Natalie Tran first found fame on YouTube, where she posted funny videos about important topics like Taylor Swift’s height or the stress of having your umbrella stolen. Under the moniker communitychannel, Tran became one of the most-followed Australians on the video platform – with more than half a billion views and almost 2 million subscribers to her name.
In recent years she has focused her attention on TV writing, comedy and acting, and has appeared on homegrown hits including Mr Inbetween, Rosehaven and Heartbreak High.
But for her latest gig, Tran is back to playing herself. Together with the comedian Cal Wilson, she is co-hosting the new season of The Great Australian Bake Off.
Despite the culinary crossover, Tran is a self-confessed lazy chef who relies on one device to keep herself fed: a rice cooker. Here the Sydneysider tells us why cooking rice should be pain-free and shares the stories behind other important belongings.
What I’d save from my house in a fire
My parents fled Vietnam with nothing but the clothes on their backs so I’m quite embarrassed about my desire to sometimes hoard sentimental items. Mum and Dad would want me to say I’d happily walk away with nothing so, in their honour, I’ll declare I’d walk away empty-handed. But I wouldn’t be upset if I looked in my pocket and found an old hair clip.
My father discovered it lost on the side of the road one day and brought it home. It was a bit weathered with some of its stones missing, but when my father gifts something it’s because he genuinely believes it has your name etched on its surface. He means his gifts and that’s a wonderful thing to experience.
So the hairpin is really just a flattering thing to have – an affirmation that someone I love held me in their thoughts. It reminds me of a time when life felt good and safe, and my biggest responsibilities were to be a good kid and an annoying sister.
My most useful object
This is very cliched but I don’t know how I’d live without the humble rice cooker that lives on our kitchen bench. It’s my culinary ride or die, my faithful companion, and often my only source of sustenance.
Even though eating has been rumoured to be vital to staying alive, my laziness dominates and sometimes night-time will arrive before I’ve eaten anything. Thankfully the rice cooker comes to my rescue, providing a meal with zero judgment and minimal effort. When the timer counts down to five minutes, I might toss in some greens and an egg, to prove my cooking prowess. I suspect this is how I landed on a cooking show.
My mother once gifted me a mini, one-person rice cooker when I was about to be on the road for a few months. She knew it would be the only way I’d eat.
I don’t know how people don’t have rice cookers. Quite frankly, I think it should be illegal. Some people have complained to me that their rice cooker companions don’t work and all I can say is find a rice cooker that loves you enough to work. Rice relationships should be easy.
Before you run out to find just any old rice cooker though, I should disclose that Mum acquires these from some secretive network and all cookers have arrived with a power adapter and no instructions. So if you need one, call me and I’ll call Mum.
The item I most regret losing
I think the heaviness attributed to lost objects is more guilt than regret – guilt for not looking after something better. I can almost hear my parents gently reminding me that ownership is an illusion anyway. Dad always jokes that lost things will visit again if they want.
If that’s the case, I’d be pretty delighted if visited again by a sock that disappeared many years ago. Only because I’ve kept its partner just in case. They look like happy dogs and it’s silly, but they make me smile. I’d just be delighted if it showed up again. No relief, no guilt appeased, no regret. Just delighted.
The Great Australian Bake Off starts on Tuesday 13 June at 8.30pm on Foxtel and On Demand
