WEBVTT - It Was a Coordinated Attack | Pete Evans 0:00:05.921 --> 0:00:07.281 Approche production. 0:00:10.801 --> 0:00:13.361 Welcome to Secrets of the Underworld. I am Neil the 0:00:13.401 --> 0:00:17.561 Muscle comments and in this episode I speak with celebrity 0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:18.881 chef Pete Evans. 0:00:20.801 --> 0:00:23.840 I took a lot of recreational drugs. Why didn't you 0:00:23.881 --> 0:00:26.241 go on sixty minutes and sit across from somebody that 0:00:26.521 --> 0:00:28.521 you know is going to do a headshet job on 0:00:28.601 --> 0:00:32.961 you and share and the Nazi sign, which I did, 0:00:33.241 --> 0:00:38.601 the diet Trump's physical activity one hundred times. That's we're 0:00:38.641 --> 0:00:41.961 here to create, the here to dream, We're here to 0:00:42.001 --> 0:00:45.720 do that. It was a coordinated attack, mate, Like it 0:00:45.801 --> 0:00:47.080 wasn't just fucking out. 0:00:46.881 --> 0:00:47.480 Of the blue. 0:00:49.361 --> 0:00:51.321 We'll start off with you telling me about you know, 0:00:51.361 --> 0:00:54.201 growing up, and then how you got into being a 0:00:54.281 --> 0:00:57.161 chef and all like that, and yeah, we'll get into 0:00:57.161 --> 0:00:58.081 the nitty gritty of it all. 0:00:58.441 --> 0:01:01.161 Yeah, for sure, I'll try not to bore too many 0:01:01.241 --> 0:01:01.761 people with. 0:01:03.681 --> 0:01:04.441 The story of me. 0:01:04.641 --> 0:01:09.201 But see you asked, I will answer as concisely as possible. 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:12.200 So I grew up in Victoria until I was seven. 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:15.000 Then parents separated, moved up to the Gold Coast with 0:01:15.041 --> 0:01:21.801 my mum. She remarried, and I got to experience what 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:25.681 life was like living near the beach, which I resisted 0:01:25.721 --> 0:01:28.000 for so long because I had a fear of the 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:33.961 ocean from an early early childhood, I guess experience. And 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:36.240 my brother was a surf He was nine years older 0:01:36.241 --> 0:01:38.481 than me, and he came up and visited and try 0:01:38.521 --> 0:01:40.161 to get me to the beach, and I was so 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:42.241 resistant to it because I was just so fearful. 0:01:42.881 --> 0:01:45.321 So I faced the. 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:51.241 Fear, and everything basically changed for me once I discovered surfing. 0:01:51.281 --> 0:01:53.681 I think I was about thirteen fourteen when I first 0:01:53.681 --> 0:01:57.081 caught my first wave, and up until that point, I 0:01:57.161 --> 0:02:01.761 was what you would consider, I guess a nerd at school. 0:02:01.841 --> 0:02:07.241 You know, I enjoyed mathematics, science, numbers, all of these 0:02:07.241 --> 0:02:09.801 things have made sense. And then when I discovered surfing, 0:02:09.841 --> 0:02:13.281 it just opened up a whole new reality for me. 0:02:13.641 --> 0:02:16.321 You know, I learned to have fun, and I learned 0:02:16.321 --> 0:02:18.800 to have fun by myself and with others, because up 0:02:18.841 --> 0:02:23.361 until that point I was quite insular and very very shy. 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:27.840 And the ocean taught me so much about facing fear 0:02:28.361 --> 0:02:32.201 and that life is always changing, very much like the 0:02:32.201 --> 0:02:36.001 ocean is. You know, no two days are identical in 0:02:36.041 --> 0:02:39.921 the ocean, no two waves are identical. And it's been 0:02:39.921 --> 0:02:41.761 a great metaphor for my life to be able to 0:02:42.361 --> 0:02:46.321 ride the waves of life. So the young Pete Evans 0:02:46.441 --> 0:02:49.521 is fourteen, discovers a passion, you know, finding the things 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:52.321 that you like to do, and