Speaker 1: I want the fairy tale. I want the prince charming.
Speaker 2: She how do I put this? Isn't a fan of
Speaker 2: my kissing style with.
Speaker 1: The boyfriend and girlfriend for about twelve hours.
Speaker 3: He's in a trash bin.
Speaker 1: He's non recyclable, catching them up.
Speaker 2: I love being love. I love love.
Speaker 4: On today's episode of Where's Your Head At, we are
Speaker 4: thrilled to welcome Sarah Todd into the studio.
Speaker 5: Sarah is a runner up from Mastership Australia twenty twenty
Speaker 5: two and we are looking forward to hearing about her
Speaker 5: time on this season of the show and how it
Speaker 5: differed from the last.
Speaker 4: Stay tuned to hear everything unfolded at the finale.
Speaker 5: Where's Your Head At is a podcast that talks all
Speaker 5: things relationships, breakups, reality TV, trending shows and everything in between.
Speaker 4: This is your new go to destination for laughs, gossip,
Speaker 4: intimate details, advice and much more.
Speaker 1: Okay, we have Sar.
Speaker 5: We are It's hard at the runner up from Master
Speaker 5: Chef Australia in the studio today.
Speaker 1: We are so excited to have you in here. How
Speaker 1: are you feeling?
Speaker 3: You know what? I feel like? He's really laughing at
Speaker 3: me for coming second.
Speaker 2: That I honestly thought you were going to win.
Speaker 5: No, Well, I was backing you one hundred percent. I've
Speaker 5: been watching the season. Your cooks are amazing, Michael, and
Speaker 5: I actually went to your pop up before you were
Speaker 5: even on the show, and I swear to god, it
Speaker 5: was the best Indian food that we have ever eaten, Like,
Speaker 5: hands down, it was like this Indian fusion, amazing food.
Speaker 1: So I was all on you to win.
Speaker 3: Oh, thank you, And it's it is a hard pill
Speaker 3: to swallow because it's a huge deal. I think holding
Speaker 3: up that Master Chef trophy there's a lot more than
Speaker 3: just the money that comes with it. I think that
Speaker 3: Master Chef is really respected globally and I think, you know,
Speaker 3: even coming second, I think is a huge, a huge thing.
Speaker 3: And I mean I came night in my first season
Speaker 3: and I've managed to create a career out of it
Speaker 3: after that. So second, I'm not complaining.
Speaker 4: Yeah, how did this year change from the first year
Speaker 4: you went on there in two thousand and fourty And
Speaker 4: what was different?
Speaker 3: I definitely I walked in thinking that I wasn't going
Speaker 3: to put as much pressure on me this time round,
Speaker 3: because I think having that experience and working in the industry.
Speaker 3: I thought I had the tools to get through it,
Speaker 3: but I realized there was more pressure because it's now
Speaker 3: it's credibility. It's you know, the pressure of you know,
Speaker 3: showing that you can do it, showing that you're a
Speaker 3: good cook, putting myself out there. I think my ego
Speaker 3: was a little bit scared as well. But yeah, I
Speaker 3: think it took me time to go, Okay, it's fine, relax,
Speaker 3: you can cook. It's just food at the end of
Speaker 3: the day. It's not saving lives. And I think once
Speaker 3: I got to that point where I was like, it's
Speaker 3: it's okay, I can relax and I'm not going to
Speaker 3: lose anything from doing this, I think I started to
Speaker 3: relax and enjoy it a little bit more.
Speaker 5: Did you have a feeling that you were going to
Speaker 5: do well well, because I mean, second is amazing.
Speaker 3: I didn't. It's weird. I think I'm such an overthinker.
Speaker 3: Put so much pressure on myself and I just set
Speaker 3: small targets. I was like, Okay, I need to make
Speaker 3: it to top ten. But until I got to top ten,
Speaker 3: I was freaking out the entire time. Like every cook
Speaker 3: was highly stressful. And yeah, I think that because Master
Speaker 3: Chef is a show that is it's really respected. I
Speaker 3: think you do take it very seriously every time you
Speaker 3: walk in the kitchen. So I think that drive helped
Speaker 3: me to keep pushing myself. And I didn't think that
Speaker 3: I would grow in the competition. I thought that I'd
Speaker 3: just go in, I'd cook the dishes that I knew,
Speaker 3: But I realized pretty quickly that I needed to, I think,
Speaker 3: find my own personal cooking style a little bit more.
