Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload, the podcast past leep that line. Welcome back,
Speaker 1: guys to TV Reload. As you may know, my name
Speaker 1: is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast to get
Speaker 1: all the inside goss all the popular TV shows you
Speaker 1: may be watching from around the world. Undeniably, our TV
Speaker 1: sets are still a major part of our home entertainment,
Speaker 1: and yet very little is known about how our favorite
Speaker 1: shows get made. So each episode, I've been finding guests
Speaker 1: that want to dive just that little bit deeper into
Speaker 1: the shows they're currently making or they've been filming, so
Speaker 1: that you can hear all their exclusive stories and gain
Speaker 1: access to the biggest names in Australian television. I want
Speaker 1: to thank you for downloading or subscribing to this podcast
Speaker 1: however you found it. I love hearing your feedback, so
Speaker 1: do me a favor and leave a review or a
Speaker 1: comment on your chosen podcast platform. This chat, I'm joined
Speaker 1: by Network ten's lovable host slash judge Andy Allen, who
Speaker 1: is most notable for winning the full series of Master
Speaker 1: Chef Australia back in twenty twelve and for being a
Speaker 1: judge on Master Scheffer'sustralia since twenty twenty, which has a
Speaker 1: brand new series starting this Monday at seven thirty on
Speaker 1: Network ten. It's no secret that the highly anticipated next
Speaker 1: season will serve up jaw dropping dishes and a feast
Speaker 1: full of flavors, but there will also be secrets and
Speaker 1: surprises up plenty. As the race for the title to
Speaker 1: Master Chef Australia twenty twenty three starts this week, I
Speaker 1: will ask Andy about the journey from contestant to being
Speaker 1: one of the hosts of the show. You will get
Speaker 1: a tease on some of those secrets and surprises as
Speaker 1: Andy doesn't spoil but slightly gives away some of the
Speaker 1: things to expect this season. We will also find out
Speaker 1: how the judges actually try the food and if that
Speaker 1: urban legend about them always eating cold food is actually true. Plus,
Speaker 1: we will get plenty of exclusives from behind the scenes
Speaker 1: of Master Chef twenty twenty three, which I can already
Speaker 1: tell you is a cracking series right from the start. Anyway,
Speaker 1: let's bring Andy into the podcast and I really hope
Speaker 1: you enjoy this latest episode of TV Reload. Hi Andy,
Speaker 1: how are you?
Speaker 2: And I'm bloody great?
Speaker 1: I'm very excited to be talking to you, big fan.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you remember this. It was the
Speaker 1: Logis after party and it was, you know, the Witching Hour.
Speaker 1: But I came up to you and started talking to
Speaker 1: you about my podcast, foreshadowing this very chat. And now
Speaker 1: here we.
Speaker 2: Are, Here, we are. This is good. I love that
Speaker 2: we made it happen.
Speaker 1: Another series of Master Chef. Bring it on, is what
Speaker 1: I say.
Speaker 2: I think everyone's hanging for it, to be honest. Well
Speaker 2: that's the word on the street. It's the feel good
Speaker 2: show that kind of everyone needs, especially over that winter period.
Speaker 2: You get to meet some unbelievable people in the contestants.
Speaker 2: The food and the contestants are so relatable this year,
Speaker 2: and along with that Jeremie Oliver at one. So it's
Speaker 2: all good news.
Speaker 1: You know. I had this journalist last year from The
Speaker 1: New Yorker ask me for quotes for an article that
Speaker 1: they were doing about Australian Master Chef. Kid you not,
Speaker 1: And it was because I was doing some of the
Speaker 1: exit interviews. They wanted to know my thoughts and I
Speaker 1: just remember this guy saying to me, Australian Master Chef
Speaker 1: is the best cookie show in the world, and he
Speaker 1: wants to know why does this series have such a
Speaker 1: good reputation.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of reasons, to be honest, but one
Speaker 2: personal reason that I feel is a big one is
Speaker 2: what you can do with it. I look at my
Speaker 2: own story. I was an electrician twelve years ago. I
Speaker 2: filled out the application for not even thinking that I
Speaker 2: would get on at a love for food. But I didn't,
Speaker 2: you know, I didn't have that dream to open a
Speaker 2: restaurant or you know, do anything crazy in the industry.
