Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload the podcast last weep. Theirline welcome back guys
Speaker 1: to TV Reload. My name, as you would know, is
Speaker 1: Benjamin Norris, and this is your podcast to get all
Speaker 1: the inside goss all the popular TV shows you may
Speaker 1: be watching from around the world. Undeniably, our TV sets
Speaker 1: are a major part of our home entertainment, and yet
Speaker 1: very little is known about how our favorite shows get made.
Speaker 1: So I've been finding guests that want to dive just
Speaker 1: that little bit deeper into the shows they're currently making,
Speaker 1: so that you can hear all their exclusive stories and
Speaker 1: gain access to the biggest names in Australian television. I
Speaker 1: want to thank you for downloading or subscribing to this
Speaker 1: podcast however you've found it. I love hearing your feedback,
Speaker 1: so make sure you leave a review or a comment
Speaker 1: on your chosen podcast platform. This episode of the podcast,
Speaker 1: I'm joined by Antonio and Ralph, both eliminated from MasterChef
Speaker 1: Australia twenty twenty three Secrets and Surprises. Antonio Cruz Vermond
Speaker 1: is a thirty four year old software developer from New
Speaker 1: South Wales, originally from Venezuela, Antonio moved to Australia in
Speaker 1: twenty fifteen and within search of a better life. He
Speaker 1: said he wanted to attribute his love of food to
Speaker 1: his family and you know what, I really do feel
Speaker 1: like that came across, so that's a big win for him.
Speaker 1: Ralph Kehango is a thirty two year old auditor from
Speaker 1: Western Australia. Born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa.
Speaker 1: Ralph moved to Australia at a very young age. Than
Speaker 1: At university, he achieved a Master of Accounting degree, but
Speaker 1: after five years as a government auditor, he's decided to
Speaker 1: pursue his passion for cooking. You will hear both contestants
Speaker 1: open up about their time on the show and get
Speaker 1: more insights into what really went down during production. I
Speaker 1: will ask about their highs and lows and how their
Speaker 1: families influence their time in the Master Chef kitchen. Antonio
Speaker 1: Bulunpaki's final cook and we will talk about Maggie Beer's
Speaker 1: appearance on the show. Ralph does discuss why it is
Speaker 1: anyone's game at this point and what he really thought
Speaker 1: about going up against a very tough competition. This week, plus,
Speaker 1: we will get plenty of exclusives behind the scenes of
Speaker 1: Masterschef Australia Secrets and Surprises, which is currently on Network
Speaker 1: and you can catch up on ten Play if you've
Speaker 1: fallen just that little bit behind. Anyway, let's bring Antonio
Speaker 1: into the podcast first and stick around for Ralph, who
Speaker 1: will pop in straight after. Congratulations Antonio. I just want
Speaker 1: to say, what an amazing achievement to make it to
Speaker 1: the top ten of Mastership Australia.
Speaker 2: It was definitely a dream and yeah, I enjoy every
Speaker 2: second of the whole thing.
Speaker 1: I was gonna say, it was a very emotional end
Speaker 1: to your time on the show. How did you go
Speaker 1: watching it back? I mean, was that a little stressful?
Speaker 2: It was funny because I had all my friends around
Speaker 2: me and I didn't tell them, so I wanted to
Speaker 2: get their reactions. So but I need to admit I
Speaker 2: got a little bit teary again. So but it's all good,
Speaker 2: Like it was good to you know, see myself there
Speaker 2: and yeah, just enjoy with my friends. It was lovely.
Speaker 1: It's very common that people don't tell their friends and family.
Speaker 1: I want to know, do the producers tell you that
Speaker 1: you're not allowed to tell anyone or is that kind
Speaker 1: of up to your own discretion.
Speaker 2: They probably don't want you to say anything. But I
Speaker 2: think from my end, I wanted to get a you know,
Speaker 2: a very truthful reaction from them, so I was never
Speaker 2: I never told them you know, how I went and
Speaker 2: when I went, and because I really wanted to get there,
Speaker 2: you know, the proper reaction, which I think if I
Speaker 2: tell them, I would have been robbing you from the
Speaker 2: whole experience. So yeah, I don't know, like I think
Speaker 2: they enjoyed it. They they call me names afterwards.
Speaker 1: But I'm shocked that you told no one, not even
Speaker 1: your mom.
Speaker 2: No, I didn't. Yeah, I did keep it all to myself. Wow,
Speaker 2: not even my mom. I think he was like, oh you,
Speaker 2: why did you do this to me?
Speaker 1: I mean, I feel like the only person I would
Speaker 1: probably tell would be my therapist.
Speaker 2: Because confidentiality agreement.
Speaker 1: Right, I guess you would have to worry about your
Speaker 1: confidentiality agreement. It's probably a good way to play it,
Speaker 1: you know. Watching you being so emotional last night, I wondered,
Speaker 1: is there more tears and tantrums that we don't get
Speaker 1: to say, or are we saying everything that happens in
Speaker 1: the kitchen.
Speaker 2: Maybe I don't know, like there's definitely a lot of
Speaker 2: people and there I don't think there's enough cameras to
Speaker 2: go everyone. But I think they do try to keep
Speaker 2: you know, keep true to what's happening in the kitchen,
Speaker 2: and they I mean, they do want to show your emotions,
Speaker 2: which is you know what I really like about this
Speaker 2: this sort of show mastershaw It's very wholesome and they
Speaker 2: always want to portray you as you are and not
Speaker 2: you know, like something you're not. And I mean if
Speaker 2: you're a teary, if you're happy, if you're angry, I
Speaker 2: think it'll well, you know, shine through the TV at
Speaker 2: some point.
Speaker 1: I mean it's kind of the magic of this show.
Speaker 1: I mean, Mastership Australia does feel I mean, I feel
Speaker 1: like you can tell that there's less tricks to the edit.
Speaker 2: And I think even if there was any sort of
Speaker 2: trick create people could see through it. So I think
Speaker 2: they're just you know, keeping themselves honest and just showing
Speaker 2: who everyone is really.