Speaker 3: I think a lot of the time I was cooking
Speaker 3: dishes that were maybe replicated from something I was taught
Speaker 3: in India, or it was a dish that I had
Speaker 3: on my menu. But you can't just whip those kind
Speaker 3: of dishes out all the time. You need to find
Speaker 3: your own cooking style. And I think that. But that's
Speaker 3: one piece of advice that I often had people saying
Speaker 3: to me, was find your own style. And that can
Speaker 3: be in any industry. But it's so hard to find
Speaker 3: your own style, like you keep pulling pieces from everywhere
Speaker 3: and until you get there. And I think through this season,
Speaker 3: I got there.
Speaker 4: Look, I'm a massive fan of Master Chef. I love
Speaker 4: watching it. Are the mystery Box challenge is real. They
Speaker 4: legit like I think everyone wants to know, like do
Speaker 4: you generally have no idea?
Speaker 2: You have to make them up on the spot.
Speaker 3: One hundred percent honestly. Like the first time when I
Speaker 3: went into Master Chef, I was watching a mystery box
Speaker 3: on TV. They lifted the lid and I started crying
Speaker 3: because I was like, I can't think of anything to cook.
Speaker 3: I'm like, this can't be real. They must let you
Speaker 3: lift the box, go out the back, google some recipes
Speaker 3: and come back a cook. No, they do not let
Speaker 3: you google.
Speaker 2: How long do you have just like on the spot.
Speaker 3: Yes, you just lift the lid and then you have
Speaker 3: to start cooking, like there's no googling in between, Like
Speaker 3: I thought.
Speaker 1: So terrifying it is.
Speaker 5: There's no mental blanks because no one's had a mental
Speaker 5: blank from my recollection watching the show, have they?
Speaker 3: There's definitely mental blanks. You're thinking what did I do that?
Speaker 4: It's literally like me opening the pantry every night when
Speaker 4: I get home.
Speaker 2: What can I cook it?
Speaker 1: Here?
Speaker 3: Google? Yah? Even still the same.
Speaker 2: How do you think of this year? Have you cooked
Speaker 2: the dreaded rocken Bush? Is that what it was?
Speaker 5: Kro Rock?
Speaker 2: Oh? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. What it is,
Speaker 2: but it looks scary.
Speaker 3: I have never made a crook and bush and made it.
Speaker 3: I mean, it's shoe pastry, so I've made that before,
Speaker 3: but it's just the level of what my crook and
Speaker 3: bush pastry is not really my thing. I'm more savory
Speaker 3: for sure, so I usually in my restaurant give it
Speaker 3: to the pastry team to do. But I wouldn't let
Speaker 3: me bring anyone into MASTERSHEV this season, so it was
Speaker 3: a bit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a little tricky.
Speaker 2: Let's maybe cook one and let me know how you go.
Speaker 5: I have a question because I did your YouTube series recently.
Speaker 1: Well, when I say recently, this was like back in November, I.
Speaker 5: Think, and you had just told me that you were
Speaker 5: on this season of Master Chef and you.
Speaker 1: Have been filming pretty much up until that time. Like
Speaker 1: that seems like so long. How long have you been
Speaker 1: filming for?
Speaker 3: It's about six months filming. It is huge. It's sixty
Speaker 3: one episode, so it's yeah, it's massive. And I think
Speaker 3: it's like this crazy apprenticeship where you are just thrown
Speaker 3: into everything about food, and I think that's why you
Speaker 3: grow so much. You're just living and breathing food. So
Speaker 3: it's it's an amazing thing to go through.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you said before you found your style on what
Speaker 4: your cooking style was, it's Indian inspired. What made you
Speaker 4: come up with this inspired?
Speaker 2: Quaisin?
Speaker 3: So my son is half Indian, so I lived with
Speaker 3: his family for some time, so Punjabi family, and it
Speaker 3: was really quite crazy because I would be studying at
Speaker 3: French culinary school and bringing home these classical French dishes
Speaker 3: and then my son's grandma would be throwing in these
Speaker 3: spices and making you know, beautiful Indian dishes, and it
Speaker 3: was such a contrast in dishes. So I just fell
Speaker 3: in love with it. I remember her watching Bollywood on
Speaker 3: TV and throwing spices into a pot, and I'm sitting
Speaker 3: there trying to write it down. But it's like, Indian
Speaker 3: food isn't about writing down recipes. It's about, you know,
Speaker 3: just feeling the food, putting love into it, and just
Speaker 3: finding the balance.
Speaker 5: Oh what is your favorite dish?
Speaker 3: Gosh, you know what, there's so many now. I think
Speaker 3: my favorite's probably gema, which is like a it's a
Speaker 3: spiced mince meat. But I think it's probably partly also
Speaker 3: due to nostalgia, and it's one of the first dishes
Speaker 3: that I tried that were authentically North Indian and my
Speaker 3: son still loves it now, So it's one we cook
Speaker 3: a lot.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Food is like that though.
