Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload the podcast last week. They might welcome back
Speaker 1: to TV Reload. My name's Benjamin Norris and on this podcast,
Speaker 1: I go behind the scenes with the biggest players in television.
Speaker 1: Each episode you will get a front row seat with
Speaker 1: content makers like executive producers, writers, editors and casting agents,
Speaker 1: plus the talent that we see on our screens. TV
Speaker 1: Reload reloads the shows that you were currently watching and
Speaker 1: gives you a better insight at our television industry and
Speaker 1: streaming services today. On the podcast, I Have mastershef Australia's
Speaker 1: latest eliminated Fans Versus Favorite favorite, Tommy fam returning from
Speaker 1: season thirteen. He was back in the kitchen faster than
Speaker 1: you can say pressure cook. Tommy was playing with a
Speaker 1: lot of heart and cooking with Gusto, so it was
Speaker 1: sad to see him leave the competition. At this point,
Speaker 1: we will talk about his feelings returning to Fans Versus
Speaker 1: Favorites on Channel ten, how Julie added to his experience,
Speaker 1: what he thinks brought him undone, and who he thinks
Speaker 1: will be the last man or woman standing. However, let's
Speaker 1: get started with today's guest. I'd like to welcome Tommy
Speaker 1: fam to TV Reload.
Speaker 2: There's definitely pros and con for me coming back straight away.
Speaker 1: I musta sheriff has produced some of the biggest names
Speaker 1: in food.
Speaker 3: I guess silver linings to everything.
Speaker 1: The first time ever it's fans versus favorites, it.
Speaker 2: Was like, you know that that kind of shaking over
Speaker 2: the hand under the neck, like no, this is not happening.
Speaker 1: We wanted a battle and that's what we've got.
Speaker 3: Man, can I get there? I think I've got what
Speaker 3: it takes. And I'm sorry Tommy.
Speaker 2: Alvin's desh was.
Speaker 3: Unbeatable and that means you're going home.
Speaker 1: You know what to do when she gets event Hi, Tommy,
Speaker 1: how are you?
Speaker 3: I am great? How are you mate?
Speaker 1: I'm so excited and I'm happy to be speaking with you.
Speaker 1: I'm a little bit surprised that I'm speaking with you
Speaker 1: because I kind of had you with someone that would
Speaker 1: be there right to the end.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was definitely a shock to me as well.
Speaker 2: But you know, you're only as good as your last cooking.
Speaker 2: That just happened to be a not very good day
Speaker 2: for me.
Speaker 1: Well, how did this series go for you? And I
Speaker 1: guess the question I really want to know is what
Speaker 1: was the biggest hurdle this time around.
Speaker 3: I think the.
Speaker 2: Biggest hurdle for me this time around is not to
Speaker 2: be so incuminated by all the other favorite They're all like,
Speaker 2: they've all been around for quite a while. I'm not
Speaker 2: saying that they're old, but like they've no over experienced
Speaker 2: and they know, you know, they know their way around
Speaker 2: the cuisine and their style of cooking, and I'm a newbie.
Speaker 2: I'm basically a fan, if you think about it, I
Speaker 2: was just there last season.
Speaker 1: Absolutely. I mean, do you think it's better or worse
Speaker 1: to come back so soon? Because you know, there's been
Speaker 1: conversation online about you know, Julie hasn't been on Mastership
Speaker 1: for so long. You know, maybe she's out of practice
Speaker 1: with this format. But then for you, you've gone back
Speaker 1: so quickly, So what do you think is better or worse?
Speaker 2: I think there's definitely pros and cons for me coming
Speaker 2: back straight away.
Speaker 3: I you know, I know the format of the show.
Speaker 2: I'm still kind of fit and ready for Master Chef competition. Julie,
Speaker 2: she's been away for a while, but she had that
Speaker 2: time to kind of build even more and more of
Speaker 2: her repertoire. She's got more skills under herself. I feel
Speaker 2: like somewhere in between, maybe like if you were in
Speaker 2: season seven or eight or something like that, you'd be
Speaker 2: probably perfect.
Speaker 1: Well, you came seventh last year, and then you're back
Speaker 1: very quickly, You're straight back into the kitchen. Why do
Speaker 1: you think producers saw you as the standout of your
Speaker 1: season to come back or one of the standouts? But
Speaker 1: why do you think they picked you to come back?
Speaker 2: I think they saw, you know, my passion for my
Speaker 2: style of food, you know the uniqueness of my just
Speaker 2: my love for my food, and I think I kind
Speaker 2: of projected that really really well.