that led on to 0:02:52.441 --> 0:02:58.680 skateboarding and then skiing, snowboarding, skydiving, all of those sort 0:02:58.721 --> 0:03:03.281 of I guess adrenaline street, yeah, adrenaline sports, and I 0:03:03.401 --> 0:03:06.561 thrive on. I used to drive in that environment of 0:03:06.601 --> 0:03:10.001 pushing myself to the limits, you know, catch bigger waves, 0:03:10.441 --> 0:03:14.401 ride bigger skate parks, ride bigger half pipes, jump. 0:03:14.161 --> 0:03:18.081 Out of plades, go down the mound, to learn different have. 0:03:18.001 --> 0:03:21.521 Different funds and different ways of having fun and pushing 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:25.841 ourselves into that position of that, oh fuck, I could 0:03:25.921 --> 0:03:30.001 die in this experience, which then led me into different 0:03:30.081 --> 0:03:33.521 experience with psychedelic journeys and going through the death process. 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:35.720 We could talk about that a bit more, but I've 0:03:35.721 --> 0:03:42.001 always quite enjoyed seeing where my boundaries are. And as 0:03:42.001 --> 0:03:45.441 you know, I became a chef and I was seventeen 0:03:45.481 --> 0:03:47.161 when I started my apprenticeshi because I didn't want to 0:03:47.201 --> 0:03:50.001 go to school. The nerd Pete sort of fell away 0:03:50.121 --> 0:03:56.161 to the adventurous Pete and learning to cook was again 0:03:56.961 --> 0:04:01.881 a huge challenge for me because back thirty five years 0:04:01.921 --> 0:04:06.281 ago when I started the cooking industry and the chefing 0:04:06.281 --> 0:04:09.561 industry and the restaurant industry is quite militant, quite tough. 0:04:10.001 --> 0:04:13.121 I won't say quite tough, it's fucking tough. Like anybody 0:04:13.521 --> 0:04:16.241 that has worked in the hospitality industry and especially in 0:04:16.281 --> 0:04:20.200 the back of house in the kitchen, knows the mental strength, 0:04:20.241 --> 0:04:23.760 emotional strength, and physical strength that it takes to be 0:04:23.841 --> 0:04:26.880 able to work in that environment and not crash and 0:04:26.961 --> 0:04:31.241 burn or to move up the ranks. So that was 0:04:31.281 --> 0:04:35.241 a great opportunity for me to learn new skills about 0:04:35.241 --> 0:04:39.880 myself again facing fear, learning what my boundaries are. And 0:04:40.041 --> 0:04:44.320 during that process I've been for ten twenty years. My 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:47.720 average working week was eighty to one hundred hours a week, 0:04:48.281 --> 0:04:53.641 and so that taught me a lot about resilience, how 0:04:55.081 --> 0:04:58.041 we can create a mental state to be able to 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:02.400 push through in a boundary that we might have felt 0:05:03.201 --> 0:05:07.281 was impossible for us, very challenging for us. So that 0:05:07.401 --> 0:05:09.880 sort of gives you a great overview. 0:05:10.241 --> 0:05:12.561 Who started you cooking? How did you start cooking? 0:05:12.561 --> 0:05:15.401 From like being all this adrenaline kid and then all 0:05:15.401 --> 0:05:16.601 of a sudden you just want to cook. 0:05:17.521 --> 0:05:20.121 Well, I wanted to. As I said, I didn't want 0:05:20.121 --> 0:05:22.281 to go to university, and I looked at all the 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:29.281 different trades that were available to do an apprenticeship, so mechanic, builder, plumber, electrician, hairdresser, butcher, 0:05:29.761 --> 0:05:32.921 and cooking seemed to make the most sensees because I 0:05:32.961 --> 0:05:35.721 had no passion for any of them, and I wanted 0:05:35.721 --> 0:05:37.880 to get a job. So first and foremost, get me 0:05:38.081 --> 0:05:41.641 at seventeen, move out a home, be independent, live that 0:05:41.721 --> 0:05:45.921 life of a young young man on his own. And 0:05:46.481 --> 0:05:49.681 the cooking ticked a lot of boxes for me because 0:05:50.041 --> 0:05:53.001 when I knew it would give