Speaker 5: Like I am from the UK, as you know, and
Speaker 5: when we go back to the UK, like we have
Speaker 5: this ret like I love like haggisneat some Tatty's.
Speaker 1: Which is like, you know, the quintessential Scottish dish.
Speaker 5: And I've like let other people or like friends of
Speaker 5: mine try it and they're like, ugh, what is that?
Speaker 5: But I'm like, it's so nostalgic and it reminds me
Speaker 5: you of being with family, and food is such a
Speaker 5: nostalgic thing.
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, that's the thing. I think with food, you
Speaker 3: can bring up so many emotions through dishes, and I
Speaker 3: think it's just so powerful. And I think even when
Speaker 3: it comes down to creating dishes and menus, now I'm
Speaker 3: not just going to put a dish on the menu
Speaker 3: because I like it. It's got to have some sort
Speaker 3: of emotion, you know, connected to me or connected to
Speaker 3: the people that are trying the food, or you know,
Speaker 3: using produce from where you are. I think it's important
Speaker 3: to just add a bit of love and connection to
Speaker 3: the dish, and people think that's, you know, pretty cliche
Speaker 3: or you know, put love into your food, but it's
Speaker 3: actually very true and you can see that when you
Speaker 3: remember dishes from your childhood. Mine's corned beef that my
Speaker 3: men used to make, and it's just like I love it,
Speaker 3: and it's the same thing. Not everybody loves that, so
Speaker 3: it's the nostalgia that connects well.
Speaker 4: Speaking of loving your dishes, how did the judges find
Speaker 4: your dishes? Did they take nicely to it or were
Speaker 4: they a bit nasty about him?
Speaker 2: Well, did you have any.
Speaker 3: Him or I think I did have some pretty tough
Speaker 3: criticism throughout the competition because the judges expected a lot
Speaker 3: from me as well, and I think that was good
Speaker 3: for me. I think it just really made me make
Speaker 3: sure that I pushed myself to the limit and executed
Speaker 3: my dishes really well. And I expect that of myself
Speaker 3: as well. So I think they love my food and
Speaker 3: there's a lot of amazing dishes that I did throughout
Speaker 3: the competition, but I definitely think that I had some
Speaker 3: tough criticism at times.
Speaker 1: Here was your toughest critic on the judging panel?
Speaker 3: I think probably Jock, I would say that, Yeah, but
Speaker 3: I think that's because it's that same thing. He really
Speaker 3: did expect a lot from me, and he doesn't cook
Speaker 3: it in a similar way, but he knows those French
Speaker 3: techniques really well. It's the way he started his career. Yeah,
Speaker 3: and then he kind of fuses it with Australian ingredients.
Speaker 3: So mine's kind of similar where it's French techniques with
Speaker 3: Indian flavors. So I think that's why he pushed me
Speaker 3: so hard.
Speaker 5: Okay, well, look, let's talk about more of your career
Speaker 5: and your love life and.
Speaker 1: Everything in between next.
Speaker 5: Okay, Sarah, we have known each other for a very
Speaker 5: long time. I don't know if a lot of people
Speaker 5: know this, but we actually modeled together back in the day.
Speaker 5: And it's so amazing to see how far your career
Speaker 5: has come. Honestly, so proud of you as a friend.
Speaker 5: You've done amazing and exceeded every single expectation.
Speaker 1: And some so.
Speaker 5: You studied culinary arts at Licordon Blur, is that right? Yeah,
Speaker 5: and you traveled to India to refine your style. You've
Speaker 5: opened multiple restaurants in India, which is amazing. You've also
Speaker 5: been on several TV shows, including My Restaurant in India,
Speaker 5: which has aired in one hundred and fifty six different
Speaker 5: countries world wide.
Speaker 1: Like, what the hell, that's crazy.
Speaker 5: I didn't even know this about you, didn't It's not
Speaker 5: one hundred and fifty six.
Speaker 1: Countries world why, that's super impressive.
Speaker 3: Yeah. No, Honestly, I think that there's something about our
Speaker 3: like when we were modeling, Like looking back at those days,
Speaker 3: I think that there's something about I think the lifestyle
Speaker 3: that we live that gives us a lot of tools
Speaker 3: to be able to push ourselves and work really hard.
Speaker 3: Because I'm so proud of you as well, totally smashing
Speaker 3: it and it's like, yeah, I mean, it does feel
Speaker 3: like another lifetime ago, but it's just so good to
Speaker 3: see what you're doing now as well. It's amazing, kicking
Speaker 3: kicking over, it's so good.