Speaker 3: And I loved you know, COOKIEVI.
Speaker 2: In the Mease food sharing, you know, the different styles
Speaker 2: of in the meat food that people didn't really know
Speaker 2: but could come to love. So I think them seeing
Speaker 2: that in me last season, they thought that I probably
Speaker 2: had more to give.
Speaker 1: You say, the phone number come up, and you're like,
Speaker 1: hang on a sec, that's mastershift from last year. Why
Speaker 1: are they calling me? And did they have a pitch
Speaker 1: to try and get you to come back? Like? What
Speaker 1: were I was saying to you? Straight away? Come on, mate,
Speaker 1: we wanted to come back because of this.
Speaker 2: Yeah, do you know that that that Instagram kind of
Speaker 2: TikTok thing where they like there's a phone and it's
Speaker 2: like Thailand is calling or something, and it was like
Speaker 2: and then like you pick it up and then we'll
Speaker 2: show you like flashes of pictures. For me, it was
Speaker 2: like master Chef is calling, and like if I pick
Speaker 2: it up, it's like flashes of like all these hectic
Speaker 2: pressure and you know, me like stressed and all that.
Speaker 2: That kind of went through my mind as soon as
Speaker 2: I saw the phone number come up. But you know,
Speaker 2: they explained to me that they'd love to have me
Speaker 2: on the season, and they told me the format, and
Speaker 2: you know, I was quite into it, but at the
Speaker 2: same time, I was.
Speaker 3: Like, oh, I don't know if I'm ready, and.
Speaker 2: You know, I think I have. I had to ask
Speaker 2: my partner like do you think I could do this?
Speaker 2: And at first it was it was like, you know
Speaker 2: that that kind of shaking of the hand under the neck,
Speaker 2: like no, this is not happening. But after, you know,
Speaker 2: we spoke to the producers and they were like, look,
Speaker 2: we're gonna let you have your family down. We kind
Speaker 2: of warmed up.
Speaker 1: To it, yes, and you did well, because I mean,
Speaker 1: weren't you sharing your accommodation? I guess, you know so
Speaker 1: to say with Julie, I mean that is that true?
Speaker 1: Were you living with Antie Julie.
Speaker 2: No, So we had the big kind of hotel apartment
Speaker 2: complex and I had my you.
Speaker 3: Know, apartment area with.
Speaker 2: My partner and Miles, and then Julie was just down
Speaker 2: the hall. So you know, I'd read that Julie all
Speaker 2: the time.
Speaker 1: Just so many other contestants had come out saying telling
Speaker 1: the story about you guys and saying, you know that
Speaker 1: Julie was Auntie Julie. Basically, I love Tommy.
Speaker 2: You can't not love Tommy. I loved him before I
Speaker 2: met him, from watching him last season.
Speaker 1: And I loved his little boy. His little boy calls
Speaker 1: me Uncle Julie and his family to me.
Speaker 3: Well Uncle Julie. To Miles, it was Uncle Julie.
Speaker 2: And it was just it was so nice for me
Speaker 2: to bring Miles to Julie. It was a great way
Speaker 2: for both of us to kind of decompressed and not
Speaker 2: talk about the competition but just enjoy each other's company.
Speaker 2: And Miles, I feel really kind of lit Julie up.
Speaker 2: She whenever she saw Miles, she just she's just that
Speaker 2: typical and it's just like, you know, Julie is like
Speaker 2: this watching her on TV, but seeing it in real life,
Speaker 2: seeing Julie kind of just be that typical kind of mummy,
Speaker 2: kind of grandma personality that she is, it's just so
Speaker 2: beautiful to see.
Speaker 1: Well, you might be able to help me out with
Speaker 1: a rumor, but I heard that Miles was dancing to
Speaker 1: Julie playing an electric guitar at one point. Is that
Speaker 1: a true story?
Speaker 2: Julie loves to play music in her house and it's
Speaker 2: just like Miles loves music, and they just go.
Speaker 3: Hand in hand.
Speaker 1: Amazing. Well, does top ten change anything really when it
Speaker 1: comes to the internal pressure of a competition like this,
Speaker 1: I think top.
Speaker 2: Ten it definitely changes something. Once you hear that number
Speaker 2: and you get to it, you're like, well, things are
Speaker 2: getting really real. You start to really see the kind
Speaker 2: of finish line in your You're like, oh, man, can
Speaker 2: I get there? I think I've got what it takes.