Speaker 1: This show obviously gets is pre recorded, so you've had
Speaker 1: some time to recover. But what has that aftermath been
Speaker 1: like for you? Do you think that pushing yourself in
Speaker 1: the competition the way that you did has been good
Speaker 1: for you.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean, look, it's it's an opportunity of growth every
Speaker 2: single cook. I think, you know, probably if I look back,
Speaker 2: I would have said, oh, maybe I shouldn't have gone
Speaker 2: with something too risky. But I mean I wanted to
Speaker 2: have my full on mastership experience, and I didn't want
Speaker 2: to repeat myself because you know, I could have just
Speaker 2: done maybe an Eclaire a Federal because they like that
Speaker 2: shoe patry comes really natural to me. But I wanted
Speaker 2: to push the limit. And funnily enough, I practiced my
Speaker 2: raugh puff recipe probably like three days before that shoot,
Speaker 2: because I would keep practicing every single week because I
Speaker 2: knew at some point I wanted to, you know, show
Speaker 2: the judges. But yeah, that just wasn't my day to
Speaker 2: make raft puff.
Speaker 1: That's so crazy that you were practicing only just a
Speaker 1: few days before with that particular dish. You know, it
Speaker 1: is obvious to me at this point that there's very
Speaker 1: little between everyone in the competition.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. I think, Look, once you're in the top ten,
Speaker 2: I think it's the little things that can send you
Speaker 2: home because everyone's just you know, raising the level every
Speaker 2: single day and every single cook and you keep learning, right,
Speaker 2: so you need to be on all your learnings and
Speaker 2: of practicing all this stuff. And yeah, it's just as
Speaker 2: you know, it could have been that I actually did
Speaker 2: the rough bull and amazingly and then Decline put in
Speaker 2: an amazing dish, and I would you know, I could
Speaker 2: have just gone home either way.
Speaker 1: I thought when they said to Decline that this isn't
Speaker 1: a top ten dish, I actually thought that was pretty
Speaker 1: savage the way they spoke to him.
Speaker 2: Look, I think the judges also want to push you,
Speaker 2: like there's no point in playing it safe. So I
Speaker 2: think what they we're trying to say is like, you know,
Speaker 2: Declin has a lot of potential, and he should, you know,
Speaker 2: just push you know, the envelope a little bit and
Speaker 2: trying to come up with an amazing dish, which you
Speaker 2: know he can definitely do.
Speaker 1: Food brings people together, which is a mentor that I
Speaker 1: think you and I both share. Where did your love
Speaker 1: of food come from?
Speaker 4: Oh?
Speaker 2: Look, I think I grew up in the kitchen with
Speaker 2: my mom and my grandma and when I was a kid.
Speaker 2: It has to be from there. And I always kind
Speaker 2: of you know, saw how you know, again, people like
Speaker 2: food brings people together, Like every single gathering between the family,
Speaker 2: it kind of always in my family at least, it
Speaker 2: ended up in the kitchen, like it's either the dining
Speaker 2: table or the kitchen, and because that's where everything happens
Speaker 2: in my family, So I think the lower food is
Speaker 2: it's definitely taken back from those memories. And when I
Speaker 2: came to Australia, that was the way I found the show.
Speaker 2: Love to the people I met here and that became
Speaker 2: ultimately my family. So I cooked for them every single week,
Speaker 2: sometimes just a couple of times a week, and it's
Speaker 2: it's an experience for sharing. Really, what about.
Speaker 1: Food when you first came here to Australia, Not that
Speaker 1: we have that much that's really unique to our country,
Speaker 1: but was there something that you ate when you first
Speaker 1: got here that really stood out and you had a
Speaker 1: reaction to.
Speaker 2: Oh, it's gonna sound cliche, but I think VEGEMI like,
Speaker 2: I was like not a big fan. Also, one of
Speaker 2: my cousins is a bit of frankster, so when I
Speaker 2: got here here, he was like, oh, you should try vegamine.
Speaker 2: It's like nutella. So I went in for like a spoonful.
Speaker 1: I feel like with vegimite. The longer you're here in Australia,
Speaker 1: you know, I've been here my whole life, so I
Speaker 1: love it. But even when people first try it, they
Speaker 1: hate it when they come from overseas. But the longer
Speaker 1: that you hear in Australia, I feel like you get
Speaker 1: more and more used to it, or you've appreciate it more.
Speaker 2: It grows on you. Really, Like I enjoy you know,
Speaker 2: a real you know, cheese sandwich with a little bit
Speaker 2: of vegimite or vegimie and no abl like it's actually
Speaker 2: pretty good, but like it's definitely an acquired taste.
Speaker 1: It's a butt of veggimite ratio that is unique to
Speaker 1: everyone that you've got to get right exactly. You did
Speaker 1: say at the end of last night's episode that you've
Speaker 1: learned so much from your time on the show. Can
Speaker 1: we look into those small things and have a look
Speaker 1: at what you've taken out of the experience.
Speaker 2: Look I think every time we got chef guests, especially
Speaker 2: when we were doing the Beat the Chef for all
Speaker 2: the immunity challenge, I think I took that as a
Speaker 2: learning opportunity And if you look back in the show,
Speaker 2: maybe you want to notice it, but maybe if you
Speaker 2: go back and watch it now. I was paying really
Speaker 2: close attention to Hugh Allen and the way he did
Speaker 2: his perfect and that was the exact same technique I
Speaker 2: used to make my toblown and peanut ice cream sandwiches.
Speaker 2: I think it just goes to show that you when
Speaker 2: you're in in the whole experience, you do well if
Speaker 2: you practice and you apply yourself, and you also pay
Speaker 2: attention because there is always an opportunity for learning in
Speaker 2: the show, which is what I found so amazing because
Speaker 2: it's it would have taken me, you know, three years
Speaker 2: cooking at home to achieve this level, but only just
Speaker 2: a few weeks being on the show. You kind of,
Speaker 2: you know, just catapult yourself in in but you need
Speaker 2: to be one hundred percent in Mason in the experience, right,
Speaker 2: so you get a lot back from it.
Speaker 1: I thought Maggie Beer really brought a lot to that show.
Speaker 1: She has a lot of energy, and she also really
Speaker 1: seemed to connect with you. What did you learn from
Speaker 1: your time with Maggie?