Speaker 5: Yeah, because Sarah actually, as I mentioned before, asked me
Speaker 5: to come on her YouTube series and it was the
Speaker 5: first time that we reconnected in ages And obviously I
Speaker 5: love papaya salad and you taught me how to cook it,
Speaker 5: which I'm eternally grateful for. But I was thinking when
Speaker 5: we were doing that, like, when was the first time
Speaker 5: you really got into cooking? Because yeah, like obviously we
Speaker 5: were modeling, and obviously I had no idea about your
Speaker 5: extraordinary cooking talent.
Speaker 1: When did you get into that?
Speaker 3: I used to love cooking desserts when I was younger,
Speaker 3: which is strange because now it's the opposite. But I
Speaker 3: feel like in the modeling days, you really need to
Speaker 3: understand food. You're kind of like an athlete, like you
Speaker 3: need to really nourish the body and understand food. And
Speaker 3: I really did start to get into it then. But
Speaker 3: I always have loved flavor, so it was like finding
Speaker 3: this way to make healthy dishes that have a lot
Speaker 3: of flavor. So it was kind of it started around
Speaker 3: those that time, and I think also down to the travel,
Speaker 3: like living in all of these different countries. One of
Speaker 3: my nostalgic memories was being in Germany and having this,
Speaker 3: you know, living with a host family and they couldn't
Speaker 3: speak English and speak German, but I remember this very
Speaker 3: interesting dish which was like a warm cucumber till dish,
Speaker 3: which it was just it was such an incredible flavor.
Speaker 3: I've never had anything like it. But it made me
Speaker 3: realize that food brings people together no matter what language
Speaker 3: you speak. So for me, I think That's when it
Speaker 3: started to you know, the different cultures and different cuisines
Speaker 3: started to really get my mind ticking.
Speaker 1: Yeah for sure.
Speaker 4: You also have two cookbooks as well. How'd you go
Speaker 4: about making those? To start on them?
Speaker 2: They seem like a lot of work goes into them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what, It's just like research and travel
Speaker 3: around India. My second one is, you know, a pretty
Speaker 3: cool one. I think because I got to experience all
Speaker 3: these dishes around India and then bring that back into
Speaker 3: a book. I really wanted to show people that Indian
Speaker 3: food doesn't need to be so complicated, and that I'm
Speaker 3: Australian I have learned the cuisine you know, to this
Speaker 3: point just from travel and research and all of that,
Speaker 3: and anyone can I think people feel like Indian cuisine
Speaker 3: is really complicated, So I think I just wanted to
Speaker 3: simplify it in the book and give people an option
Speaker 3: to try it at home.
Speaker 4: Look, I'm not a big cook. I get told by
Speaker 4: my girlfriend all the time that I'm a terrible Like,
Speaker 4: I just don't like cooking. I can't find the love
Speaker 4: for it, Like, I don't know why is there any
Speaker 4: advice on how I can be more of a chef
Speaker 4: and cook her a meal here and then leave it
Speaker 4: all on her shoulders.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I think it's just like going for it and not
Speaker 3: having fear around cooking. I think we walk into the
Speaker 3: kitchen and think it's going to fail. It's just about
Speaker 3: going you know what, if it fails, just add a
Speaker 3: bit of masala or salt or something.
Speaker 4: Okay, So you're even saying whereas I don't know, now,
Speaker 4: can you keep it more simple for the flea? I
Speaker 4: might get your book? Where do I find your book?
Speaker 4: Then to get some recipes and or cook something out
Speaker 4: of there.
Speaker 3: On my website. I should have brought you on.
Speaker 2: I'll give you.
Speaker 4: I'll well for everyone listening and they want to get
Speaker 4: a book where and they find it on your website?
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, Sarah tud dot com today you.
Speaker 5: Then you go, so, look, you've I've worried with a
Speaker 5: lot of chefs in your time, but also in Master Chef.
Speaker 5: Do you have a favorite big name that you've enjoyed
Speaker 5: cooking with or you've got a lot of inspiration from.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think Shannon Bennett to be honest. First of all,
Speaker 3: he's an amazing guy. He has this really calm nature
Speaker 3: in the kitchen, and I think when you're trying to
Speaker 3: cook at such a high level, having that support in
Speaker 3: the kitchen and he just knows his stuff, so he is, yeah,
Speaker 3: really inspiring. And I think he's kind of that new
Speaker 3: generation of chefs where they're really nurturing rather than the
Speaker 3: old school ways of yeah, quite abusive in the kitchen
Speaker 3: at times, which is like that, that's not just god,
Speaker 3: I mean, yeah, that's just the way the industry was.