Speaker 2: And the pressure really kind of builds up from there.
Speaker 2: Once you get your top ten your mind changes completely.
Speaker 1: And getting those ingredients in that pressure test, was there
Speaker 1: a big red flag with any of those, like, you know,
Speaker 1: once they were revealed, you know, was there any signs
Speaker 1: that you thought this could go bad?
Speaker 2: I think once the three ingredients were revealed, I knew
Speaker 2: straightaway that I definitely wasn't going to coat with the pumpkin.
Speaker 3: Chicken and fish. You could go either way.
Speaker 2: I just felt the fish was the right thing to
Speaker 2: choose that they think. I think if I did chicken,
Speaker 2: I don't know if I would be able to have
Speaker 2: such amazing dishes like I had. At least two of
Speaker 2: the dishes were like one of my kind of top dishes.
Speaker 3: And it was just really just unlucky for me those
Speaker 3: first two rounds.
Speaker 1: Well, I can tell you that, just by coincidence of
Speaker 1: watching this episode, I had one of those, let's just
Speaker 1: say menu logue delivery, one of those sort of meals
Speaker 1: that you can do very quickly at home, and it
Speaker 1: was basically the same thing as you were looking. But
Speaker 1: mine looked terrible compared to yours, and I don't think
Speaker 1: it tasted very good either. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Well maybe one day then absolutely.
Speaker 1: Well. You know, everyone seems to be playing into their
Speaker 1: skill set, you know, which is very smart. Do you
Speaker 1: think that there is safety and playing in your lane,
Speaker 1: or do you think that the winner will be someone
Speaker 1: who takes maybe more risks.
Speaker 2: I think I think staying in your lane is probably
Speaker 2: the smartest thing to do in Master Chef.
Speaker 3: It's like, it's like, you know, if you cook, you
Speaker 3: know a lot of pasta and lasagneans up.
Speaker 2: At home, you you know what to do when like
Speaker 2: shit hits a fair right, Like you know that, oh
Speaker 2: my god, my pasta sauce is you know, tasting a.
Speaker 3: Little bit weird. You know, I'll add a little bit
Speaker 3: more water and a little bit of sugar.
Speaker 2: But let's say you cook I don't know, vitameat food,
Speaker 2: probably want in a blue min and you cooked that
Speaker 2: probably two or three times under the pressure of Master Chef.
Speaker 2: Trying to do that and then getting to that point
Speaker 2: with something stuff up and not knowing what to do
Speaker 2: really is just the worst thing that could happen because
Speaker 2: you don't know what to do, and in that timeframe
Speaker 2: you don't have that time to kind of change and
Speaker 2: fix it.
Speaker 1: I was really shocked that you went into round two
Speaker 1: because I felt like your first cook in that series
Speaker 1: of Cooks was quite amazing, and I felt like you
Speaker 1: just missed out on going up to the gantry by
Speaker 1: you know, very little was there then some frustration that
Speaker 1: you pull into those next two cooks. I mean, do
Speaker 1: you go that was amazing? Why Hama not up there?
Speaker 1: I mean, how hard is it to let go of
Speaker 1: that kind of anguish?
Speaker 2: Yeah, shaking it off is definitely something you have to
Speaker 2: learn how.
Speaker 3: To do in Masters.
Speaker 2: If I found that, you know, that mental game is
Speaker 2: so so much more.
Speaker 3: Than you know.
Speaker 2: I think it is like I think coming into a
Speaker 2: cook if I'm not mentally strong, I no matter what
Speaker 2: I'm cooking, I won't cook it well. So I learned
Speaker 2: to come I think this is probably you know why
Speaker 2: it was good for me to come back back to
Speaker 2: back because I learned that skill and I kind of
Speaker 2: still had that skill off. Take it off, do what
Speaker 2: you can because if you don't, you're going to ruin
Speaker 2: your next dish.
Speaker 1: Well, there's something kind of fun about following all of
Speaker 1: this stuff on social media, and I really enjoyed someone
Speaker 1: tweeting along with you saying, you know, the disappointment was
Speaker 1: on your face and you took it out on slashing
Speaker 1: these fishheads.
Speaker 2: I don't know, Yes, yes, this is breaking down you know,
Speaker 2: any kind of protein where you need kind of a
Speaker 2: cleaver or you know, just.
Speaker 3: Whatever is for some reason.