Speaker 2: I just want to challenge myself, and you go through
Speaker 2: the process and you learn so much about who you
Speaker 2: are as a person and who you are as a cook,
Speaker 2: and then whether you come twenty fourth or whether you
Speaker 2: come first or anywhere in between, you are given the
Speaker 2: leg up that you need to really chase your dreams.
Speaker 2: Seeing the success stories out there is just a testament
Speaker 2: to how how lethal the show can be and how
Speaker 2: important it can be in people's lives. And I suppose,
Speaker 2: you know, I'm leaving proof of what it can do.
Speaker 2: So it is amazing to hear that story. And guys
Speaker 2: like Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey, they are the biggest
Speaker 2: advocates for MASTERSHEF Australia. They come over here and all
Speaker 2: they want to do is talk about how much the
Speaker 2: show means to them. You know, if you're get those
Speaker 2: guys over line, two of the biggest names in the
Speaker 2: whole industry, then you're going, all right, well.
Speaker 1: I think that was what this guy was trying to
Speaker 1: say to me, was he said, I'm always blown away
Speaker 1: by the caliber of contestants, but he was saying, you know,
Speaker 1: no other cooking show has the caliber of international celebrity
Speaker 1: chefs that want to be a part of it. Usually
Speaker 1: you get like one celebrity chef that you can definitely
Speaker 1: tell has been paid like a motza to be there.
Speaker 1: Where If you're looking at this series and you're looking
Speaker 1: at the caliber of chefs that are about to be
Speaker 1: a part of it, don't you think it's quite unbelievable
Speaker 1: that they will come along and want to celebrate it
Speaker 1: as much as they do.
Speaker 2: Again, it just shows how much it means to people
Speaker 2: in the industry. You know. This year, Yeah, we've got Jamie,
Speaker 2: We've got Curtis Stone, We've got Maggie Beer. You know,
Speaker 2: the list goes on, and all these guys they get
Speaker 2: there and they just can't wait to be a part
Speaker 2: of it. They love the experience that they love the
Speaker 2: time that they're on show. They give everything that they've
Speaker 2: got because I know how beneficial it can be. So
Speaker 2: it still does blow me away how powerful the show is.
Speaker 2: And every day I still look back at that twenty
Speaker 2: three year old blowke that just entered Master Chef to
Speaker 2: challenge himself and then here I am now talking to
Speaker 2: you about how bloody good the show is. So it's great.
Speaker 1: Do you always know if Australian Master Chef is coming
Speaker 1: back at the end of each year and if you're
Speaker 1: always going to be a part of it? When do
Speaker 1: you find out if you're a part of an next
Speaker 1: series and if it's coming back.
Speaker 2: I haven't really thought about that. Maybe I'll start to
Speaker 2: question it from now.
Speaker 1: Have you signed for like a three to five year
Speaker 1: deal as long as it's rating. I mean, the reason
Speaker 1: why I'm asking you this is not because I want
Speaker 1: to know you know how much money is in your
Speaker 1: bank account, But I'm like, how exciting you know when
Speaker 1: you find out that you're doing another series. I want
Speaker 1: you to know if you go out and buy yourself
Speaker 1: a leather jacket or an expensive fry pan. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm more interested in that.
Speaker 2: I don't really do like expensive things well in saying
Speaker 2: that a nice coffee machine, a record player, and that's
Speaker 2: pretty much as far as I tend to splurge out.
Speaker 2: But the last thing that I worry about is the money.