Speaker 3: It was really a tough industry for chefs. I worked
Speaker 3: in kitchens in London and yeah, like it was really
Speaker 3: really tough and long hours, long days and you'd start
Speaker 3: at eight a m. In the morning, work until one
Speaker 3: am and do that five or six days a week
Speaker 3: and it was tough. So I'm glad that the industry
Speaker 3: has changed and a bit more regulated now because it
Speaker 3: brings the love back into it. And yeah, and it's
Speaker 3: something you can do. I mean that you can't live
Speaker 3: a life and work those hours.
Speaker 1: No.
Speaker 4: Yeah, So you've done a lot in your career. What
Speaker 4: do you think your next step is? Maybe a documentary?
Speaker 3: She's done it all. I don't know whether I really
Speaker 3: want to. Yeah, I mean, you're going to delve into
Speaker 3: enough information today. Yeah, it's amazing having enter into to
Speaker 3: give her some tips on cooking and now she can
Speaker 3: give me some.
Speaker 2: On that note, Let's get into that next.
Speaker 5: Okay, Sarah, you've had an amazing career, but we want
Speaker 5: to talk on something that we've never really heard you
Speaker 5: talk on publicly, at least.
Speaker 2: Your dating life.
Speaker 4: So I reckon we start off by asking you are
Speaker 4: you single and ready to mingle or are you taking
Speaker 4: are you a committed relationship, a situation ship?
Speaker 2: Where are you at?
Speaker 3: I'm single?
Speaker 2: You're single?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 1: Okay, So, Sarah, you have a son. His name is Phoenix.
Speaker 1: Can you tell us about him?
Speaker 3: My son is eleven years old and he's a little angel.
Speaker 3: He's the cutest I think. When Mastership asked me to
Speaker 3: come back on the show, I sat down with Phoenix
Speaker 3: and I was, look, I've been asked to go back
Speaker 3: on Master Chef. Obviously it's going to be a big
Speaker 3: time commitment, and I just want to ask you if
Speaker 3: you're okay with this and you know what your thoughts are.
Speaker 3: And he was like, He's like, well, if it was me,
Speaker 3: I would do it, but you have to do whatever
Speaker 3: makes you happy. It's like eight months ago, ten years old.
Speaker 3: So this time round you and I say, this little
Speaker 3: angel is like, you know, such an amazing boy, and
Speaker 3: I think we have a really good bond and relationship.
Speaker 3: I think for us, after, you know, separating from his dad,
Speaker 3: it was all about communication. And I think you forget
Speaker 3: that kids are pretty smart, switched on, and just by
Speaker 3: communicating about things you can really make things a lot easier. Yeah.
Speaker 1: How old were you when you got pregnant with Phoenix?
Speaker 3: Oh gosh, twenty three.
Speaker 1: Twenty three, that's quite young. Yeah, it's young, young mom. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was young, still.
Speaker 3: In the modeling days. So yeah, it was all right. Now,
Speaker 3: I just like eat lots of food.
Speaker 1: So, oh my god, it's amazing, amazing.
Speaker 5: So you were twenty three when you had Phoenix and
Speaker 5: were you engaged to his dad at the time.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we were engaged.
Speaker 1: Yeah, right, And how long were you engaged for?
Speaker 3: Not that long, to be honest, I think it was
Speaker 3: about six eight months.
Speaker 1: Okay, Yeah, And how long was the whole relationship?
Speaker 3: It was about three years.
Speaker 1: Right, so about two and a bit using he proposed.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, so we yeah, felt pregnant. Phoenix was an accident. Yeah,
Speaker 3: so happy surprise, Happy surprise.
Speaker 1: Surprise.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and yeah, like I look back now, and really,
Speaker 3: I think that for me, everything happens for a reason,
Speaker 3: and I think that it really did shape me as
Speaker 3: a person, and I think it really did give me
Speaker 3: the drive to do what I'm doing today.
Speaker 2: Yeah, why did you and your ex breakup? Then?
Speaker 3: I think that it wasn't the right fit. I think
Speaker 3: that he's an amazing person, but us in a relationship
Speaker 3: just wasn't right and it wasn't the healthiest relationship.
Speaker 2: Co parenting Phoenix in Look, it took.
Speaker 3: A long time to get to this point. I think
Speaker 3: the first few years were really really rocky, and I
Speaker 3: think that time heals all. In the beginning, it was
Speaker 3: a lot of frustrations from both sides in the beginning,
Speaker 3: And there was one day when Phoenix's dad called me
Speaker 3: up and he was like, look, you're not a bad person.
Speaker 3: I've just realized you're not a bad person, and that
Speaker 3: I have realized that we just need to make this
Speaker 3: work now. And I think it was kind of like
Speaker 3: a switch in his mind to realize that we're not
Speaker 3: out to get each other. It's we're here raising a
Speaker 3: beautiful little human and it's something that we can do
Speaker 3: together even if we're not in a relationship.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it must be a really hard transition, like I
Speaker 5: couldn't imagine. And he's a little bit older than you,
Speaker 5: is that.