Speaker 2: I mean the moment Maggie stepped into the Mastership kitchen
Speaker 2: like she looked like a floating angel, right, so so,
Speaker 2: so so happy to see her because you know, I've
Speaker 2: seen him, I've seen her in previous seasons of the show.
Speaker 2: She's just amazing, and she's just a sweetheart. And the
Speaker 2: fact that you know she could relate to me, you know,
Speaker 2: being the same age when she found food, and I
Speaker 2: thought that was very sweet of her, right, and you know,
Speaker 2: hopefully it'll be a safe me. Right, maybe thirty four
Speaker 2: is lucky. It is her lucky number, and it's going
Speaker 2: to be my lucky number.
Speaker 1: Two was the oranges instead of the olives. Do you
Speaker 1: think that that was the beginning of the end for you?
Speaker 2: I don't know. You know, it's it's always hard to
Speaker 2: like look back and say, oh, maybe I should have
Speaker 2: done this, because right then and there you're under a
Speaker 2: lot of pressure and you think, god, I'm going against
Speaker 2: these you know, nine amazing people, like eight amazing people,
Speaker 2: So I need to bring my a game. So part
Speaker 2: of picking what was on the clash was like, Okay,
Speaker 2: maybe I'll have enough time to think during my cook
Speaker 2: if I get stuck with a really bad ingredient. But
Speaker 2: when I saw the oranges, I thought, Okay, this is
Speaker 2: my time to bring it home. I'll just put one
Speaker 2: hundred of my effort into this, and it's also an
Speaker 2: elimination day, so you want to bring your fourteen into
Speaker 2: the mix, right, So I could have gone for a
Speaker 2: savory dish, but I thought, you know, not to play
Speaker 2: it safe. But I thought maybe it was my time to,
Speaker 2: you know, that day, to push a little bit the
Speaker 2: limits with the olives.
Speaker 1: You were the only contestant to lift that class. Would
Speaker 1: you say that that was maybe too risky a gamble?
Speaker 1: Do you think that that might have been a setup
Speaker 1: to say, who would take that kind of a risk,
Speaker 1: and maybe that's frowned upon and away. I guess you
Speaker 1: a gambler in real life.
Speaker 2: I'm usually a person that plays it really safe in
Speaker 2: terms of you know, gambling, Like I don't feel I'm
Speaker 2: very as an engineer. I'm informatics engineer by you know,
Speaker 2: by trade, and I studied that so I'm very on
Speaker 2: with the math. So I always calculate the possibilities of
Speaker 2: something happening and if you know, if the numbers don't
Speaker 2: add up, then for me, there's no point of doing it.
Speaker 2: But I knew what I could do with olives, and
Speaker 2: I just said, look, I'm just going to take the
Speaker 2: risk and see what happens. And I was really glad
Speaker 2: that I got oranges, So I think it kind of
Speaker 2: paid off in that sense. It was just smilar element
Speaker 2: that actually took me down.
Speaker 1: Then on that second cook, the pastry wasn't what you wanted,
Speaker 1: and you know, Melissa really called you out for that.
Speaker 1: Did you work out how to correct that pastry for
Speaker 1: next time?
Speaker 2: Yeah, one hundred percent. So I think what happened was
Speaker 2: and that just goes to show it's the little things.
Speaker 2: So when you're working out your butter with your flour,
Speaker 2: you like, I think I overmixed it by you know,
Speaker 2: it could have been just fifteen seconds. And that's all
Speaker 2: because when you do that, you kind of remove the
Speaker 2: possibility of creating butter pockets into the pastry. So when
Speaker 2: you folded in, you're basically just crushing all the layers.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: So and since you know, since I've gone back home,
Speaker 2: I've actually made it twice and it's it's come out beautifully,
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's.
Speaker 1: Did you take a photo of that recreation and send
Speaker 1: it to Maggie or at least you know Tager on
Speaker 1: social media?
Speaker 2: Do you know what I'm gonna make the same dessert
Speaker 2: that I did that day, and I'm going to tugger.
Speaker 1: The judges did really try to warn you a few times,
Speaker 1: and your fellow contestants were obviously yelling down from the gantry.
Speaker 1: Had you packed too much into this? Like what could
Speaker 1: you have done differently?
Speaker 2: I think looking back there there's always a possibility of
Speaker 2: changing something, and I think that's you know, that's how
Speaker 2: you learn, and that's that's how you grow. But I
Speaker 2: think it's what felt right at the moment, and I
Speaker 2: just I just went one hundred percent in and did
Speaker 2: as good as I could. And you know, maybe if
Speaker 2: the rough buff would have turned out right, we wouldn't
Speaker 2: be having this conversation. But at the end of the
Speaker 2: season when I won.
Speaker 1: This week, Master Chef has picked up a LOGI nomination,
Speaker 1: which I think is fantastic for this show it's been
Speaker 1: going for so long. Do you think that audiences will
Speaker 1: reward this series as maybe an acknowledgment.
Speaker 2: To job look, I think yeah, I think it's going
Speaker 2: to be very, very important just to see you know,
Speaker 2: probably his last piece of work, like he he was amazing,
Speaker 2: he was like his mentorship meant a lot to all
Speaker 2: the contestants. So I think, you know, people that have
Speaker 2: seen the show and really loved him, they were probably
Speaker 2: want to honor him in that way. So yeah, hopefully,
Speaker 2: you know, it gets the recognition he deserves.
Speaker 1: Who do you think is going to win? I mean
Speaker 1: the numbers and now are half of what we had
Speaker 1: when he started.
Speaker 2: Look, I think every single one of those guys can
Speaker 2: actually pick up the trophy at the end of of
Speaker 2: the season. I would love, you know, Declan, he's young,
Speaker 2: he's so talented. I would love Rhiann and she's like
Speaker 2: a gone in the kitchen and her flavors are amazing.
Speaker 2: And yeah, I couldn't be ruling out my roomie Ralph.
Speaker 1: I think there's so many people that could win at
Speaker 1: this point. I mean, I'm pretty clueless.
Speaker 2: Exactly, And you know, it's all about not making a
Speaker 2: mistake when it's really pressing, which is you know, that's
Speaker 2: I think that's the hardest bit of the competition. Really.
Speaker 1: What about you and your journey after this show? Like,
Speaker 1: what do you think is next for you? Where do
Speaker 1: you want to take this opportunity?
