also worked with ABC and Amazon prime for 2-hour long stand up specials, as well as on LOL: Last One Laughing Australia program alongside Rebel Wilson. Furthermore, he made a debut appearance on ABC’s Spicks and Specks, along with his regular appearances on Network Ten's Have You Been Paying Attention? and Hughesy We Have a Problem.
Dilruk At The Celebrity MasterChef
“I can’t believe my first question was 'how do I boil water.'"
From the first moment he stepped into the MasterChef kitchen, he has been able to capture the attention of the judges (Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillo) by simply being his awesome, witty and cheerful self. But it's his signature, surprise dish that won over their taste buds.
The challenge was to cook a dish that each celebrity is famous for, within 90 minutes. Sticking to his Sri Lankan roots, Dilruk whipped up a Kiributh (Coconut Milk Rice), some Lunu Miris (Onion & Chilli Sambal) and an Indonesian-style Beef Rendang Curry.
"Unfortunately, I don’t know any Sri Lankan curries. I only know a beef rendang curry from Indonesia or Malaysia," he explained his choice of curry.
The judges, especially Melissa Leong, praised Dilruk's beef rendang: 'This was so delicious. I couldn't fault it. You have that beautiful sort of floral lemongrass, the galangal, the heat from that. The chilli, the garlic, it's all there in beautiful quantities and ratios. The meat is absolutely meltingly tender."
When she mentioned that her mother makes good rendang, Dilruk's response gave the whole MasterChef kitchen a good laugh: "I'm sure your mum's rendang is good, but mine's a ren-dayum!"
Dilruk was quite surprised when the judge Andy Allen announced he's the winner, earning himself the coveted immunity pin.
"Did anyone see that coming? I've won the immunity pin! Like… what?! I feel like I'm Gollum from Lord Of The Rings. It's my precious! I feel myself deteriorating into sanity every time I hold it. The power is infinite!" he said.
This year, at Celebrity MasterChef kitchen, Dilruk competes with 9 other celebrities — Archie Thompson, a former soccer player, Chrissie Swan, a television and radio broadcaster, Collette Dinnigan, a fashion designer, Dami Im, a singer, Ian Thorpe, an Olympic swimming champion, Matthew Le Nevez, an actor, Nick Riewoldt, a former AFL footballer, Rebecca Gibney, an actress, and Tilly Ramsay, a television presenter, who is also the daughter of the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
We wish Dilruk all the best of luck!