Speaker 2: It's for me. It's like such the ultimate hat tip
Speaker 2: to be able to be given the opportunity to be
Speaker 2: judge on Marster Chef. You know, considering, like I've said
Speaker 2: a million times the contests in twenty twelve went out
Speaker 2: into the industry bright eyed, bushy tail, I didn't really
Speaker 2: know what I wanted to do, and being able to
Speaker 2: go out and create a restaurant group and do all
Speaker 2: the other things that I've done in the last ten years,
Speaker 2: and then, you know, three years ago, be tapped on
Speaker 2: the shoulder and said do you want do you want
Speaker 2: to give this a crack? As a judge. It's pretty
Speaker 2: special feeling. The last thing that in Channel ten I'm
Speaker 2: probably licking their lips when I say this, but the
Speaker 2: last thing that I think about is the cash.
Speaker 1: To be honest, you know, secrets and surprises is a
Speaker 1: really great theme. You know, what are we going to
Speaker 1: enjoy more this season. Do you think we're going to
Speaker 1: enjoy the secrets or the surprises?
Speaker 2: I think the surprises because the surprise well actually play, Yeah,
Speaker 2: there's a good secret in it. At one as well.
Speaker 2: I'm really torn about that, to be honest, because I
Speaker 2: think the challenge on AT one, the prize that the
Speaker 2: contestant wins the first challenge in the first episode is
Speaker 2: the biggest advantages that we've ever given away our Master Chef.
Speaker 2: So yeah, that's probably all I'll say, because it is
Speaker 2: an absolute doozy and I feel like if I say
Speaker 2: any more about that, I may give it away. So
Speaker 2: let's change the subject, please.
Speaker 1: Well, we have to talk about it because secrets and
Speaker 1: surprises is the theme, and so I have to ask you.
Speaker 1: Are you good at keeping secrets? Normally?
Speaker 2: I think I am until I start talking about them, Ben,
Speaker 2: so there's no questions asked. I'm bloody great at it,
Speaker 2: but I just don't want to trip up Ben. So
Speaker 2: please help your brother out here.
Speaker 1: Well, you know what really surprises me about this series.
Speaker 1: I think, like most viewers, you think a whole new
Speaker 1: bunch of people we don't know that's a huge commitment.
Speaker 1: But I've watched episode one already. I'm very lucky to
Speaker 1: have seen it, and I already have favorites and I
Speaker 1: already feel like I know these people. Is that a
Speaker 1: strange thing to hear.
Speaker 2: No, it's actually a massive compliment. And this is why
Speaker 2: I think Jamie was such good. Good dudes come on
Speaker 2: at one, because he is so comforting, He's really knowledgeable.
Speaker 2: Everyone has a relationship with Jamie Oliver in a non
Speaker 2: creepy way, but everyone knows him, everyone respects him, everyone
Speaker 2: loves him. So for him to walk through those doors
Speaker 2: in the first ten minutes of them standing in the kitchen,
Speaker 2: you know, five minutes of nerves, But as soon as
Speaker 2: they got to kind of chat to Jamie, as soon
Speaker 2: as they got to hear him speak about their food,
Speaker 2: I feel like the nerves just went away and it
Speaker 2: really made the contestants open up. You get to know
Speaker 2: the contestants from literally the first step. With twenty four contestants, like,
Speaker 2: there's just so many of them, but having eighteen this year,
Speaker 2: I feel like that's been such an advantage of this season.
Speaker 2: So No, it's not weird that you're saying that it's
Speaker 2: actually a massive compliment.
Speaker 1: Yeah, because you think, oh, it's a huge commitment. I've
Speaker 1: seen this the show before, but I'm here to tell you.
Speaker 1: Like straight away, I was like, cac, I don't know
Speaker 1: if we can how much we can talk about each contestant,
Speaker 1: because I also love that people love to discover these
Speaker 1: people themselves. I want to leave a bit of that there.
Speaker 1: But I immediately just loved Kak and thought that she
Speaker 1: is brilliant casting and she features quite a bit on
Speaker 1: the first episode, and I just think, where are you
Speaker 1: finding these people?