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, he's about fourteen years older, so the age
Speaker 3: gap was there. And the thing that I feel most
Speaker 3: lucky about is the fact that he's an incredible father
Speaker 3: and he gives Phoenix everything. He's you know, so present
Speaker 3: when he's with Phoenix. He's constantly you know, doing things
Speaker 3: and teaching him, and yeah, is a great father. So
Speaker 3: I'm really lucky about that.
Speaker 5: Phoenix is a very lucky little boy because I know
Speaker 5: you're an amazing mom, so he's hit the parent jackpot.
Speaker 3: I think, well, that's the thing. I think when you
Speaker 3: need to realize you need to be happy as well.
Speaker 3: And I think separation is never easy when kids are involved,
Speaker 3: and it takes a long time to get to a
Speaker 3: point where it's comfortable. But I think that we realized
Speaker 3: that us being happy was the most important and we
Speaker 3: got to that point and yeah, it's it's okay. I
Speaker 3: think kids are so resilient. I think that it's tough
Speaker 3: in the moment, but they just really can you handle
Speaker 3: a lot more than probably we can at times, I think,
Speaker 3: and it's just about love, like giving kids love and
Speaker 3: support and that's what they really need.
Speaker 5: Have you had any other serious relationships since him?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I have. I have. It's always been quite difficult
Speaker 3: because for me it feels like every relationship is a
Speaker 3: long distance relationship because I mean, I'm half in India
Speaker 3: and half in Australia for most of the year since
Speaker 3: Master Chef the first time round, So one way or
Speaker 3: another it's going to be a long distance relationship because
Speaker 3: I'm traveling back and forth. It's never easy. I think
Speaker 3: for me, I've kind of come to terms with it,
Speaker 3: but I think a lot of other people find it
Speaker 3: hard because they're maybe not used to it. So that's
Speaker 3: definitely affected relationships for me in the past.
Speaker 4: Do you find the pressure of, like, every time you
Speaker 4: date someone, there is that pressure of bringing them home
Speaker 4: to Phoenix and introducing them and that they have to
Speaker 4: be like you don't want to bring everyone to introduce
Speaker 4: them to Phoenix. So is that an added pressure you find?
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what, I have in the past introduced
Speaker 3: Phoenix to a partner reasonably early on, but I realized
Speaker 3: that as a parent, I need to be pretty smart
Speaker 3: about this. And the thing is for me, I'm the parent,
Speaker 3: right The person that you're bringing into the relationship doesn't
Speaker 3: have that same responsibility where you know, if they meet Phoenix,
Speaker 3: they're not thinking, you know, I don't want to be
Speaker 3: in his life and then disappear from his life, Whereas
Speaker 3: that's the first thing on my mind. So, you know,
Speaker 3: I think I've realized pretty quickly that I need to
Speaker 3: be quite smart about that.
Speaker 2: How do you go about dating?
Speaker 4: Then? What's your preferred thing? How do you like to
Speaker 4: meet people, what's your what's.
Speaker 2: Your go to?
Speaker 3: Well, there's no real way, like I don't really I
Speaker 3: wouldn't say that I even go out much or I'm
Speaker 3: kind of a homebody. It's quite a strange thing. I
Speaker 3: think that when your life is so you know, you're
Speaker 3: out there all the time for your work, then when
Speaker 3: I have my own time, I like to kind of
Speaker 3: be at home and chill the Phoenix. So there's no
Speaker 3: real way to be honest.
Speaker 5: But you know what, something that I was thinking as
Speaker 5: well is obviously you cook like you're cooking on TV,
Speaker 5: you're cooking at work, you're cooking for your son. I'm
Speaker 5: sure is there ever any time to cook for you.
Speaker 3: Well, it's like I think that when you get home,
Speaker 3: you just want to have simple, quick, easy meals. So
Speaker 3: I do. I like to just whip up quick dinners
Speaker 3: and yeah, I mean it's very rarely for me though,
Speaker 3: it's usually always from Phoenix off and I do. I
Speaker 3: like make really quick meals when I'm home alone, so
Speaker 3: I prefer cooking for others.
Speaker 4: Do you ever have a partner cook for you like
Speaker 4: a man and then he brings like what is this?
Speaker 2: What is this? I would not want to cook for
Speaker 2: a chef.
Speaker 3: I don't know whether I have actually had any man
Speaker 3: cook for me.
Speaker 1: It's pretty intimidating.
Speaker 2: Well there you go.
