Masterchef: Francis Legge

As promised, I have the first of the next set of MasterChef interviews. We have started with a series on the contestants as they are eliminated. If you missed it, the first eliminated contestant I have for you is the 34-year-old Scottish Music Video Director from New York City, Francis Legge.

From what I can tell, I would describe Francis as the ball of energy that everyone loves. I was able to chat with about auditioning for MasterChef, being a fan of the show, and his plans for incorporating cooking into his future career.

Thanks for chatting with me, Francis. How are you doing?

I'm good. How are you?

I am wonderful. So how did you end up auditioning for MasterChef?

I've been a huge fan of the show for years from the very beginning actually. And this season my wife pushed me to go to the audition. She basically pushed me along because of all my molecular stuff in the kitchen. She thought MasterChef needed to see that, and she was right. Look at that, woman intuition.

That's exciting that she saw how much of a fan you were as well as the talent that you had with cooking and really pushed you to want to take that chance.

Yes she did.

So since you've been on the show and coming from that fan perspective, were there a lot of things that surprised you about being behind the scenes and going through all of the different challenges?

Yeah, I had these expectations, because I'm a director and I had one mindset of how it would be directed. I thought I figured out how this works, but it was ten times bigger than I could ever imagine. It was really mind blowing in such a great way.

Now were things a little more intimidating than what we see at home just watching as an audience member?

Yeah I think so. You're watching at home in an edited down hour and we have to do way more than that. From the moment we are standing behind those doors waiting to enter the MasterChef kitchen it's like being on pins and needles from the get-go. It's really exciting, actually the most exciting thing ever. I was excited watching the shows, but being there is mind blowing. I have goose bumps right now thinking about it.

Now, coming from the background of being a music video director, how did you discover this passion for cooking?

I've always cooked with my grandmother since I was a child, and I got to pull salmon out of the river when I was 12-years-old in our hometown in Scotland and then I lived in Paris and learned a lot there, so I've always loved cooking at home. But now I've lived in New York City the last few years and got caught up in the molecular and modernist scene of going to restaurants where they put stuff on a dish that you just won't believe. They put art on a plate.

So did you find yourself getting away from the home cooked meal a little bit because you were caught up in that culture of New York City and going out to the restaurants?

Yes, definitely. And also my love of technology, the director thing. I always have the newest camera or gadget. It's the same with cooking, I have to have the newest gadgets and things. I cook with the most fashionable ingredients, it's a weird art form for me. For me it's all about art.

That's awesome that you have these two different art forms with the music videos you've helped direct to the food you've put on a plate. I can imagine that there are a lot of times where it's hard to really find that time to get in the kitchen and cook with such a busy schedule.

Well, I do a lot of editing at home. So I'm normally sitting in my underwear at my computer editing away, and I'll have an idea for a dish and I'll get ready to go and get ingredients and put the editing aside to make a it. Especially when the wife comes home everyday from work, I always want to have something spectacular for her on the table.

That's got to be something that she has really learned to appreciate being able to come home and walk in to the smell of dinner on the table. Now let's talk a little bit more about your experience on MasterChef. Did you have a favorite challenge?

My favorite challenge would have to be the donut challenge and the wedding challenge. Being a team captain for me was like second nature with the directing. It gave me my moment to shine in front of the judges because they've all seen me as a clown until that point. So when I pulled out that win with the wedding challenge, they were in awe and realized that I did know what I was doing.

So before that it sounds like they saw you floating around and nothing to really stand out until you took on the team captain role with this challenge and they got to see you step up to that plate.

Yeah, as soon as they said I was team captain I was really excited. I think that's why in the caramelle challenge, I ended up going home unfortunately. I pushed it extra hard because I knew that team captain was coming up in the next challenge and wanted to be one of the top 2. That's where I pushed it a little too hard and made pink pasta.

So what was it exactly about pushing yourself too hard that caused you to crack under the pressure?

I should have held back. When I went into the pantry, I thought I would just make the dish that Joe showed us. A simple dish, that simple Italian dish. With my mind, as soon as I got into the pantry I got excited and started reaching for anything and everything. I tended to get a little crazy in that pantry. I didn't grab any of my chemicals.

It almost sounds like was walking into the pantry and seeing all of the different possible options that you could have had and then getting overwhelmed despite knowing what you originally wanted to reach for.

Yeah, every time that pantry gets me. The same thing with the donut challenge. I told myself I would just make three flavors. Then as soon as you get in and see all of the candies and extra things they provided for the donuts, I got excited and started overreaching. If I ever get back into that kitchen for an All Stars or something, I have to control myself on those challenges where you can easily go home. On the mystery boxes though, you could do whatever you want and go crazy. Well, unless you do really bad then they could send you home. But on those elimination challenges, you need to be careful. It's definitely something to remember for the future.

How has being on MasterChef really helped you when it came to those future goals and possible career plans? Will you continue with the music video directing or could we see you entering into the food world?

I will definitely be getting myself into the professional kitchen now as far as local food and venues and stuff like that in Manhattan. But with my TV and video production, I want to now try and produce cooking shows and documentaries. I'll hopefully be able to put myself in front of the camera again and take the culinary imagination around the world. But we will have to see.

That sounds really cool that you are looking at outlets to be able to combine the two passions you have rather than thinking about choosing one or the other.

Absolutely.

Now were there people on the show that you think you will remain close to? Or were they people who may have been family during filming, but you don't see yourself staying close with them?

We are definitely all family, as you said. I didn't really make that many enemies on the show because I'm very good when it comes to people politics. I'm not going to upset people just for the sake of it. There are people on the show who I feel want to get into people's heads because it is a competition and they think that is a useful tool to have. That's just not my game.

Were there people that you saw playing up wanting to get in other people's heads specifically for the cameras?

Yeah, there's a few people that definitely like to do that. There's some abrasive characters, like Kristen can be abrasive and Courtney can be very into herself. This is great, whatever, and then she intimidates a lot of the women because she's herself and wearing $5000 shoes and things like that. She's aware of the intimidation factor. It's just little pieces of people's game that become apparent the further you get into it. But we are all friends.

I can imagine that there are pretty much two different sides to each person. One in competition and then one just hanging out behind the scenes.

Oh yeah. My fun thing right now is watching the interviews because you have no idea what people are saying in the interviews. They could be nice in front of everyone and then be mean and horrible in the one-on-one interview. I really like watching people be their true self on camera in that interview.

Did anyone's interview surprise you a little bit?

No, I don't think so. Yeah, I think they are all pretty much fine. <laughs>.

Now, since you said you were looking into the professional kitchen a little more with the hopes of some cooking videos, where can people go to stay updated with you throughout your career since MasterChef?

You can go to my website www.francislegge.com. Then you can follow me on Twitter @MC5FrancisL, and I'm always posting about what I'm doing and where I'm going as well as dishes I'm making everyday. Twitter is definitely the way to get in touch with what I'm about to do, and it will be major.

So be sure to give Francis a follow on Twitter for updates on that major news. You can catch MasterChef on FOX every Monday at 8pm. Next up in the MasterChef interview series, I will be chatting with Victoria Scroggins and Ahran Cho.