Speaker 2: Honestly, it battles me every year, you know. I look
Speaker 2: at Cath and she's like, she's a middle aged woman,
Speaker 2: She's done so much in her life. Why now? But
Speaker 2: then I'm like, don't even bother asking that, Like she's here,
Speaker 2: just let her cook like the wind. You know, Yeah,
Speaker 2: the stories matter, but like all I care about is
Speaker 2: kind of that she's here at the moment and she's
Speaker 2: had the courage to fill out the application, leave her family,
Speaker 2: leave her loved ones, leave her job, and commit to this.
Speaker 2: So I was really blown away by how real the
Speaker 2: contestants were from the get go. And I think that
Speaker 2: about food as well. This year. I think the food
Speaker 2: is quite relatable and quite as well, so I'm hoping
Speaker 2: that's what Australia wants to see, Like, that's what the
Speaker 2: industry is in hospitality, that's where the food's at right now.
Speaker 2: It's more about flavor and how it's put together rather
Speaker 2: than all the bells and whistles that you might add
Speaker 2: to it. But I think it's really relatable this year
Speaker 2: in terms of the characters and effort.
Speaker 1: I also want to quickly clarify for people listening, it's
Speaker 1: not Carrie Anne Kenney on another series. It is a
Speaker 1: different pack.
Speaker 2: I would probably like to see as well.
Speaker 1: Imagine asking carry Ane Kelly to come and do a
Speaker 1: Master Chef season straight after just doing the Jungle and
Speaker 1: what's happened. She'd be like, come back in ten years.
Speaker 2: No comment for me.
Speaker 1: So you got really good at this. There you go.
Speaker 1: There's no surprises, no secrets. You're just going to keep
Speaker 1: your mouth shut. Now that you have done a few
Speaker 1: seasons and you've got a few seasons under your belt,
Speaker 1: have you worked out what works for you personally and
Speaker 1: sort of doesn't work on the show.
Speaker 2: I never try and want to be someone that I'm not.
Speaker 2: One of my main roles on There Is is being
Speaker 2: an ex contestant is really to relate and be able
Speaker 2: to see things that are happening to the contestants on
Speaker 2: a daily basis, mainly what they're going through. Yes, Master
Speaker 2: Chef is a cooking competition, but it's also such a
Speaker 2: mental competition as well. Like it's it is hard, you know,
Speaker 2: I talked about being away from your family and your friends,
Speaker 2: and what people don't realize is it's filmed over a
Speaker 2: six month period. It's not just like, you know, because
Speaker 2: we're on f ten weeks and it's just your ten
Speaker 2: weeks slot. It is such a commitment and for me,
Speaker 2: I feel like I can really relate to what the
Speaker 2: contestants are going through and also give quite relatable feedback
Speaker 2: as well. And I think that's where like Jock, Melissa
Speaker 2: and myself are such a great combination, is that we
Speaker 2: really compliment each other. So I mate, I've kind of
Speaker 2: been through the last ten years of just trying to
Speaker 2: stay the same person that I was before I went
Speaker 2: on Master Chef, and that's kind of what I really
Speaker 2: want to stick to.
Speaker 1: Do You watch anything back though, and you do think
Speaker 1: to yourself, Oh, I've got like a hand flick that
Speaker 1: I do that doesn't work or you know, sometimes I
Speaker 1: try and be a little bit quirky or is what
Speaker 1: I want to know is the stuff that you've worked
Speaker 1: out just doesn't work.
Speaker 2: There's a couple of things I do. I say epic
Speaker 2: way too much. When I say like glaze something, I
Speaker 2: do the motion like I actually and I do say
Speaker 2: it glaze a lot. So there are two things that
Speaker 2: you can that you can probably look out for. I
Speaker 2: think you know the question. I think you just learn
Speaker 2: on the go, and it's not about things that you
Speaker 2: don't want to do. It's just about things that you
Speaker 2: want to get better at. And I think the more
Speaker 2: time I've spent in the kitchen, the better I get,
Speaker 2: the more comfortable you feel, and then it just rolls
Speaker 2: on from there. I don't I don't kind of look
Speaker 2: back and go, don't do that. It's more about just
Speaker 2: looking forward to what you can do better.
