WEBVTT - Gareth Whitton - DESSERT MASTERS - Winners Chat 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:01.760 It's in the news today, but it was actually on 0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:04.640 TV Reload, the podcast past weep that line. Welcome back, 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:07.400 guys to TV Reload. As you may know, my name 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:10.200 is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast to get 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:12.720 all the inside goss on the popular TV shows that 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:15.640 you may be watching from around the world. Undeniably, our 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:18.720 TV sets are still a major part of our home entertainment, 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:21.479 and yet very little is known about how our favorite 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:24.880 shows get made. So each episode, I've been finding guests 0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:27.120 that want to dive just that little bit deeper to 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:30.000 the shows that they're currently making, so that you can 0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:32.960 hear all their exclusive stories and gain access to some 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:35.640 of the biggest names in Australian television. I want to 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:38.640 thank you for downloading or subscribing to this podcast however 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:41.279 you've found me. I really do love hearing your feedback, 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:43.400 so if you can leave a review or a comment 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:47.680 on your chosen podcast platform. On today's episode of TV Reload, 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:50.440 I'm joined by Gareth Whitten, who was the winner of 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:54.120 Dessertmasters Australia for twenty twenty three. The spin off from 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:56.960 Mastership Australia finished a few weeks ago and I've been 0:00:57.040 --> 0:00:59.680 really looking forward to sharing this exciting look back at 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:02.560 his time on the show. Gareth, as you may know, 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.480 is a very well known chef with eighteen years worth 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:08.600 of experience. After working in some of the world's best restaurants, 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:13.000 he started baking cakes at home during Melbourne's COVID nineteen lockdown. Quickly, 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:15.880 his neighbors and shortly the whole of Melbourne were lining 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:18.640 up to taste his delicious goods, which soon evolved into 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:21.720 the opening of two tuts and on locations, which landed 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:24.280 him in a role as a guest judge on mastershef 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.480 Australia in twenty twenty two and the opportunity to compete 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:29.880 for the bragging rights of the dessert world in this 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:34.600 latest televised competition. I will find out about his relationship 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:37.560 with his fellow competitors and why he thinks keeping it 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:41.240 simple at times helped him win the show. Gareth will 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:43.399 also talk about the effects that COVID had on the 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:47.080 cooking world and why he felt disillusioned by the whole industry. 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:50.280 If you've ever wondered what kind of preparation and planning 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:53.200 goes into these cooking shows, Gareth will also share what 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:56.919 dishes he'd already locked in prior to filming the series. Plus, 0:01:56.920 --> 0:01:59.320 we will get plenty of exclusives from behind the scenes 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:02.320 of Dessert Masters, which is still available to watch on 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:07.000 Tenplay if you have missed any of those delicious episodes. Anyway, guys, 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:09.680 let's bring Gareth into the podcast and I hope you 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:13.600 enjoy this very exciting unpacking of the most exciting cooking 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:15.040 show of twenty twenty three. 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:17.960 Min My hair literally just woke up. 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:20.320 Hair. Yeah, no, that's totally fine. I mean, what do 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:22.519 you do when you win Dessert Masters. I'm sure you've 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:26.399 had some like a like a decastage of wine. Maybe. 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:31.360 Well, we yeah, we have a few biers, some people around. 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:33.480 We had a little bit of a viewing party at 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:38.079 sort of like a friend's workspace. Things was really good, 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:40.959 like a few big screen TV. Some catering was good 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:44.760 and then yeah, a couple of drinks afterwards, and yeah, 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:46.480 it's nice to spend it with some friends and family. 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:48.040 I don't even know you, and I feel like I 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:49.200 wish that I was invited to that. 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:51.560 Ah, I wish i'd been beforehand. 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:56.760 Well, congratulations mate on winning Dessert Masters. This is wild. 0:02:57.280 --> 0:02:59.520 It is, it really is. I guess like kind of 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:03.160 like semi prepared for this with the the half knowledge 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:03.520 and what the. 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:04.560 Result may be. 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:08.880 I felt pretty confident coming out of the cook and 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:11.519 then hearing a lot of reassurance from the guys who 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:14.320 were watching from the gantry, et cetera, et cetera. Plus 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:18.320 there's always a lot of that speculation really entirely sure 0:03:18.440 --> 0:03:19.320 is exactly how. 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:20.679 It was going to pan out. So it was a 0:03:20.720 --> 0:03:21.280 nice surprise. 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:22.880 There was a few people saying that you might have 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:28.040 Stephen bradburied the thing because in a way, everyone else 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:31.400 was making things a little bit more complicated to make 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:34.840 it more sensationalized. Where you learned throughout the competition to 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:37.480 really stay in your lane, and that's kind of how 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:38.680 you ended up winning, right. 