Speaker 2: Look, I think the most important thing is I've realized
Speaker 2: that I definitely want to do something in food, Like
Speaker 2: I think my food dream. It's it's definitely going ahead,
Speaker 2: and I'm sure there's gonna be pop ups in some
Speaker 2: sort of collaboration with my new master Chef family and hopefully,
Speaker 2: you know, that particiar dream will come true.
Speaker 1: Everyone who joins this podcast gets asked this question, So,
Speaker 1: what is something behind the scene, something that we might
Speaker 1: not have seen on Mastership Australia kind of like a
Speaker 1: behind the scene secret.
Speaker 2: I think, I think, you know, I think what people
Speaker 2: don't realize it's the amount of practicing you do. Like,
Speaker 2: you know, living with Ralph, we practice a lot. Like
Speaker 2: there was a lot of studying, a lot of you
Speaker 2: know researching, and of course a lot of fun. But yeah,
Speaker 2: I think probably what you don't see or maybe you
Speaker 2: see throughout the series is how much weight we gain
Speaker 2: because we need to be tasting each other's you know, dishes,
Speaker 2: and because we live in you know, dis places altogether,
Speaker 2: like everyone wants to like to, you know, try their
Speaker 2: dish and like. So, yeah, there's definitely a lot of
Speaker 2: good food going around and a lot of few extra pounds.
Speaker 1: I never noticed the contestants putting on weight, but I
Speaker 1: guess that does make sense if people want to follow
Speaker 1: your journey on Instagram. What's the best way that they
Speaker 1: can follow you? What's your handle?
Speaker 2: Yeah, they can follow me at a cruise Vemon, which
Speaker 2: is you know, the first layer of my name in
Speaker 2: my two last names, and yeah, on Instagram and then
Speaker 2: maybe hopefully I'll keep them posted for whatever it's coming.
Speaker 1: I want to say thank you so much for sitting
Speaker 1: down Antonio and having a chat with me. I love
Speaker 1: the series of the show. I think you did a
Speaker 1: fantastic job and I'm pretty sure a lot of Austrains
Speaker 1: are going to be following you after your Master Chef journey.
Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you so much, Ben. Thank you for your
Speaker 2: time Antonio.
Speaker 1: I thought was really sweet and it was interesting to
Speaker 1: hear how he kept the outcome of his time on
Speaker 1: the show a secret, even from his family and friends.
Speaker 1: Now we have Ralph coming into the podcast, and like me,
Speaker 1: I'm sure you will love the silky sounds of his
Speaker 1: voice as he calmly unpacks his time on Master Chef Australia.
Speaker 1: Hey mate, how are you?
Speaker 3: I'm good? Thanks yourself, I'm good.
Speaker 1: I was looking forward to talking to you because I
Speaker 1: think people listening to this podcast will be enjoying the
Speaker 1: soulful sounds of your voice.
Speaker 3: It's very soothing and relaxing. I've been told always.
Speaker 1: I loved you on the show because of it. I
Speaker 1: was like, I just want you to read a bedtime
Speaker 1: story to me.
Speaker 4: That's a bit creepy, OKAYI has a bit much, but sure, just.
Speaker 1: Reading some recipes to me. That'll be fine, That'll be fine.
Speaker 1: Congratulations you know, on your time on Mastership Australia. I
Speaker 1: wanted to start by saying, you know what, I'm more
Speaker 1: of a savory person than a sweet person.
Speaker 3: I'm exactly the same.
Speaker 1: I wonder where does that come from, though, because you
Speaker 1: know what's funny is my brother and my sister are
Speaker 1: exactly the same, and you know her mother has a
Speaker 1: real sweet too.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I wonder where the love of savory comes from.
Speaker 4: I guess growing up I was quite a hyperactive child,
Speaker 4: and mom never really used to give me sugar or sweets,
Speaker 4: just because obviously that would have made it much worse
Speaker 4: to handle me as a child. It was ready a
Speaker 4: bit much, so I think just growing up, I've never
Speaker 4: really found, I guess, any comfort or any sort of
Speaker 4: happiness from sweet things. I've always kind of leaned towards savory,
Speaker 4: and even in my cooking, I didn't like making desserts
Speaker 4: because I wasn't really a fan Beau was obviously. Growing up,
Speaker 4: I never really had that sugar or that sweet tooth.
Speaker 4: So I think that's kind of what curved me towards
Speaker 4: going to savory over sweet was I guess some people
Speaker 4: that's interesting because my brother loved sweets, like he used
Speaker 4: to eat the more time when he had a chance,
Speaker 4: you'd get sweets, and he loved it. But I was
Speaker 4: the polar opposite because I never had them when I
Speaker 4: was a child. I never really liked them growing up.
Speaker 4: So I think that's kind of what sewed me towards
Speaker 4: savory over sweet.
Speaker 1: I was thinking for me because it's more in my
Speaker 1: adult life. Maybe it's my love of red wine. I think, ah,
Speaker 1: my love of red wine makes me crave more salty
Speaker 1: things in my food. I guess, I don't know is
Speaker 1: that a thing.
Speaker 3: It would be a thing.
Speaker 4: I don't think most people have red wines with desserts,
Speaker 4: although me and Ru did do one, so you could
Speaker 4: mix it in, I guess, But our dessert was then
Speaker 4: still a bit of a savory to dessert more than
Speaker 4: it was a sweet So what you drink obviously impacts
Speaker 4: what you eat as well, because you're not you're not
Speaker 4: having a carocake with a red wine.
Speaker 3: That this doesn't pair together very well.
Speaker 4: So if you do enjoy a red wine, you're obviously
Speaker 4: going to lean towards more savory foods. And I guess
Speaker 4: that's kind of what basically what you're saying would kind
Speaker 4: of lean you towards the savory side.
Speaker 1: Well, I think everyone this season has been cast very well.
Speaker 1: There's some really great personalities. I thought it's interesting to
Speaker 1: sometimes ask contestants, you know why you think you were picked.
Speaker 3: Do you have a.
Speaker 1: Theory on what it was that the producer saw on
Speaker 1: you that thought this would be good for this series.