Speaker 1: It's like an evolution. You kind of then work it
Speaker 1: out like you work it out in the job.
Speaker 2: Imagine going back and watching season one at one of
Speaker 2: George Bout and Gary and they would just be so
Speaker 2: different to who they were, you know, in the following years.
Speaker 2: It just it just evolves.
Speaker 1: Like you say, for those guys. Yes, it definitely did
Speaker 1: seem like they evolved into a better package. But I
Speaker 1: think that the reason why you were hired for this
Speaker 1: job there isn't there doesn't need to be much wiggle
Speaker 1: room for you. I mean, you just have to be yourself.
Speaker 2: When Master Chef started all those years ago, no one
Speaker 2: really knew what it was going to be, you know,
Speaker 2: like Matt, George and Gary were just like you know
Speaker 2: that there was there was probably not a massive thing
Speaker 2: about celebrity chefs. And not that I'm saying I'm a
Speaker 2: celebrity chef, but.
Speaker 1: Like two, I'm going to say you, well, you can't
Speaker 1: say that, but I can say that I can call
Speaker 1: you a celebrity. You are a celebrity chef. My friend.
Speaker 2: They're on TV wasn't really much of a thing back then,
Speaker 2: and they're kind of like, here's this new format, see
Speaker 2: what you can do with it, whereas the format is
Speaker 2: what it is, you know, And and me being modest
Speaker 2: says that there could have been a lot of people
Speaker 2: step into the role that I'm in now and it's
Speaker 2: still to be successful because the show was about the format,
Speaker 2: you know, and we're just these these kind of lucky
Speaker 2: people that get to be a part of it. So, yeah,
Speaker 2: I think you're right. I was pretty lucky in that
Speaker 2: I don't really have to change anything. It's just about
Speaker 2: me being mate.
Speaker 1: Do you know how hard it is to get the
Speaker 1: right people to host a show? You know, You've got
Speaker 1: to give yourself some credit there, you know, not everyone
Speaker 1: could do what you do.
Speaker 2: Do you know the weird thing, like you talk about casting,
Speaker 2: do you know that Jock, Melissa, and myself had never
Speaker 2: met each other before we put on the show?
Speaker 1: What? Yeah, I just assumed because, like, you know, the
Speaker 1: first time you guys all turned up together, it seems
Speaker 1: like you guys have been friends forever. And I wanted
Speaker 1: to ask you a little bit about that. What do
Speaker 1: you do to create that kind of presence on television?
Speaker 1: Do you work at the chemistry? Like do you have
Speaker 1: each other over for dinners? Like? How do you maintain
Speaker 1: or create something as authentic as how this comes across?
Speaker 2: Yeah? It was really strange because I was questioning and
Speaker 2: as much as I knew who mel was and who
Speaker 2: Jock was, I was sitting in the room when they
Speaker 2: were like yeah, okay, so and they had I'll never
Speaker 2: forget about this laptop the guys from Enemol and it
Speaker 2: was shut and then they opened it up and they're like,
Speaker 2: this is who are going to be the other two
Speaker 2: judges and they had a photo of all three of
Speaker 2: us there. I expected someone that I knew, you know,
Speaker 2: that I had met, like you know, because we were
Speaker 2: not long out from starting to film, there wasn't really
Speaker 2: anything that we tried to do. I suppose it really
Speaker 2: does compliment and the guys at Enemol for just knowing
Speaker 2: what works, because the first time that we'd actually met
Speaker 2: was at the Channel ten up front when we were
Speaker 2: introduced as the next three judges.
Speaker 1: That is wild.
Speaker 2: It is hard.
Speaker 1: I always I don't know if this is an easy
Speaker 1: question or how this lands for you, but I always think,
Speaker 1: because you were a contestant and we've had so many
Speaker 1: seasons and there's been so many men like yourself on
Speaker 1: the show, do you think that there was a lot
Speaker 1: of jealousy about from other people going why did they
Speaker 1: ask him?