Speaker 4: Actually there's any males out there listening. Maybe someone should
Speaker 4: cook for you if.
Speaker 3: You have the balls to cook with harah. Do you
Speaker 3: know what as a chef, you just want a simple dinner,
Speaker 3: like it doesn't matter if it's not like crazy extravagant,
Speaker 3: but someone cooking for you is a really nice thing.
Speaker 3: And I'm not, you know, heavy critic when it comes
Speaker 3: to food, like I just it's more about the act
Speaker 3: of doing it, that's all right.
Speaker 1: Have you been teaching Phoenix how to cook.
Speaker 3: A little bit?
Speaker 2: Yes?
Speaker 3: So especially through the lockdowns, we started cooking a lot
Speaker 3: together and he doesn't love it as much as I do.
Speaker 3: He makes a mean poachhag on TOAs and some paratas
Speaker 3: as well, and different you know Indian dishes. So yeah,
Speaker 3: he's already.
Speaker 2: Doing better than that nights old.
Speaker 3: You've got a little kid at home now, so I'm
Speaker 3: sure you're I can't pach you an egg, really.
Speaker 4: I don't think I would hardboil one, and.
Speaker 5: I could learn and think we need to do some
Speaker 5: private lessons with all of us. So I have a question,
Speaker 5: because obviously you're an amazing chef. You have restaurants in India.
Speaker 5: You potentially might bring out a restaurant in Melbourne soon,
Speaker 5: is that right?
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I've been thinking about it. So I think
Speaker 3: for me, you know, the last eight years of kind
Speaker 3: of traveling back and forth to India, just when the
Speaker 3: lockdowns happened, I realized I was at a point where
Speaker 3: I was pushing myself to a crazy limit. And when
Speaker 3: the lockdown started, I think I was almost at the
Speaker 3: point of an almost breakdown, Like I was exhausted, Like
Speaker 3: I would be on a plane every third day, you know,
Speaker 3: I would fly internationally for a couple of days and
Speaker 3: constantly jet lagged, and I think it really took me
Speaker 3: about three months to recover. And I think for me,
Speaker 3: like lockdowns were actually a really good thing and it
Speaker 3: made me realize that, you know, do I want to
Speaker 3: go back to that same lifestyle that I was living
Speaker 3: before of constantly flying back and forth, you know, internationally,
Speaker 3: And so now I think when the even the Master
Speaker 3: Chef opportunity came up, I saw it as a good
Speaker 3: opportunity just to kind of relaunch me back into Australia
Speaker 3: so that I can go, you know what, maybe a
Speaker 3: bit more of a stable lifestyle is something that I want.
Speaker 3: So my goal out of all of this has just
Speaker 3: been to kind of settle more here in Australia and
Speaker 3: not be living such a crazy life. And yeah, I
Speaker 3: think it's for me having those routes here and opening
Speaker 3: a restaurant is something that would give me that stability
Speaker 3: and yeah, have work here more permanently.
Speaker 5: I love that you're thinking of opening a restaurant, but
Speaker 5: since you haven't yet, I want to get some recommendations
Speaker 5: from you on where to take a first day. What's
Speaker 5: a good first dates for our listeners.
Speaker 3: I mean, I don't really know. I haven't really thought
Speaker 3: about this, not really a I don't really go on dates,
Speaker 3: like it's very strange.
Speaker 5: So let's just say you're going on a first day.
Speaker 5: What are the elements the restaurant has to have.
Speaker 1: To make the date good?
Speaker 3: I think that for me, it has to have a
Speaker 3: nice ambiance for sure. But I don't know. I think
Speaker 3: I've gotten to that point where I'm not a person
Speaker 3: that you know, wants to go to like an overly
Speaker 3: rowdy kind of place like one of the restaurants I
Speaker 3: love is Aru, which is really beautiful, you know, warm
Speaker 3: interiors and it's nice and quite cozy. You know, there's
Speaker 3: little kind of nooks and you feel a little bit
Speaker 3: more private in a place like that. I think it
Speaker 3: just has to be a good environment for sure.
Speaker 1: YE love that.
Speaker 2: I love that nice as well.
Speaker 3: It has to be good food. I mean, I don't
Speaker 3: want to be like hating the food and bad service.
Speaker 4: That you guys can share together really romantic and intimate
Speaker 4: and then into some cocktails and you.
Speaker 3: Know, planning the day with thanks.
Speaker 5: Okay, so you're currently single, You've had an ex boyfriend
Speaker 5: who was in India and you had to do like
Speaker 5: a long distance you have your ex fiance.
Speaker 1: In between this.