me the most important 0:05:53.001 --> 0:05:55.760 life skill that I could ever have, which is learning 0:05:55.801 --> 0:05:57.881 to cook for myself. And if ever ever I had 0:05:57.921 --> 0:06:00.241 a family or a partner, I'd be able to use 0:06:00.281 --> 0:06:04.760 that tool as a great gift to others and also 0:06:04.801 --> 0:06:06.760 to myself. To me, I want to learn how to 0:06:06.801 --> 0:06:09.801 feed myself. Number two, I knew that I'd be able 0:06:09.841 --> 0:06:12.161 to travel with it. So if I wanted to travel 0:06:12.201 --> 0:06:14.121 the world, I knew I'd be able to set up 0:06:14.281 --> 0:06:17.241 camp in pretty much any country that would take me. 0:06:17.961 --> 0:06:22.721 Because the cooking industry is an international industry where people 0:06:22.801 --> 0:06:27.361 travel around the world and take up residencies and it's 0:06:27.401 --> 0:06:29.521 one of those jobs where you can go anywhere. And 0:06:29.641 --> 0:06:33.841 number three, Naively, I thought I'd be able to surf 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:39.281 in the day and work at night, until I realized 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:42.281 that when you become an apprentice, you basically work all 0:06:42.361 --> 0:06:50.161 day all night. So that led us into open restaurants, 0:06:51.281 --> 0:06:54.601 learning to have a love creating a love for food, 0:06:54.721 --> 0:07:01.080 and then subsequently the journey up the ladder was owning 0:07:01.121 --> 0:07:04.080 great restaurants with my brother and our business partner's winning 0:07:04.161 --> 0:07:08.681 awards and there the spotlight was on us at the 0:07:08.721 --> 0:07:11.721 time with our Bondai restaurant, and then that led at 0:07:11.721 --> 0:07:15.401 the same time as the celebrity chef phenomenon led by 0:07:15.481 --> 0:07:18.881 Jamie Oliver and people like that into Australia, and then 0:07:19.001 --> 0:07:23.521 I was cast into a TV series and for twenty 0:07:23.521 --> 0:07:26.761 plus years I was on Australian TV screens of international 0:07:26.801 --> 0:07:29.801 TV screens, which then led me to face another fear, 0:07:29.801 --> 0:07:33.401 which was being seen and heard. They say the two 0:07:33.401 --> 0:07:36.281 greatest fears is death and then public speaking. So it 0:07:37.001 --> 0:07:41.280 allowed me to conquer that fear of that shy kid 0:07:41.321 --> 0:07:44.881 that had the adventure side of him, but still was 0:07:45.121 --> 0:07:49.321 very shy in relation to I don't feel worthy to 0:07:49.361 --> 0:07:52.241 be seen, to be heard. So that was another adventure 0:07:52.441 --> 0:07:55.001 that I faced head on until I got to the 0:07:55.041 --> 0:07:58.321 point of where I like to get to all of 0:07:58.361 --> 0:08:01.801 my endeavors of facing my fears and insecurities is get 0:08:01.801 --> 0:08:07.241 to a place of not only enjoyment, neutrality. So I'm 0:08:07.281 --> 0:08:08.921 happy to do it and I'm happy not to do it, 0:08:08.961 --> 0:08:12.041 if that makes sense. So whereas a lot of people 0:08:13.121 --> 0:08:15.801 can fall into the trap of, you know, if we 0:08:15.841 --> 0:08:18.401 talk about fame or celebrity, I want to be famous 0:08:18.441 --> 0:08:22.161 because I want to be famous, you know, whereas it 0:08:22.201 --> 0:08:24.681 was a different path for me. It was like, I'll 0:08:24.681 --> 0:08:28.281 go on this journey to confront my fears and I 0:08:28.321 --> 0:08:31.281 will get to the place of neutrality or contentment in 0:08:31.361 --> 0:08:34.561 that so that if it ever gets taken away, which 0:08:34.561 --> 0:08:39.161 it has, it's dissolved, I won't need I won't be 0:08:40.121 --> 0:08:44.601 upset that that is not my identity anymore, because it 0:08:44.641 --> 0:08:49.081 can be our careers, our aspirations, our dreams in life 0:08:49.521 --> 0:08:52.921 that we strive for, which is fantastic because that's that's 0:08:52.921 --> 0:08:56.201 sort of our blueprint, is to evolve and to grow. 0:08:57.521 --> 0:09:00.401 Sometimes the trap can be once you get there and 0:09:00.441 --> 0:09:04.121 if that no longer exists for whatever reason, you know 0:09:05.201 --> 0:09:08.241 that we lose ourselves to our situation. 