Speaker 4: Oh, I guess we get asked that question a lot,
Speaker 4: and I asked that question of myself quite often, and
Speaker 4: it's I like to think it's because I'm an amazing cook,
Speaker 4: and I've got an amazing personality as well that I
Speaker 4: guess would come across as welcoming and something that people
Speaker 4: can relate to. And then just I guess my style
Speaker 4: of cooking has always been about family, being that I
Speaker 4: enjoy cooking Italian food and that kind of leans to women,
Speaker 4: to my heritage where food is important and all massive
Speaker 4: events are centered around food. So I guess just me
Speaker 4: as a person, and the way I exude my confidence
Speaker 4: in my food and the way I treat food in
Speaker 4: becass to my family. I think that's something they probably
Speaker 4: seen and gone. You know, this could work very well
Speaker 4: on TV, or at least that's what I think it
Speaker 4: could be.
Speaker 1: What sort of preparation do you do so you find
Speaker 1: out you're going to be on the show, You've gone
Speaker 1: through the audition process, and I'm sure there's a bit
Speaker 1: of time before actually production starts. Did you do any
Speaker 1: kind of preparation? Was there like going to the Olympics?
Speaker 1: Where are you doing a lot of training?
Speaker 3: Oh? God?
Speaker 4: I tossed back and forth about the best way to
Speaker 4: go through to do this, because at one hand, I
Speaker 4: was like, rough, just practice your basic things, practicetomtart's cakes,
Speaker 4: custard soups, all that sort of stuff, so I'd have
Speaker 4: a base of knowledge going in, which is the smart
Speaker 4: thing to do. And I did do that, But then
Speaker 4: also I was like, don't do too much because you'd
Speaker 4: be freaking yourself out before you actually get into the kitchen,
Speaker 4: so I kind of balanced that I did a bit
Speaker 4: of practice beforehand, and then maybe like a day or
Speaker 4: two before we started, I kind of just kind of
Speaker 4: relaxed and looked at everything that I had done to
Speaker 4: make sure that I was confident and ready.
Speaker 3: But I didn't want to.
Speaker 4: Work myself to exhaustion before I actually got onto the show,
Speaker 4: So it was a bit of both.
Speaker 1: I think for anyone listening, if you can smell your
Speaker 1: neighbors cooking lots of different smells, lots of amazing smells,
Speaker 1: maybe just assume that they're to be on Mastership.
Speaker 4: Just pop over there and just just asked them if
Speaker 4: you could be a taste test, because there's plenty of
Speaker 4: good being made.
Speaker 1: Was that the loudest countdown for an elimination cook in
Speaker 1: the history of the show? Because I don't know, did
Speaker 1: you notice that the countdown for the end of that
Speaker 1: cook was so loud and intense?
Speaker 4: To be honest, when you're the one down there doing
Speaker 4: the cooking, a lot of the time you kind of
Speaker 4: zone into what you need to get done, so you
Speaker 4: don't really hear anything coming from the gandry. I think
Speaker 4: they yelled at me a couple of times and like
Speaker 4: it takes a few minutes to actually register because you're
Speaker 4: so focused on what you have to do in front
Speaker 4: of you, knowing that you don't have that much time.
Speaker 4: So even I'm completely honest, I actually didn't even hear.
Speaker 4: That's the loudness of it. I could hear the countdown
Speaker 4: because the judges were in front of me, but I
Speaker 4: didn't know how loud it actually was.
Speaker 1: But watching it back, did you notice it, Because I'm.
Speaker 3: Afterwards I noticed.
Speaker 4: I was like, oh my goodness, everyone was actually really
Speaker 4: stressed and they were yelling for us to Russian area up.
Speaker 4: So yeah, it was frantic towards the end, and you
Speaker 4: could actually hear that in the countdown.
Speaker 1: What I was going to say to you was, you know,
Speaker 1: this particular cook felt like an ADHD nine man because
Speaker 1: there were so many elements that were going on. I
Speaker 1: would have found it really hard to stay focused and
Speaker 1: to get everything done. But how did you try and
Speaker 1: stay focused knowing that there was so much that you
Speaker 1: had to do?
Speaker 4: Oh good, So the task itself, if you look at
Speaker 4: the complexity of what we had to do, and if
Speaker 4: you're looking at the entire dish start to finish, it
Speaker 4: seems almost impossible. The advice to gave was just break
Speaker 4: it down and do it one step at a time,
Speaker 4: which is all well and true, but like when you're
Speaker 4: in the trenches and you're going through it your speed reading,
Speaker 4: and you're trying to get everything done, and I guess
Speaker 4: the main thing is to kind of scent to yourself,
Speaker 4: we need to hit all these steps to make sure
Speaker 4: we have a product at the end. And I think
Speaker 4: I started kind of going to like I was too
Speaker 4: meticulous with it. I was going by the d I
Speaker 4: was doing everything measuring very slowly, and you kind of
Speaker 4: need to balance that with speed as well, so you
Speaker 4: kind of try and find a rhythm. If you catch
Speaker 4: a good rhythm, you'll pretty much just follow that page
Speaker 4: by page by page and tick off boxes. So that's
Speaker 4: kind of the mindset that we're trying to be in.
Speaker 1: It did feel like watching it back that you were
Speaker 1: being too cautious at the start. You know, at a
Speaker 1: time constraint, it would have been really hard. Do you
Speaker 1: kind of wish that you hadn't been so meticulous with
Speaker 1: your measuring or do you think that that was still
Speaker 1: the only way you could do it?
Speaker 4: Kindcid is twenty twenty out of love to speed it
Speaker 4: up a tad bit. I think the process that would
Speaker 4: have been the same, But it's they always the judge
Speaker 4: always tell us from the beginning, done hole from the start,
Speaker 4: And I think sometimes when I started, particularly yes there,
Speaker 4: when I started that cook I was so focused on
Speaker 4: the actual fact that every measurement has to be accurate,
Speaker 4: and I forget that you also have to have your
Speaker 4: foot on the gas at the same time. You do
Speaker 4: need to have the balance of both because if you
Speaker 4: do want if you're too quick, you're missteps. If you're
Speaker 4: too slow and meticulous, you lose time. So it is
Speaker 4: a hard balance to get, especially with all that stress
Speaker 4: and the time constraint that you've got as well. That's
Speaker 4: going on.