Speaker 5: I'm sure you've had a few situationships where you've seen
Speaker 5: a couple of guys here and there. Do you have
Speaker 5: any embarrassing dating stories, because we love some embarrassing dating stories.
Speaker 1: And where's your head at?
Speaker 3: You know what I mean? I think that for me,
Speaker 3: I'm like not overly a data Yeah, Like I'm not that.
Speaker 3: I don't really, it's quite strange. I think it's like
Speaker 3: for me, when something feels right, then I kind of
Speaker 3: go for it and jump into it. But I'm not,
Speaker 3: like I really don't go on a lot of days.
Speaker 3: This is a dating podcast. I'm here for advice. Hang on,
Speaker 3: I let you turn this around advice.
Speaker 2: Guys. What you're doing wrong in the start is not
Speaker 2: going on dates?
Speaker 3: Okay? Really okay?
Speaker 1: Do you need any dating advice?
Speaker 3: Yeah, go for it.
Speaker 1: You have to ask us a questions.
Speaker 2: Ask us.
Speaker 3: I mean, you know my situation, right, and it's a
Speaker 3: crazy lifestyle in terms of work commitments and all of that.
Speaker 3: Like what would you suggest to you know, if someone
Speaker 3: is very busy with work and there's a lot of
Speaker 3: travel involved, you know, and I think especially these days,
Speaker 3: women are in the workforce and working you know, really
Speaker 3: hard jobs and busy jobs. Like what would you you know,
Speaker 3: there's two people in a relationship and if they're both busy,
Speaker 3: Like how do you work that out?
Speaker 4: I reckon, just keep up the chats, like keep talking,
Speaker 4: stay like intimate over those chats. I know that, Like
Speaker 4: when my girlfriend goes away, our conversations are a lot
Speaker 4: more intimate, so we stay more in touch with each other,
Speaker 4: you know what I mean, Like, yeah, I don't know
Speaker 4: how close you are with them, but you know, like
Speaker 4: FaceTime each other. And I feel like if they don't
Speaker 4: understand and that you're busy and you're both busy and
Speaker 4: they get annoyed at that, then they're not the one
Speaker 4: because that's your lifestyle. That's the way you're living your life,
Speaker 4: and that you're not going to change for anyone, even
Speaker 4: if they mister right, you shouldn't change for them. They've
Speaker 4: got to understand who you are and what comes with you.
Speaker 5: Well a man, It's an interesting topic because like there's
Speaker 5: mister right, and then there's mister like the right time,
Speaker 5: And like I always think that the right time, like
Speaker 5: timing is everything right, Like you can meet someone.
Speaker 1: Who's perfect, but if your schedules aren't aligning, then maybe
Speaker 1: they're not mister right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I think that I do believe in
Speaker 3: things happening at the right time and what you need
Speaker 3: to learn at that time or what's yeah, what is
Speaker 3: right for you at that time. I do believe in that.
Speaker 3: But yeah, I think that it also comes down to
Speaker 3: a lot of that communication and understanding. You need to
Speaker 3: have trust because I think when it comes to you know,
Speaker 3: travel and being away, you can't be constantly thinking at
Speaker 3: the back of your mind that maybe they're doing something
Speaker 3: or you know that the trust isn't there.
Speaker 2: Oh, I wouldn't even be in that situation that suck.
Speaker 5: Yeah, well if she isn't that situation, let's not make
Speaker 5: her feel.
Speaker 4: Well.
Speaker 2: I mean no, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 4: If you're in that situation, I find a way to
Speaker 4: get out of that situation. Shouldn't be if you're with
Speaker 4: a partner and you feel like you can't trust him.
Speaker 1: What's the point.
Speaker 3: Yeah, But ultimately, I mean, if you're in a relationship
Speaker 3: and you're away a lot of the times, like people
Speaker 3: need love and they need, you know, to have someone around.
Speaker 3: I think at times, what's your love language I don't know.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I reckon them a few.
Speaker 2: Yeah, iRED myself across.
Speaker 4: Can you find someone that can actually maybe get time
Speaker 4: off and trouble with you and then they have a
Speaker 4: part of your life.
Speaker 2: I could work remotely, they could work with you.
Speaker 3: Go yeah, but it's not that simple. Yeah, I just go,
Speaker 3: here's the resume. You need to travel.
Speaker 4: I mean a story. People started flying. Put your email.
Speaker 5: Addressed man Sarah, this is in so much fun. Thank
Speaker 5: you so much for coming in again. Congratulations on all
Speaker 5: of your success. Honestly, I'm so proud of you as
Speaker 5: a friend, and I'm so glad that the world is
Speaker 5: getting to see how amazing you are.
Speaker 2: Until next time, looking forward.
Speaker 3: To thank you. That's it, Bye, thank you Bye,