0:09:08.841 --> 0:09:11.881 Did you like the limelight? Did you? Or did you 0:09:12.041 --> 0:09:13.441 rather not be in the lime later? 0:09:14.601 --> 0:09:18.561 It's such an interesting it's such a paradox, you know, 0:09:19.041 --> 0:09:22.281 you do when you don't. Yeah, And I don't want 0:09:22.321 --> 0:09:24.681 to be that black and white with it as well, because, 0:09:25.241 --> 0:09:27.561 as I said, the adventure for me, or the journey 0:09:27.561 --> 0:09:30.281 for me, was getting to be comfortable without any fear 0:09:30.641 --> 0:09:35.921 anti or trepidation about speaking in front of a thousand people, 0:09:36.001 --> 0:09:37.481 or being on a show that's going to be seen 0:09:37.521 --> 0:09:41.601 by a million people, without having self doubt or self 0:09:41.601 --> 0:09:45.041 consciousness of what will people think of me? You know 0:09:45.161 --> 0:09:47.561 when you because that's a big one for a lot 0:09:47.561 --> 0:09:50.401 of people is they're fearful of being judged by. 0:09:50.241 --> 0:09:52.121 Their peers or from strangers. 0:09:52.441 --> 0:09:55.321 So a lot of people choose not to do something 0:09:55.401 --> 0:09:58.761 because if they think that they are going to look 0:09:58.801 --> 0:10:04.281 stupid or be judged harshly. Now there's me, they'll hide 0:10:04.281 --> 0:10:06.521 away away from it, you know, for. 0:10:06.881 --> 0:10:10.721 The fear of failure, the fear of not being loved 0:10:10.721 --> 0:10:11.561 and not being liked. 0:10:11.641 --> 0:10:15.521 So so for me, that wasn't really the journey of 0:10:15.601 --> 0:10:18.441 because to this day, I've never really give a fuck 0:10:18.481 --> 0:10:19.601 what people think of me. 0:10:20.041 --> 0:10:20.281 You know. 0:10:20.601 --> 0:10:23.521 It's what I think of myself that matters. And everybody 0:10:23.561 --> 0:10:28.601 else is projection onto me or judgment of me, is 0:10:28.721 --> 0:10:32.361 their own fears, in securities, themselves playing out, you know. 0:10:32.561 --> 0:10:35.321 As you know, we're all mirrors for everybody else. What 0:10:35.481 --> 0:10:40.081 triggers us when we judge somebody else is the part 0:10:40.161 --> 0:10:43.721 of us that needs the work or the evolution or 0:10:43.721 --> 0:10:46.281 the growth for us to be able to get to 0:10:46.321 --> 0:10:50.561 the point where we just accept everybody for who they 0:10:50.641 --> 0:10:54.721 are without judgment, you know. And that's that's that's something 0:10:54.921 --> 0:10:58.361 I have been very conscious and aware of for quite 0:10:58.361 --> 0:10:59.041 a long time. 0:10:59.601 --> 0:11:01.801 So when you when you went into cook In and 0:11:01.841 --> 0:11:04.241 you became the chef, what was it like for you 0:11:04.321 --> 0:11:06.201 to open your first restaurant? 0:11:06.241 --> 0:11:07.201 Like, what was that feeling? 0:11:09.601 --> 0:11:12.921 It was my brother and his business Farta and my 0:11:12.921 --> 0:11:15.081 father had opened a restaurant and at the time, I 0:11:15.161 --> 0:11:18.161 was in my third year apprenticeship at another restaurant down 0:11:18.161 --> 0:11:20.801 in Melbourne, and they asked me to come along and 0:11:21.001 --> 0:11:23.761 help them out in the kitchen, and they already had 0:11:23.761 --> 0:11:27.481 a head chef and I was I think eighteen and 0:11:27.521 --> 0:11:30.601 a half nineteen years old at the time, and I 0:11:30.681 --> 0:11:31.321 jumped in. 0:11:32.721 --> 0:11:35.961 And after a couple of months, I actually said to. 0:11:37.921 --> 0:11:40.681 My bosses, which was my brother my dad, and I said, 0:11:41.201 --> 0:11:43.161 I said, I reckon, I can do a better job 0:11:43.161 --> 0:11:45.601 than the head chef that you've got on board, even 0:11:45.641 --> 0:11:50.561 though he was probably in his thirties and he wasn't 0:11:50.561 --> 0:11:54.801 doing a great job. He had some