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:42.640 I mean, I don't want to downplay my efforts to 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:46.520 say that word I did was manipulative or I flew 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:47.280 under the radar. 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:48.920 There was a bit of that, for sure. 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:51.200 I played to my strengths, and I think that's the 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:52.520 thing that you really kind of got to do. And 0:03:52.640 --> 0:03:55.440 especially when you're talking about like sticking to your guns 0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:58.960 and any Bowdie talked a lot about this because one 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:01.560 thing I knew that he was hesitant to join the 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:05.800 competition with was the fact that he's known for doing 0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:09.960 things that are wholesome and generous and bordering on rusty, 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:13.720 especially in its appearance. But like the focus is so 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:16.840 honed in on flavor and how things are to eat 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:19.720 and what they mean, and that they're relevant at a 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:23.880 particular time of a meal or a particular setting in 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:26.080 which it served. And I think for me as well, 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:29.000 like I definitely that's very much a part of my 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:32.160 philosophy as a chef, is that it's relevance and its 0:04:32.200 --> 0:04:37.120 importance in a meal setting is paramount. Things are tasty, 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:39.719 and I get like deliciousness and flavor and other thing 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:41.640 that sort of stuff is like that should always be 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.080 at the forefront of food, regardless of what it is 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:47.599 you're doing. But having anything, but I do think that 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:49.000 there was a certain thing like. 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:52.560 And everyone did. Everyone really wanted to celebrate that on 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:53.000 the show. 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:55.960 But I kind of felt as though, especially in the 0:04:56.000 --> 0:04:58.680 public eye, so again like I'm not going to get 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:03.400 another rabbit hole and and read Reddit, Twitter, Instagram. 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:05.560 There's people going to have their opinions. Is always going 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:06.000 to exist. 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:08.920 You can't read any of those, mate, because you know, 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.040 I didn't know that Reddit existed though. It was so wild, 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:14.320 and you know, I was in a reality yeah, eleven 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:16.880 years ago, and I was like, maybe I'll type in 0:05:16.920 --> 0:05:21.839 my name and don't. It's like the stuff that's on 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:25.280 Reddit is obviously it's a different category to itself. It's 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:27.800 it's like nice on Twitter. It's like they're trying to 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:31.080 compete for what's the worst thing that I can say about? 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:34.520 What? What did I do to you? What have I 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:37.320 done people? 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:40.320 I've worked out that they what they're saying online about 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:44.200 people they don't know is actually what they think of themselves. 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:44.920 That's what I think. 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:47.040 Probably, Yeah, that sounds about right. 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:49.560 I think you read it with that mindset, you make 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:51.359 a lot more sense because like a lot of stuffy're 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:53.960 saying is fucking nonsense, and a lot of it I 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:56.000 think a lot of it comes from a place of 0:05:56.120 --> 0:05:58.159 passionate enthusiasm that sort of stuff, as well as like 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:01.640 I think a lot of that of patriot that I'm always. 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:04.600 Going to you know, probably a crew online comes. 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:08.440 More from a place of who they like more so 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.920 than subjectively disliking me. Except I said, I found one 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:14.479 person who just really just did not they did not 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:16.479 like me at all and I don't sort of like 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:18.600 I'm only doing enough to scrape by, and I was like, 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:21.880 I like. And the other thing as well, is like, yeah, 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:24.640 they did try and pit me as the like the 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:27.480 flavor guy, and I was like like thanks, Like that's 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:30.120 nice because in that sense, you're just saying that my 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:31.599 food is delicious, and I appreciate that. 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:33.320 The value it well, it's kind of a different thing 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:35.159 as well. Being on a TV show is different to 0:06:35.200 --> 0:06:36.840 sort of the reviews that you're going to get, like 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:40.200 on a menu log. I'm so out of it, but 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:41.520 do you know what I mean? Like when you're a 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:45.279 restauranteur and you are needing to interact with the people 0:06:45.279 --> 0:06:47.240 to come into your restaurant, so you want to read 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:50.400 that because there can be some constructive criticism. It's kind 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:52.120 of a different sessialon do you know what I mean? 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:52.960 Like it's different. 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:54.919 Yeah, sorry, I don't remember. 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:58.520 I don't remember you eating this, but you know, thanks, 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:00.000 like you know you know what I mean, Like that's 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.120 sounds awful, Like well you didn't, how do you know 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:03.279 I can eat it? 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:04.360 Idiot? Oh? 