Speaker 2: I don't know, I would probably say so. Like I
Speaker 2: remember I was over in Europe the time that it
Speaker 2: had kind of been announced at Matt, George and Gary
Speaker 2: we're gonna we're gonna move on and literally remember this
Speaker 2: so hard core, it's crazy. I was in Sicily in
Speaker 2: chef Bloon and it was the back end of our holiday,
Speaker 2: and I remember a lot of the articles were g ok.
Speaker 2: But I just remember seeing one article and going, there's
Speaker 2: some bloody lucky, lucky three people that are get to
Speaker 2: a step into that role. That's exactly my thought. Not
Speaker 2: once did I go, oh, yeah, I think I'm I
Speaker 2: think I'm a shoe in for that. I think I've
Speaker 2: got a chance for that. It was literally like, holy shit,
Speaker 2: someone's going to get that job and that's so lucky
Speaker 2: for him. Good stuff.
Speaker 1: So you didn't email them, I'll send in a bag
Speaker 1: of you know, homemade cookies like you didn't start thinking
Speaker 1: or could be me, I'm gonna I'm going to put
Speaker 1: the put this forward. You're telling me that it literally
Speaker 1: came out of nowhere and they just contacted.
Speaker 2: You out of absolute nowhere. One of the Winning the Lottery, Yeah,
Speaker 2: one of that EPs actually slid into my instadms and
Speaker 2: said like, hey mate, when are you back from your trip?
Speaker 2: That was the first, and that he was one of
Speaker 2: the EPs on season four when I was on there,
Speaker 2: So it wasn't as if it was like a full
Speaker 2: cold DM. But yeah, DMS. It was like, hey mate,
Speaker 2: when are you back from your trip? And I was like,
Speaker 2: it took me a while to kind of write back
Speaker 2: because I was like, I didn't want to get ahead
Speaker 2: of myself.
Speaker 1: I was like, but you still went out and drank
Speaker 1: in Sicily obviously definitely.
Speaker 2: So it was actually funny because I didn't know want
Speaker 2: to write back, So I went out and had had
Speaker 2: a last night in Sicily, bottle of wine came back
Speaker 2: and I think I had the Dutch courage to write
Speaker 2: back and go, hey mate, like this about chef. He
Speaker 2: was like, look, mate, I don't want to. I don't
Speaker 2: want to. I don't want to say too much, but
Speaker 2: just let me know when you get back.
Speaker 1: That's better than Margo Robbie sliding into your DMS as
Speaker 1: far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, well I'm happily married. So I was definitely
Speaker 2: better than market.
Speaker 1: Oh definitely better. Absolutely. So with these shopling nations over
Speaker 1: this series, it's really a part of reality television. It
Speaker 1: does happen every year. Are there any previous contestants that
Speaker 1: you still feel the impact from them having to leave
Speaker 1: the show.
Speaker 2: Sashi was a big one last year. It was just
Speaker 2: so unexpected. Sashi went in as a formal winner. He
Speaker 2: was cooking some ridiculously tasty food at that point, I
Speaker 2: think he was probably a front runner. And once he
Speaker 2: got his dosa mix right, because I think it was
Speaker 2: the overnight challenge, he fermented his dos abatter, came back
Speaker 2: the next day, cooked a fish curry with the dosa,
Speaker 2: and he was really struggling to get the doso mix
Speaker 2: right on the pan. It was just like it was
Speaker 2: just a mess. Once he got the doso mix, You're right,
Speaker 2: you were like, oh, he's sweet, Like because the guy
Speaker 2: can cook an abbit curry with his eyes closed. So
Speaker 2: then going into the tasting room and like as soon
Speaker 2: as we all tasted it, it was burnt, Like there
Speaker 2: were little black flex of you know, specs of burnt
Speaker 2: marks where it had been scraped off the bottom. And
Speaker 2: it was just so unexpected. And I don't even know
Speaker 2: if in all of the rush, and I've talked to
Speaker 2: Sashi about this, he didn't even know either. He was
Speaker 2: just in such a frantic headspace that he just got
Speaker 2: the dosamix done, put the fish curry in the pan,
Speaker 2: and he was like, away, you go. So it was
Speaker 2: such a shock to everyone and like, yeah, I'll never
Speaker 2: forget that moment.