personal issues. At 0:11:54.841 --> 0:11:57.281 the time, I liked him, but I said, you know, 0:11:57.641 --> 0:11:59.801 if you give me the role, I will put in 0:11:59.801 --> 0:12:03.081 one hundred and fifty percent and let me show you 0:12:03.921 --> 0:12:07.521 what a well run kitchen be. Because I've always liked systems, 0:12:07.521 --> 0:12:10.721 I've liked organization, and in the kitchen and in the 0:12:10.721 --> 0:12:14.921 restaurant industry, you really need those strong foundations of systems 0:12:15.161 --> 0:12:20.041 and organizational techniques. And so I dove into that and 0:12:20.081 --> 0:12:24.081 eventually they gave me the green light, which I'm eternally 0:12:24.081 --> 0:12:27.681 grateful for to them to. 0:12:27.641 --> 0:12:28.841 Give me that opportunity. 0:12:29.601 --> 0:12:32.401 And then subsequently I became an equal shareholder in that 0:12:32.481 --> 0:12:35.201 first business, and we went on to open another five 0:12:35.321 --> 0:12:39.361 businesses together and we're in partnership for twenty years. But 0:12:39.401 --> 0:12:44.041 the feeling for that was again there was a sort 0:12:44.041 --> 0:12:45.481 of like, oh, fuck, this. 0:12:45.561 --> 0:12:51.721 Is now real, you know, because it's yours or it's ours, 0:12:51.801 --> 0:12:54.761 you know, because I had business partners and we're all 0:12:54.801 --> 0:12:59.481 striving to number one, create wonderful products, which is the 0:12:59.521 --> 0:13:02.881 food and the service of a cafe slash restaurant. 0:13:03.961 --> 0:13:09.561 Consistently, and our motto was always let's exceed the customers 0:13:09.561 --> 0:13:13.481 expectations if we can. And I've always held on too 0:13:13.561 --> 0:13:18.041 that that simple phrase, let's let's do our best to 0:13:18.161 --> 0:13:21.441 exceed our customers expectations. And I've carried that on to 0:13:22.001 --> 0:13:24.881 the documentaries the books that I've written. My wife and 0:13:24.881 --> 0:13:28.401 I run a wellness retreat up here over the last 0:13:28.401 --> 0:13:32.161 four years, and before every retreat, I'm always like, can 0:13:32.201 --> 0:13:34.961 I exceed expectations, even though I don't know what their 0:13:35.001 --> 0:13:40.521 expectations are, you know. So it always is this inner 0:13:40.521 --> 0:13:45.241 feeling of can I deliver more than is expected of me? 0:13:46.401 --> 0:13:49.081 And that's that's as simple as I can put it. 0:13:49.161 --> 0:13:52.761 So when you when you were the head chef, what 0:13:52.921 --> 0:13:55.881 what kind of chef would you be? That the jackal 0:13:56.041 --> 0:13:56.601 or the hide? 0:13:59.281 --> 0:14:02.881 Well, it's so interesting because one of the greatest challenges 0:14:02.921 --> 0:14:05.561 I had to overcome was I was one of the 0:14:05.601 --> 0:14:08.441 youngest in the kitchen and I was the boss, and 0:14:08.521 --> 0:14:12.961 so I would often be hiring more experienced chefs to 0:14:13.041 --> 0:14:15.561 me that were quite older. So I had to go 0:14:15.641 --> 0:14:20.521 through again one of those processes of growing and not 0:14:21.001 --> 0:14:27.641 succumbing to my insecurities and fears and doubts about you know, 0:14:27.801 --> 0:14:30.241 I'm a phony, I'm a fake, I shouldn't be here that, 0:14:30.521 --> 0:14:32.161 you know, You've got to work up the ladder to 0:14:32.201 --> 0:14:36.121 be able to garner respect, so which gave me more 0:14:36.161 --> 0:14:39.681 incentive and more drive to be as professional and as 0:14:39.761 --> 0:14:44.361 mature as I could at that age. So when I 0:14:44.441 --> 0:14:47.441 adopted that, when I got offered the opportunity into the 0:14:47.481 --> 0:14:51.561 business for the years prior when I was working for 0:14:51.601 --> 0:14:56.521 somebody else, you know, I was. I took a lot 0:14:56.561 --> 0:15:01.721 of recreational drugs in my seventeen eighteen nineteen years of 0:15:01.761 --> 0:15:10.841 age endeavor because it was rife in the hospitality industry, cannabis, LSD. 0:15:12.121 --> 0:15:15.881 Acid, it was just what the