Speaker 2: Really during a cook you just you don't you you
Speaker 2: don't realize that, but you're like, you're just slamming this,
Speaker 2: you know, fishbone, doing over and it just kind of
Speaker 2: lits out some of that pressure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, avoid paying for therapy just by yourself a mullet,
Speaker 1: mallet or whatever. Take it out of the kitchen.
Speaker 2: That's it.
Speaker 1: Well. I loved the genuine relationship that you had with Alvin,
Speaker 1: and you both had this amazing moment which was so
Speaker 1: truly respectful, like, you know, two fighters who want to
Speaker 1: win with integrity. Summy, how are you doing?
Speaker 3: I'm good, Matt. Are you doing, man?
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, hang in there, hanging in Yeah, you
Speaker 2: both go on. Great. Everything in this whole competition has
Speaker 2: led up to this cook.
Speaker 1: You know, I want to know at what point, though,
Speaker 1: did you think he slipped into the lead, Like, when
Speaker 1: did you realize, oh, maybe I don't have this.
Speaker 2: I think I think there was a point where I
Speaker 2: realized he was making you know, his kind of famous
Speaker 2: the dish that made him famous.
Speaker 3: I was like, oh, this is this is getting tricky.
Speaker 2: He is getting to, you know, the pointy end, and
Speaker 2: I realized, oh, I really need to not stuff up
Speaker 2: anything on my dish shore else I'm going home.
Speaker 1: What was his dish called again, Drunken Chicken?
Speaker 3: Was drunken Chicken? Yeah.
Speaker 2: Once I heard the word, hey, album's doing drunken Chicken,
Speaker 2: I was like, oh.
Speaker 3: It's on.
Speaker 1: That's when you started drinking and became the drunken Chicken.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I guess.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I don't think I'd get anywhere if I started drinking
Speaker 3: doing that.
Speaker 1: Cook Well, the back catalog of your food repertoire is amazing,
Speaker 1: and it makes me feel like anyone who has an
Speaker 1: international cooking history does have an advantage. I think this
Speaker 1: is because you know, I'm mildly obsessed with Vietnamese food,
Speaker 1: But I guess in some ways having an international understanding
Speaker 1: of the complexity of flavors gives a bit of an
Speaker 1: advantage in my mind? Or is that just me am
Speaker 1: I being silly?
Speaker 3: I do think so.
Speaker 2: I do think having that kind of background in, you know,
Speaker 2: another style of cooking really helps with your understanding of flavors.
Speaker 2: And you've got this kind of backlog of what your
Speaker 2: family has cooked you, what you've been eating your whole life.
Speaker 2: But then again, you don't have some of those techniques
Speaker 2: or you don't have some of those kind of confidences
Speaker 2: of you know, some people that cooked, you know, a
Speaker 2: lot of French food, for example, they have those techniques
Speaker 2: in the confidence saying you know, I know how to
Speaker 2: do this, and it's you know, I can do this
Speaker 2: all the time.
Speaker 3: So I think there's you know, pros and cons to both.
Speaker 1: Was it a bittersweet in a way, because I mean,
Speaker 1: I was very emotional watching you leave because I was
Speaker 1: shocked that it was happening. But then to find out
Speaker 1: that you've got baby number two on the way? Was
Speaker 1: that a great way to sort of sol from the
Speaker 1: blow for leaving the competition at this point?
Speaker 3: I think so.
Speaker 2: I think there's I guess silver linings to everything, and
Speaker 2: I think without and it was really hard for me
Speaker 2: to kind of take this in at first, But at
Speaker 2: the end of the day, I did have a little
Speaker 2: one coming, so it probably was good timing, even though
Speaker 2: I wanted to stay in the competition for longer. Although
Speaker 2: I'm so gutted that I'm leaving, I've got big things
Speaker 2: at home, you know, I've got big news. My partner
Speaker 2: Winnie and I are expecting another little one.
Speaker 1: Oh I'm not.
Speaker 2: Don't worry about it.
Speaker 3: You know, no more, no more teas.
Speaker 1: Were you sitting there watching the logis the other night
Speaker 1: with the whole Master Chef nomination. Were you watching?
Speaker 3: Well?
Speaker 2: I was watching because the logis was on the same
Speaker 2: day as my elminem elimination episode, so I couldn't watch it.
Speaker 2: I was looking on Instagram just to see if we
Speaker 2: did win it. And then you know, midway through my elimination,
Speaker 2: I'll like, oh my god, we want it. But then
Speaker 2: I was they say, oh, back to my death.