Speaker 1: So what did you think of your competitors? Were you
Speaker 1: stressed about going up against those particular girls and how
Speaker 1: have they been cooking? Have they been cooking stronger than
Speaker 1: you up until that point?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 4: Look, I was terrified to you against anybody in the
Speaker 4: black ape bring pressure.
Speaker 3: I mean, we're all there because we're all really good
Speaker 3: at what we do.
Speaker 4: So any competitor that you're cooking against is specifically in
Speaker 4: a black apron. Everyone puts the best foot forward of late. Um,
Speaker 4: Melissa has been killing it in a black Apron I
Speaker 4: don't know. She becomes a superhuman and just absolutely smashes
Speaker 4: them and knocks them out the park every single Black
Speaker 4: Apron day. So that was something that I was obviously
Speaker 4: very conscious of. And ran an amazing cook, and she
Speaker 4: had come off a run of amazing cooks back to back.
Speaker 4: So getting in there, you go, oh goodness, the pressures on.
Speaker 4: I'd come off a run of a few good cooks
Speaker 4: as well. But the one thing about that kitchen is
Speaker 4: you kind of got to put that last cook that
Speaker 4: you've had out your mind and start fresh, because if
Speaker 4: whether it's a good cook or a bad cook, you
Speaker 4: can't bring that with you to the next cook. So
Speaker 4: that's the mentality I went in with. But no I
Speaker 4: was I was terrified knowing that I was cooking against
Speaker 4: those two that have been doing so well, and knew
Speaker 4: that I had to get everything absolutely perfect to stand
Speaker 4: a chance.
Speaker 1: How familiar were you with Nellie Robinson's food, Because I mean,
Speaker 1: I wasn't that familiar, so I probably would have been
Speaker 1: throw But what about for yourself? Had you eaten it
Speaker 1: now or heard of mister McGregor's garden.
Speaker 4: Oh goodness, I hadn't heard of no, and I hadn't
Speaker 4: eaten the dessert either or known about the garden. You
Speaker 4: were completely honest, and I guess that's why you go
Speaker 4: on the show. That they put you in situations that
Speaker 4: you never would find yourself, and that kind of pushes
Speaker 4: the boat up for you, and it takes you out
Speaker 4: of your comfort zone. That allows you to experiment and
Speaker 4: try new things. So there are a lot of elements
Speaker 4: in there that I don't think I would have done
Speaker 4: in my entire life, but being on the show kind
Speaker 4: of forced us to kind of do those things. And
Speaker 4: even now I'm like, well, those are certain techniques that
Speaker 4: I've learned in that cook that I can enhance on
Speaker 4: or do better or add to different desserts or foods
Speaker 4: that I currently make. So, although unfamiliar, you learn pretty
Speaker 4: quickly on the spot.
Speaker 1: Just between us, do you think you'll ever try and
Speaker 1: recreate that meal at home?
Speaker 3: Oh goodness, I need a bit of time. I forget
Speaker 3: about it.
Speaker 1: Relationship, it's complicated.
Speaker 3: It's complicated.
Speaker 4: It's a complicated relationship at the moment, But you know what,
Speaker 4: I will at some point again just redo it and
Speaker 4: see the difference, because I guess it's all about learning,
Speaker 4: just giving it that extra bit of care without the
Speaker 4: time clock on me, just to see what it could
Speaker 4: have been, and had I executed it excellently, would I
Speaker 4: have come close? So maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow,
Speaker 4: but down the line might try and recreate it.
Speaker 1: It ain't the prettiest looking dessert as far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 1: So whilst you were putting it together, I was thinking,
Speaker 1: it's a very hard challenge to try and dress this
Speaker 1: up to make it look like the way.
Speaker 3: It's playd it. Yeah, that's I guess.
Speaker 4: The one thing that is I guess a bit more
Speaker 4: complicated that you have to remember kind of how he's
Speaker 4: put it together so that you can then recreate it.
Speaker 4: And obviously the person who makes the edition is exactly
Speaker 4: what it's supposed to look like, so they've got a
Speaker 4: clean picture in their mind of what they're doing.
Speaker 3: Where it's me recreating it off memory.
Speaker 4: After having gone through that cook I did like draw
Speaker 4: a little image for myself to kind of figure out
Speaker 4: what it was, while my recollection of is not as accurate.
Speaker 4: So it is a little bit difficult where to put
Speaker 4: the twigs where I need to put the carrot the
Speaker 4: film itself, So it is a little bit more complicated
Speaker 4: for us because we don't actually have that clear picture
Speaker 4: probably by the end of it. But you know, I
Speaker 4: put my best fit for it, and I gave my
Speaker 4: best effort. It looked messy or the elements at least
Speaker 4: on the plate, So we're happy with that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're happy with that.
Speaker 1: So I kind of like the cake slightly undercooked. I
Speaker 1: don't know, you know, i'd fail because I wouldn't. I
Speaker 1: don't think I'd necessarily be cooking for that. But you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes where there's a little bit of undercooked cake can
Speaker 1: be something quite delicious. So when I heard it was
Speaker 1: a little bit undercooked the carrot cake, I was like,
Speaker 1: I reckon, that sounds delicious.
Speaker 4: Yeah, look, it's a preference, and I guess because it
Speaker 4: needed to look like the actual dessert were recreating his.
Speaker 4: If his was perfectly cooked, ours also needed to be
Speaker 4: perfectly cooked. But yeah, look, I'm not impartible to a
Speaker 4: bit of undercooked cake either if I want what do
Speaker 4: we know?
Speaker 1: We only care about savory. How has this Master Chef
Speaker 1: experience changed your life? Because high risk, high reward, I
Speaker 1: should probably say, have you walked out of that experience
Speaker 1: being a different person for this competition.
Speaker 4: I think the main thing I had an issue with
Speaker 4: the start was always trying to make so many decisions
Speaker 4: in my head before I actually started cooking, and this
Speaker 4: competition has actually given me the ability to make quick,
Speaker 4: smart decisions, maybe taking an element off. It's allowed my
Speaker 4: judgment of food and I guess my palette as well
Speaker 4: to evolve. When I started up, I used to think
Speaker 4: I was a good cook, which I was, but getting
Speaker 4: into show you realize there are small, little smart things
Speaker 4: you can do to make yourself even better. It's a
Speaker 4: bit of salt, yeah, it's a bit of a namami
Speaker 4: flavor there that kind of elevates that dish to a
Speaker 4: new level that you'd only think was restaurant quality. But
Speaker 4: it's just about thinking about that dish in a different way.