food was like. It 0:15:18.201 --> 0:15:20.201 was an interesting time. 0:15:20.401 --> 0:15:25.921 Very grateful to experience that as well, because obviously psychedelics 0:15:25.961 --> 0:15:32.401 I helped to open up our our ability to see more, 0:15:32.841 --> 0:15:35.161 you know, on many, many different levels. So I'm always 0:15:35.201 --> 0:15:37.601 grateful for those experience in my early days, even though 0:15:37.641 --> 0:15:40.801 I didn't really know what I was doing with certain 0:15:40.801 --> 0:15:44.401 psychedelics at the time, you know, I saw them as recreational, 0:15:45.081 --> 0:15:47.841 whereas nowadays I see them as very medicinal and very 0:15:48.201 --> 0:15:52.481 very powerful tools to elicit change if we choose to. So, 0:15:54.081 --> 0:15:56.321 when I was offered the opportunity to become a businessman, 0:15:58.841 --> 0:16:02.601 I came across a book called Awaken the Giant Within, 0:16:02.681 --> 0:16:05.041 written by Anthony Robbins. And I was nineteen at the time, 0:16:05.161 --> 0:16:06.921 and I read that and it was the first book 0:16:07.001 --> 0:16:13.641 about self empowerment, understanding our insecurities, our fears, how our 0:16:13.641 --> 0:16:17.561 belief systems created from a very young age, how we 0:16:17.601 --> 0:16:20.601 adopt our belief systems from either our parents or our 0:16:20.641 --> 0:16:27.721 culture or our education. And that was a huge turning. 0:16:27.401 --> 0:16:28.041 Point for me. 0:16:28.481 --> 0:16:32.041 So I devoured that book very quickly. I gave up alcohol, 0:16:32.161 --> 0:16:34.521 I gave up meat at the time, I gave up 0:16:35.561 --> 0:16:39.921 all drugs. I started meditation. I started to read as 0:16:40.041 --> 0:16:45.081 much as I could on entrepreneurial business books, as many 0:16:45.161 --> 0:16:50.841 books as I could on human development, on motivational speaking, 0:16:51.041 --> 0:16:53.401 on all of this stuff. So for a good three 0:16:53.521 --> 0:16:56.321 or four year period, I immersed myself into the works 0:16:56.361 --> 0:17:00.361 of Deepak choprah Wane. Day conversations with God, I was 0:17:00.441 --> 0:17:04.120 enrolling into spirituality courses when I could meditation courses, I 0:17:04.241 --> 0:17:07.440 was really on the I was like, if I'm going 0:17:07.481 --> 0:17:09.600 to work this hard eighty to one hundred hour weeks 0:17:09.801 --> 0:17:13.401 and I want this business to succeed with my business partners, 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:17.481 I want to change the way that I was living, 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:21.760 because that wouldn't I wouldn't be able to do both. 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:24.120 I wouldn't be able to take the recreational drugs, getting 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:27.880 drunk on the weekend, burning both the candles at both ends. 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:29.880 I knew that one of them had to give. And 0:17:30.441 --> 0:17:32.521 this was a huge opportunity to go into business. So 0:17:32.721 --> 0:17:39.880 I focused on personal development, personal health, as much information 0:17:39.921 --> 0:17:42.801 as I could about the human body and mind and spirit. 0:17:43.481 --> 0:17:49.761 And so that has been a lifelong journey with its 0:17:49.880 --> 0:17:53.281 ebbs and flows and roundabouts and up some downs. 0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:55.920 And it's been such a beautiful journey. 0:17:55.921 --> 0:18:00.801 But yeah, grateful for all the experiences that have arisen 0:18:01.360 --> 0:18:04.640 from all the choices that either I've created or have 0:18:04.681 --> 0:18:05.400 been off to me. 0:18:06.041 --> 0:18:10.241 Whose idea was it to move like or push the 0:18:10.681 --> 0:18:13.200 brand of Hugos to King's Cross. 