Speaker 1: I'm still salty about it, to be honest, because Sashi
Speaker 1: is definitely one of my favorite contestants, not only as
Speaker 1: a contestant, but his food I buy from Woolworth. He's
Speaker 1: a promo for you, Sashi. I buy his mate. You know,
Speaker 1: the ready made kits that he has, He's got three
Speaker 1: of them and I rotate them. I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed
Speaker 1: with him.
Speaker 2: He's a weapon and you know, doing such another contestant
Speaker 2: who's just gone out into the industry, and I guarantee
Speaker 2: he didn't think that, you know, he would have a
Speaker 2: restaurant and now he's just kicking massive goals down in Adelaide.
Speaker 2: You know, he's got his readymade meals. I think he
Speaker 2: was talking about something doing something over in as well.
Speaker 2: So yeah, and it wouldn't have happened if you didn't
Speaker 2: for that application.
Speaker 1: Some of the elements of the show rely on luck
Speaker 1: and some elements rely on skill. Do you think that
Speaker 1: that balance is always right during the twists and turns
Speaker 1: of a series.
Speaker 2: I'm going to say yes, because there were a lot
Speaker 2: of instances when I was a contestant where I scraped
Speaker 2: through with a bit of luck. Either someone just did
Speaker 2: a little bit shitter than me or I remember there
Speaker 2: was a taste test and Gary had cooked this North
Speaker 2: African curry and you basically, you know, the same old thing.
Speaker 2: You'd come up, you'd grab a spoonful, you'd have to
Speaker 2: name an ingredient that was you know, thirty odd ingredients
Speaker 2: in it. You got it right, You're safe, and you
Speaker 2: keep going. You got it wrong, and you went into
Speaker 2: the next round. And I remember we went through around
Speaker 2: a couple of times the group, and it came back
Speaker 2: to me and I was out, like I was all
Speaker 2: out of everything that I could taste or see, and
Speaker 2: I was just like, you know, absolutely breaking it going
Speaker 2: up to the pan. And I must have like stood
Speaker 2: it around about five times, and just as Matt said,
Speaker 2: just as Gary said, may we need an answer, I
Speaker 2: flicked it around and there was this one strand of saffron,
Speaker 2: like this one little lonesome strand of saffron in it,
Speaker 2: and there was no way that saffron was even close
Speaker 2: to being in my mind or on my palate. But
Speaker 2: I was like I could not believe it. So that
Speaker 2: balance between lat and skill. Is it can make or
Speaker 2: break your competition.
Speaker 1: As well Australian audience. As you know, we need things
Speaker 1: to be dangerous, you know, and sometimes some of those
Speaker 1: luck challenges, you know, I think that they help with
Speaker 1: the suspense of the show. Everyone who joins the podcast
Speaker 1: gets asked this question, and it's been on all I
Speaker 1: think this is episode two hundred and forty six. I
Speaker 1: think it is what is something from behind the scenes,
Speaker 1: something that we won't see on the show that fans
Speaker 1: might really enjoy knowing about behind the scenes magic of
Speaker 1: Australian Master Chef.
Speaker 2: The most common question that I ask is that I
Speaker 2: get our asses. Do you eat the food? Do you
Speaker 2: know the story about that?
Speaker 1: I've been told that it's always cold, but I mean
Speaker 1: I could be wrong, like maybe it's sometimes cold, maybe
Speaker 1: it's not. But I think you're about to let us know.
Speaker 2: If it's a toes to see how we's challenge. We
Speaker 2: obviously eat it hot because we can, but I'll give
Speaker 2: you the full rundown of how it works, just so
Speaker 2: everyone can.
Speaker 1: Kind of go ah, yeah, clear it up for us.