Speaker 4: And a lot of my dishes that I did really
Speaker 4: well in I would focus on three elements and I
Speaker 4: would perfect every single one. So it was just that
Speaker 4: show gave me the ability to think, I guess more clearly,
Speaker 4: and to be very restrictive in what I do, but
Speaker 4: to execute everything I did really well so in terms
Speaker 4: of being in the kitchen, it really did help in
Speaker 4: that regard. I'm now more confident with flavors. I'm more
Speaker 4: willing to try and push things out and try things
Speaker 4: that I usually wouldn't and pestflators that I've never been with,
Speaker 4: but also have the ability to balance that should I
Speaker 4: go too far one way or with the other. So
Speaker 4: it has actually increased my I guess, my skill and
Speaker 4: my knowledge and my confidence in the kitchen as well.
Speaker 1: I think if you were to come back and do
Speaker 1: that experience again, now that you've gone through it, you know,
Speaker 1: probably gives you a better understanding, and then you know,
Speaker 1: obviously you've leveled up with your skills. Who do you think, though,
Speaker 1: out of this series that we've seen be eliminated so far,
Speaker 1: who do you think may deserve to go back and
Speaker 1: have a second chance.
Speaker 3: Oh, tough one.
Speaker 4: Obviously I'll choose myself, of course, ap were completely honest,
Speaker 4: I would choose myself because I feel like I would
Speaker 4: love another go at it. But look, everyone is really amazing,
Speaker 4: and Tonio was really good. Jess was amazing as well,
Speaker 4: Robbie wi spectacular. There was a lot of good chefs
Speaker 4: that unfortunately had that bad cook on the wrong day,
Speaker 4: because we'll always like everyone in the kitchen doesn't have
Speaker 4: excellent cooks every day.
Speaker 3: Sometimes we have bad cooks.
Speaker 4: It's just unfortunate if that bad cook is on an
Speaker 4: elimination day. Unfortunately, that's what what's sends you home. So
Speaker 4: there are a couple of people that I would have
Speaker 4: loved to see go further and see how far this
Speaker 4: competition would have stretched them.
Speaker 1: I really enjoyed Robbie, like I felt like having someone
Speaker 1: a little bit older was a little bit different as well,
Speaker 1: and just seeing him at that age being able to
Speaker 1: explore and take on a challenge like that, I think
Speaker 1: it was really important for viewers watching the show.
Speaker 4: It was and he was such a positive impact on
Speaker 4: all of us. Obviously being a little he had so
Speaker 4: much knowledge and experience. And the thing I loved about
Speaker 4: Robbie is he was never scared or he was never
Speaker 4: never scared, but he was never withholding of that experience.
Speaker 4: He's never withholding of that Of all the knowledge he has,
Speaker 4: he shared everything with all of us, and I really
Speaker 4: appreciate that because that's what this experience is about growing,
Speaker 4: it's about learning, and he was always there to share
Speaker 4: everything with us, and if we had questions, he'd happily
Speaker 4: answer them. You'd show us little tips and tricks as well.
Speaker 4: So I really appreciated that from him, and he was
Speaker 4: a lovely song.
Speaker 1: Did you have an idea as to who you thought
Speaker 1: he is going to take the competition out?
Speaker 3: Like?
Speaker 1: Was it starting to look clear as to who's going
Speaker 1: to win?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 4: Goodness, you think you know, and then you kind of
Speaker 4: see a cook and go, oh no, they've they've made
Speaker 4: a mistake, you know what I mean? Like every cook
Speaker 4: is so different that you might think it's for one
Speaker 4: person today and then tomorrow, unfortunate that the bad cook,
Speaker 4: which means they go home. There's there's no I guess,
Speaker 4: clear front runner at this point in time. There's like
Speaker 4: at the moment, I'd be like, I'd love Rute to
Speaker 4: win it for w A and she can bring it
Speaker 4: home for us because of fortunately she's the last one
Speaker 4: of us left. But you know, it's it's just it's
Speaker 4: the competition really changes day today and that kitchen levels.
Speaker 3: Everybody every day is a new cook.
Speaker 4: So no matter how well you did the day before,
Speaker 4: you could you could go home the following night. And
Speaker 4: that's kind of I guess what keeps the competition exciting
Speaker 4: because you don't know how songs going to cook the
Speaker 4: next day. But everyone's trying their absolute best. So no
Speaker 4: clear front runner as to who's going to do it.
Speaker 4: But I mean, I've got my my favorites that I
Speaker 4: want to take it out now that I've left.
Speaker 1: But what about maybe people that you know you think
Speaker 1: could do the most with this win, Like, who do
Speaker 1: you think if they won this competition they would take
Speaker 1: it the furtherest after the sho.
Speaker 3: That's a good question.
Speaker 4: We're all relatively ambitious as to what we want to do.
Speaker 4: Ruth loves the fact she makes amazing desserts, and I
Speaker 4: feel like she could make a lovely like turn that
Speaker 4: into a lovely bakery business that you could open.
Speaker 3: Feel makes the most spectacular.
Speaker 4: Bread I've ever eaten in my entire life, and that
Speaker 4: could be a bakery as well. So there's so many people,
Speaker 4: so much talent. I think any one of them would
Speaker 4: would do amazing with the opportunity because they all have
Speaker 4: a clear image of what they want coming out of
Speaker 4: this competition. So if you have that your oars to well,
Speaker 4: if I guess pick one on just based on what
Speaker 4: they want to do, and I guess excel I just
Speaker 4: feel probably just because his idea is so clear in
Speaker 4: his mind and he's perfected his craft to a level
Speaker 4: I don't think I've seen, I guess, at least in
Speaker 4: my lifetime, and the one that I've been or had
Speaker 4: the privilege for cooking with the way he makes bread
Speaker 4: is something spectacular.