0:18:13.721 --> 0:18:18.520 So my brother and myself, after running our Melbourne restaurant 0:18:18.521 --> 0:18:21.521 for a few years, my brother wanted to open something 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:25.200 up in Sydney and he found a site first in 0:18:25.241 --> 0:18:28.961 bomb Dai and we opened our first Hugos in Bomdai, 0:18:29.001 --> 0:18:32.801 which was a modern Australian restaurant and quite fancy food 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:34.481 for the time, was model Australia. 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:36.360 At the Hugo's days, we used. 0:18:36.241 --> 0:18:38.321 To like to throw a party at the end of 0:18:38.321 --> 0:18:42.240 the night all the time in bomb Dai people. We 0:18:42.281 --> 0:18:45.001 sort of became quite famous. It's sort of like in 0:18:45.041 --> 0:18:48.241 an underground way that not only did Hugos in Bombdai, 0:18:48.241 --> 0:18:51.520 I was a little fifty sixty seat restaurant have great food, 0:18:51.921 --> 0:18:55.241 but we used to like to party after hours too in. 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:56.360 Our little bond season. 0:18:57.521 --> 0:19:00.880 So the natural evolution for that was can we open 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:06.600 a bigger bar with great food, which became Hugo's Lounge 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:09.721 in King's Cross. And you know, we used to be 0:19:09.761 --> 0:19:11.761 able to hold three four hundred people I think, I 0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:13.600 don't remember the exact numbers. That we had that for 0:19:14.241 --> 0:19:17.080 over a decade, I believe, and that became quite an 0:19:17.080 --> 0:19:20.200 institution for people. And then we opened up downstairs we 0:19:20.281 --> 0:19:23.081 have in a modern pizza borough as well, and then 0:19:23.120 --> 0:19:28.080 my brother and us opened Hugo's Manly, which is still 0:19:28.120 --> 0:19:31.801 going today. And I stepped away from the business after 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:38.920 nineteen years about thirteen fourteen years ago, and all the 0:19:38.921 --> 0:19:42.921 businesses is very successful. Hugo's Manly is great. We still 0:19:42.961 --> 0:19:46.041 have the boys, still have the church sreet pantry down 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:50.201 in Victoria, and we also used to do a lot 0:19:50.201 --> 0:19:53.880 of catering as well, Hugo's catering, which I love the 0:19:53.921 --> 0:19:59.720 most because if you're talking about adrenaline, setting up like 0:19:59.801 --> 0:20:02.600 a pop up kitchen for an event, for someone's wedding 0:20:02.721 --> 0:20:07.161 or anniversary or product law sure, whatever it may be, 0:20:07.600 --> 0:20:11.360 you know, talking about stress setting something up off site 0:20:11.521 --> 0:20:14.880 to cater for anywhere from fifty people to a thousand people, 0:20:15.441 --> 0:20:19.600 and people and it's a memorable occasion for people. You've 0:20:19.640 --> 0:20:22.480 got to be on your game, you know. And I 0:20:22.561 --> 0:20:25.440 loved the catering aspect to it because I got to 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:28.840 you can play around with a lot more food than 0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:33.761 you can with your normal menu in a normal restaurant, 0:20:34.001 --> 0:20:36.281 because a lot of people when they go to a restaurant, 0:20:36.360 --> 0:20:40.801 they go there for certain dishes. So you can sort 0:20:40.801 --> 0:20:44.281 of be constrained a little bit by the amount of 0:20:44.360 --> 0:20:46.121 things that you change on the menu because you don't 0:20:46.120 --> 0:20:48.480 want to upset your customers because they go there for 0:20:48.521 --> 0:20:52.001 certain things, whereas with catering every event, you know, they'd 0:20:52.001 --> 0:20:54.120 have a different price point, they'd have a different theme. 0:20:54.561 --> 0:20:57.761 And so I got to play a lot in that 0:20:57.880 --> 0:21:01.280 world and I loved it. I loved it all, but 0:21:01.321 --> 0:21:04.801 the catering was always my favorite. 