Speaker 1: Well, I kind of you know, I really hope that
Speaker 1: you see that there's something about all of these favorites
Speaker 1: coming back that I think has allowed that nomination to lift,
Speaker 1: because I mean, it could have easily been nominated. Yes,
Speaker 1: it was nominated, but I do feel that the warmth
Speaker 1: of the integrity of you guys coming back to this
Speaker 1: show is given this season something really truly inspiring, and
Speaker 1: I think that's where the nomination has come from, and
Speaker 1: I mean the win has come from.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think. I think definitely the format has given
Speaker 2: viewers a different kind of perspective on how this show
Speaker 2: is as well. You know, they see, oh there's these
Speaker 2: fresh faces, but there's also these people that have been
Speaker 2: through it and still love it. And I think that shows,
Speaker 2: you know, the audience, that it's a such a beautiful
Speaker 2: kind of show.
Speaker 1: Well, we are at the pointing end of the competition,
Speaker 1: and the numbers are certainly dwindling. I want to know,
Speaker 1: who do you think is going to win at this point,
Speaker 1: Not necessarily who you want to win, but who do
Speaker 1: you think is going to take this comp petition out?
Speaker 2: I think it would be hard to how to not
Speaker 2: say that either Julie or Billy could win the competition
Speaker 2: just because one I love them both. Sorry I had
Speaker 2: to say that anyway, But too, I think Billy has
Speaker 2: got such She's so amazing in the kitchen. She moves
Speaker 2: like a demon in that kitchen. If you've seen her
Speaker 2: cook in that kitchen, you just lose your mind because
Speaker 2: you're like, how does she do everything so quickly? And
Speaker 2: Julie she's the og. She has you know, years and
Speaker 2: years of experience under her belt, and that really makes
Speaker 2: a difference.
Speaker 1: Well, I think that those two women, you know, definitely
Speaker 1: have a fairly clear path to that winning title. And
Speaker 1: I think for a lot of Australians, people are hoping
Speaker 1: it could be either of them. I think it'll be
Speaker 1: a shock if it is maybe a fan. But I
Speaker 1: guess if it is a fan, who do you think
Speaker 1: could take that part of it out?
Speaker 2: Oh, if it is a fan, I would have to say.
Speaker 2: I would have to say probably Dan. You know, he's
Speaker 2: he's a battler, you know, and you know the underdog.
Speaker 2: Always root for the underdog. So I think it would
Speaker 2: probably be Dan that would make it to the end.
Speaker 2: If I had to choose for somebody, choose somebody.
Speaker 1: Well, something I ask everyone who joins the podcast is
Speaker 1: this question, which is what is something from behind the
Speaker 1: scenes that we as an audience didn't see that you know,
Speaker 1: we won't see from your time back on Master Chef.
Speaker 2: The biggest thing that you probably didn't see was all
Speaker 2: the connection that we made, you know, living in that
Speaker 2: kind of apartment complex. We came over.
Speaker 3: Some day we cook and we share food. Some days
Speaker 3: we just come over enjoy, you know, just whatever food.
Speaker 2: You can get takeaway, just because we need to kind
Speaker 2: of decompress and let go of the day. And like,
Speaker 2: the biggest thing for me was I had miles and
Speaker 2: sometimes my partner.
Speaker 3: Was just had enough of him, so I'd take him.
Speaker 2: To you know, Julie's house or Michael's house or Dan's
Speaker 2: house and we just kill them.
Speaker 3: And I think it was.
Speaker 2: So fun for me to be able to kind of
Speaker 2: introduce Miles to them and have kind of Miles be
Speaker 2: part of their life.
Speaker 1: Well, I look forward to seeing Miles on you know,
Speaker 1: Master Chef Children, which obviously was a bit of a
Speaker 1: joke on the project at the start of the season.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I just thought it was fantastic to watch
Speaker 1: you on the show. You were so inspiring and I
Speaker 1: hope you've enjoyed coming back to the show. And I
Speaker 1: don't know, maybe they maybe maybe in years to come,
Speaker 1: they'll have you playing with Miles.
Speaker 2: Yeah, maybe we congratulations very longer.
Speaker 3: I thank you my day.
Speaker 1: It's lovely to chat with you, big fan, and I
Speaker 1: think you did a fantastic job. So yeah, good luck,
Speaker 1: good luck with everything coming off off the show, off
Speaker 1: the experience.
Speaker 3: Oh thank you so much. Have a great day. Man,