Speaker 1: There's something a little bit special about him as well, though,
Speaker 1: like is in I think that you need a bit
Speaker 1: of a personality edge. I think you know, it's it's
Speaker 1: a combination of things as to how well you take
Speaker 1: you know, how well you play this after the show,
Speaker 1: but you kind of have to have a few of
Speaker 1: those elements. Like you've obviously got it. I could sit here,
Speaker 1: I honestly could talk to you forever because an infectious
Speaker 1: way of putting things together. What's interested in his story
Speaker 1: beyond just the food.
Speaker 4: One hundred percent? And I guess that's the reason that
Speaker 4: we all make it. We all do have interesting stories
Speaker 4: and we love and the way we I guess particularly
Speaker 4: and share that with people is what draws you in.
Speaker 4: So yeah, he's definitely got that factor, and I think
Speaker 4: most of all of us do, as well, so you're right,
Speaker 4: it is important to have that because you want to
Speaker 4: be along that journey with someone as they're growing and
Speaker 4: finding new things exciting, and they're sharing all of that
Speaker 4: with you.
Speaker 3: It's quite an experience.
Speaker 1: Contestants have to be aspirational, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: Like you kind of have to want to be them
Speaker 1: in a strange way, and I think that's a part
Speaker 1: of the magic of the show. And I feel like,
Speaker 1: you know, with people that want to follow your journey
Speaker 1: moving forward, Now, what are you planning on doing? Like,
Speaker 1: what's I mean? Of course we can follow on your
Speaker 1: social media, but have you been thinking about where you
Speaker 1: want to take this experience.
Speaker 4: Oh look, I've got so many ideas kind of floating
Speaker 4: around my head, and I think I like, obviously after
Speaker 4: the cooking, you need a bit of time just to
Speaker 4: kind of settle down and relax a little bit. And
Speaker 4: then for me, it's it's my process always been the same.
Speaker 4: The main thing I always wanted out of food was
Speaker 4: to be able to share that with people, to allow
Speaker 4: you to, I guess see a bit of what I
Speaker 4: enjoy doing, but also just to show you that cooking
Speaker 4: can be done by anyone. Cooking is for family. It's
Speaker 4: that unifier that brings people together. So in the future,
Speaker 4: I'll be looking to do things like maybe a pop
Speaker 4: up where I can just meet I guess people within
Speaker 4: my region of wa share that food with them. If
Speaker 4: there's some sort of classes, I'll look at doing as well,
Speaker 4: maybe in the near future cookbooks trying to get through
Speaker 4: I guess the YouTube where people can watch a full
Speaker 4: tutorial off my actual cooking. So now on social media,
Speaker 4: I'll you a cook and I'll kind of break it
Speaker 4: down into small, manageable pieces so that you can follow
Speaker 4: along a bit. But I'm thinking maybe of extending that
Speaker 4: into like a long format where you can actually I
Speaker 4: can do it step by step and explain each step
Speaker 4: with you. And I guess that's the goal for me
Speaker 4: is kind of find a way that or vehicle that
Speaker 4: allows me to share everything that I know about food,
Speaker 4: but also for people think to inquire and ask questions
Speaker 4: and I can help and we can kind of work
Speaker 4: and grow together.
Speaker 3: So that's the plan for the future.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm in your audience. I think a lot of
Speaker 1: people are going to be in your audience. A lot
Speaker 1: of people be watching and waiting to see where those
Speaker 1: pop ups will turn up so that we can come
Speaker 1: and try your food and also for you to continue
Speaker 1: to share your story. Something that I ask everyone who
Speaker 1: joins the podcast is what's something from behind the scenes,
Speaker 1: something that we as an audience probably didn't get a
Speaker 1: chance to see watching the show, but kind of like
Speaker 1: maybe a bit of a behind the scenes secret of
Speaker 1: what it's like to be a contestant or mastership.
Speaker 4: Har goodness, there's I guess the behind the scenes stuff
Speaker 4: that we do. It's mainly when we're when we're back home,
Speaker 4: whether a movie night where we be put on it
Speaker 4: often exhausted day, we'd all get together and kind of
Speaker 4: do it a pot luck and do like a quick
Speaker 4: movie night where we actually get to relax and unwine,
Speaker 4: because every other day it's just cooking. We get home
Speaker 4: most days and most of us practice a couple of things.
Speaker 4: But we'd take like a day on a Saturday if
Speaker 4: we had one, and we would get a movie night going,
Speaker 4: we do a pot luck, We're going grab popcorn. We'd
Speaker 4: also done in a room and just like kind of
Speaker 4: relaxed and watch a movie just to kind of unwind.
Speaker 3: But it also kind of brought us all together.
Speaker 4: This group of people that we worked with now were
Speaker 4: all really good people, amazing people. I guess the thing
Speaker 4: that we love doing with multiple dance parties at all times,
Speaker 4: just because I think we love the energy of everyone
Speaker 4: around us. So every minute on the set where we
Speaker 4: had a break, it'd be a little dance party or
Speaker 4: a little sing along because I love singing with my
Speaker 4: whole heart. So those are the sorts of things that
Speaker 4: I guess you guys would have missed, but it's something
Speaker 4: that kind of unified us and brought us all together.
Speaker 1: How long were you filming for? How long were you
Speaker 1: specifically away for.
Speaker 4: I think I would say I was probably away for
Speaker 4: two months. Yeah, it is, it is, but I mean
Speaker 4: when you when you're going for your goal and your dream,
Speaker 4: you kind of sacrifice a little bit because that time
Speaker 4: or even family, friends, your job is all a bit
Speaker 4: of a sacrifice, but you know that the end result
Speaker 4: is you're doing something that you're passionate about and something
Speaker 4: that you love.
Speaker 1: Well, the judges said you're on your way to where
Speaker 1: you want to be, which I can agree with. I
Speaker 1: think you really are well on your way. I want
Speaker 1: to say thank you so much for taking the time
Speaker 1: to chat with me this morning. You know, I thought
Speaker 1: you were fantastic on the show, and as I said,
Speaker 1: I'll look forward to watching you know what you do
Speaker 1: with your story moving forward.
Speaker 3: And I really appreciate Jajamin.
Speaker 4: Thank you for taking the time to have a chat
Speaker 4: with me as well today