0:21:05.681 --> 0:21:09.841 When when you're going back to Hugo's Lounge and when 0:21:09.880 --> 0:21:11.641 you opened up, you were in a in a kind 0:21:11.681 --> 0:21:14.721 of era when you know, King's Cross was was booming. 0:21:16.721 --> 0:21:19.041 Was it difficult to open up a venue when no 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:20.441 one really knew who used where. 0:21:22.041 --> 0:21:24.761 Well, we had a really beautiful I guess a loyal 0:21:24.801 --> 0:21:31.640 following from our Bondai restaurant. We're only small, but we 0:21:31.761 --> 0:21:36.520 created a name for ourselves, which yeah, people would come 0:21:36.561 --> 0:21:41.200 from interstate, Like before Bondai Iceberg's opened up, which is 0:21:41.640 --> 0:21:46.041 Morris's beautiful restaurant down there. There are only a couple 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:48.761 of places ourselves and Sean's Panorama, which is which is 0:21:48.801 --> 0:21:51.360 still there at North Bondai. We're sort of the two 0:21:51.441 --> 0:21:54.681 places to go to in in Bondai at the time 0:21:54.721 --> 0:21:56.881 and then and there's some other good quality places too, 0:21:56.921 --> 0:22:00.400 But we for some reason, and I think it was 0:22:00.441 --> 0:22:03.281 out it was the package. We had a great location 0:22:03.441 --> 0:22:07.001 so you could see the beach, We had wonderful service 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:10.680 or front of house, we had a wonderful kitchen team, 0:22:10.840 --> 0:22:13.801 and we're doing really good food. So we sort of 0:22:13.840 --> 0:22:17.561 had that package in a relaxed and casual environment. Because 0:22:17.600 --> 0:22:20.160 a lot of places that were often really good food, 0:22:21.201 --> 0:22:24.201 it felt quite sterile and it can feel a little 0:22:24.201 --> 0:22:27.240 bit sort of, you know, a little boring, whereas ours was. 0:22:27.561 --> 0:22:29.640 You know, our intention was always to have a fun, 0:22:30.120 --> 0:22:33.521 fun vibe and fun environment and my brother and the 0:22:33.561 --> 0:22:37.001 team were great at putting the right music, on setting 0:22:37.001 --> 0:22:41.281 the lighting just right, offering people the right type of 0:22:41.321 --> 0:22:44.760 service that would not alienate them. And the thing that 0:22:45.441 --> 0:22:49.440 happened to us is we started to attract the celebrity crowd, 0:22:49.921 --> 0:22:53.161 and not just you know, the Sydney social scene. We 0:22:53.241 --> 0:22:58.680 attracted the international celebrities. So when Matrix was getting filmed 0:22:58.721 --> 0:23:01.441 in Sydney, you know, Keanu Reeves would eat there very 0:23:01.441 --> 0:23:05.480 often a lot. When Star Wars was being filmed, Natalie 0:23:05.521 --> 0:23:09.161 Portman would be in there. When Royalty came through the country, 0:23:09.201 --> 0:23:12.001 they would go there. We had led Zeppelin, We had 0:23:13.281 --> 0:23:16.240 a cook for as many of the big names in 0:23:16.281 --> 0:23:18.521 the world than I can even remember. I don't even 0:23:18.681 --> 0:23:22.321 remember many of them any more. So when that people 0:23:22.360 --> 0:23:23.920 would be able to sit in a restaurant and have 0:23:24.160 --> 0:23:29.161 you know, Richard Branson city next them or whoever, it 0:23:29.201 --> 0:23:29.840 was quite. 0:23:29.600 --> 0:23:30.561 A unique. 0:23:32.080 --> 0:23:35.761 Casual vibe where people were rubbing shoulders with sort of 0:23:36.600 --> 0:23:39.201 you know, I don't like to judge people on their 0:23:39.241 --> 0:23:40.721 status or their celebrity, but a. 0:23:40.640 --> 0:23:41.521 Lot of people do. 0:23:41.921 --> 0:23:45.521 So that created a I guess a little bit of 0:23:46.640 --> 0:23:49.200 fascination for the Hugo's brand. 0:23:49.561 --> 0:23:51.441 So when we opened at Hugo's. 0:23:51.041 --> 0:23:56.641 Lounge and we had wonderful DJs like Sneaky Sound System 0:23:56.761 --> 0:24:00.680 and others, they used to play there, and so the 0:24:00.761 --> 0:24:02.880