Speaker 2: So basically what happens is I know that on the
Speaker 2: screen you basically you only really see us go around
Speaker 2: to the benches and kind of question about while they're
Speaker 2: cooking and provide advice or feedback or whatever. But pretty
Speaker 2: much the whole time the cookies on, if it's a
Speaker 2: one hour cook we are going around, you know, looking
Speaker 2: tasting everything that is that is happening. So there's that
Speaker 2: offscreen part that no one sees. But once cameras stop rolling,
Speaker 2: Jock Mellersa and myself we go around to every single
Speaker 2: bench and we tell them to have like it doesn't
Speaker 2: have to be nicely played, to have all of your elements,
Speaker 2: so your bangers, you mash and yumashi peas there for
Speaker 2: us to taste. So we get a really good idea
Speaker 2: of how everything goes together when it's hot. When they
Speaker 2: come up to then everyone goes for lunch, the amazing
Speaker 2: art team to come and clean the place down. The
Speaker 2: dishes come out for us to taste cold, and then
Speaker 2: there's things like plating, texture, all that kind of stuff
Speaker 2: that comes into it at the actual tasting table.
Speaker 1: I think that's really interesting because you know, one person,
Speaker 1: this is a few seasons ago, but a casting person
Speaker 1: reached out and asked me about doing Masterschef an actual factor.
Speaker 1: I posted something that I cooked without food porn. I
Speaker 1: was like everybody, I was like, take a photo of
Speaker 1: your dinner. And this person asked me. They were part
Speaker 1: of the casting team asked me to do it. And
Speaker 1: my biggest fear was, I don't know. I know I'm
Speaker 1: a good cook, but I'm not very good at my
Speaker 1: presentation skills. So I was thinking, oh, I'd be really
Speaker 1: crap at that. But then everyone's food always looked so
Speaker 1: well presented, so I assumed that there must be a
Speaker 1: team of people that do help with the presentation after
Speaker 1: the cooks have been done.
Speaker 2: That I can say definitely not there's there's not It
Speaker 2: must just be I would say the skill is our
Speaker 2: cameraman because they are the best in the business. But yeah,
Speaker 2: it's something that we really work hard in teaching the
Speaker 2: contestants because you know, there's one thing to play up,
Speaker 2: like like you, there's something, there's one way to play
Speaker 2: up for food at home, a dish at home, even
Speaker 2: if it is a curry, rice and number, and then
Speaker 2: there's another way to do it that would be acceptable
Speaker 2: to go into a restaurant. It's probably one of the
Speaker 2: biggest things and learning curves that is taken really early
Speaker 2: on in the competition. So I like that. That actually
Speaker 2: makes me feel really good that you think that there's
Speaker 2: like this playoff team that like the food goes out
Speaker 2: the back and they like fiddle with it and play
Speaker 2: with it.
Speaker 1: Like someone who comes to like you know, you know
Speaker 1: the bells and the whistles and you know it makes
Speaker 1: the wig look nice. I don't know.
Speaker 2: The only thing is now that I've said that, does
Speaker 2: that deter you more from going?
Speaker 1: You must I'd never do the show. I watched the
Speaker 1: show over here. I love the show's super fan. I
Speaker 1: think it's amazing, but I'd never do it. I get
Speaker 1: so much anxiety watching all of them. And you know,
Speaker 1: good luck to them all for taking part, but good
Speaker 1: luck with this series. And thank you so much for
Speaker 1: your generosity with your time today. And I think you
Speaker 1: do a brilliant job. So I'm looking forward to this series.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Ben, I really appreciate it. Mate, No, thanks
Speaker 2: for the support, and maybe we'll have another chat at
Speaker 2: the next low GIS and we can we can for
Speaker 2: out our next chat.
Speaker 1: You can convince me to do the next season at
Speaker 1: that point. All season two hundred and twenty five look
Speaker 1: after yourself, enjoy chatting to the media today and as
Speaker 1: I said, can't wait to watch the show.