A recipe for life

Major Julian Watchorn encourages us to learn from the skills on display in Cooking with the Stars.

Béchamel. Roux. Chiffonade. Julienne. Dum Aloo. Dauphinoise. If you appreciate the differences between these, or even recognise they might be choices you would make when creating a meal, then you are likely watching Cooking with the Stars on Tuesday evenings on ITV1.

The intense but fun programme sees celebrities – with the support and guidance of professional chef mentors – do battle in the kitchen. The competition pairs eight celebrities with professional, world-renowned chefs to compete against each other in the creation of culinary classics.

Hosted by Emma Willis and Tom Allen, the current contest includes stars such as swimmer Ellie Simmonds, dancer Pasha Kovalev and runner Linford Christie.

A contestant is eliminated each week until one celebrity is crowned champion. When the heat is on, they will hopefully rise like a soufflé rather than fall as flat as a pancake. Should the pressure get too much, the celebrity can bang a golden frying pan for their mentor to assist and advise them for two minutes before leaving their apprentice to finish the dish, executing every aspect of the recipe to the best of their ability.

At the heart of the chaos and curiosity is a mentor’s ability to pass on their knowledge and experience to an apprentice so they might put what they have learnt into practice. If they do it well and their apprentice has watched, listened and absorbed what they have been shown, then this learning will shine through.

There are many environments in which experience and wisdom can be passed on to a willing apprentice. The key is for the apprentice to keep practising until they become more like the master. Jesus understood the need to come alongside his disciples and demonstrate how to be like him.

Recognising that life can be challenging, he reassured those who follow him when he said: ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light' (Matthew 11:28–30).

There can be no greater role model than Jesus. The more time we spend with him – the more we share his yoke and are guided by his movements – the more like him we will become. The more like him we become, the more we will do as he did and the more this will be evident to those we meet.

Thankfully, the recipe of life is not a competition, but the choices we make as apprentices of Jesus will influence whether our flavour is bitter or sweet. The final test on Cooking with the Stars is a blind taste test. It is not enough for a dish to look good; it has to taste good too.

Psalm 34:8 says: ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.’ As apprentices of Jesus, we cannot spend too much time in his presence. When we take refuge in him, we will absorb more and more of him until he is our very essence.

Reflect and respond

• How can you be a more willing apprentice?
• Is the flavour of your life bitter or sweet?
• How can you encourage the people around you this week in their own apprenticeship?