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:06.640 And like this I mean again like getting cut down 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:08.920 because I didn't like in the in the semi final, 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:12.000 I mean people, Yeah, they didn't know what to hate on, 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:14.240 Like did I play it safe? Because I did a 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:18.560 relatively conservative plate of dessert and I didn't make a 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:20.880 bird cage or a bonds eye tree or a log. 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:23.520 I didn't I didn't try and wow the judges with 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:25.880 like to the I just made a tasty plate of 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:27.680 food that I thought fit the brief really well. And 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:29.560 I kind of thought I nailed it in that respect. 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:32.360 I know also because they were like, oh, but the vegetables, 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:34.520 like you're too many fells, Like you didn't eat this, 0:07:34.760 --> 0:07:36.400 it's a dessert, and like you know that in. 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:38.360 Years to come, though, we'll have one of those not 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:40.680 smell of smell of vision and taste vision, you know, 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:44.760 one of those finals, you know, challenges where everyone you 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:47.200 know you're cooking for so many people the TV screen 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:49.560 or just hand out one of the one of the tarts. 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:54.360 Yeah, exactly, like a Willy wonkle when the snowsbreeze tastes 0:07:54.400 --> 0:07:55.720 like you licked the wallpaper. 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:58.120 Yeah, just lick your TV screen. 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:00.920 Then you might actually have a bit more of a 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:03.960 a fair adjudication of what it is that you're talking 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:06.080 about here, because a lot of it's madness, it is, 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:08.280 but like fuck it. I mean, I guess I said, 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:11.080 I've never trained in that thing as well, so like 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:13.640 why would I? And I know that Generalman Jess and 0:08:13.680 --> 0:08:16.880 Reynold are not classically trained either, So the fact that 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:21.200 they haven't done any kind of skilled work in those 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:24.200 areas but are still achieving it, that's examply. 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:25.600 I applaud them for that. 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:29.440 But like I got nearly twenty years of restaurant training. 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:32.560 Some of the restaurant food idiots, you know what I mean? 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:36.720 Like I want to win, and like if Kirstin Tibble's 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:39.160 comes in and doesn't do any chocolate, Everyone's like, oh, 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:40.480 what do you doing, Curson, where's the chocolate? 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:42.480 You're the chocolate queen. It's like, oh, I really. 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:45.760 Wanted to push myself and you know, make fucking Pavlo 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.360 like no, but everyone loves her for that. But I 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:51.800 do what I and Andy Body does what Andy Baddy does, 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:52.640 and I do what I do. 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:55.720 In Kaylene Tanner does what Kaileaene tan does. No one's 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:57.760 yelling at Morgan telling them to do more donuts. 0:08:58.120 --> 0:09:01.000 What I was thinking throughout the competition where some people 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:04.360 had been guest judges, So you'd been a guest judge 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:07.079 and some people have been contestants. I wondered whether or 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:10.440 not being a contestant previously was an advantage in some way, 0:09:10.600 --> 0:09:12.959 because you know, it was interesting to see the way 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:15.120 in which the cookie crumbled throughout the series and who 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:18.360 left and who stayed, and you know, you were a 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.040 guest judge and you've got two other people that have 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:23.480 been in the competition before. I just wanted to know 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:25.840 your thoughts on that. Was it somewhat more of an 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:28.160 advantage maybe if you've been a contestant before. 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:32.240 I don't ever want to discredit what those guys achieved, 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:35.040 but I think if you look at how they performed 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:36.720 in those first couple of cooks, you kind of like, 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:40.280 these guys they feel comfortable here. You know, they know 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:43.720 the dynamics, they know what it means. Sure like you 0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:46.160 in the first couple of episodes of a Master Chef season, 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:49.439 there's like thirty people and there's a lot less equipment 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:52.800 in per person, there's a lot less space. But even 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.040 just like the knowledge is sort of actually, I know 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:57.880 that how the pantry is set up, I know how 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:01.720 I need to go, and but the best. These are 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:04.079 the tips and tricks, and it's the sort of thing 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.200 that like we all work as chefs, so when we 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:08.680 do all workers chess, it's the sort of things you 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:11.079 need to learn, Like you need to get those of 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:13.920 evolutions in you work in places and I've worked in 0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:16.840 places like Dinnerway Hessen, like learn where a lot of 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:21.280 this shit that you do is the exact same every day. 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:24.560 Like the number of tipsy cakes that I've seen, Like 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:27.360 I can't even look at one now and not just 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:30.320 get trauma. Like it's six years working with that restaurant 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:32.600 group and it never came off the menu and it 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:35.680 was the most popular dish, so like yeah, but every 0:10:35.760 --> 0:10:37.080 day that I went in there, I'm sort of like, 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:40.160 I know how I can like get you know, ten 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:44.120 minutes per tray faster on rolling briansh. I know the 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:47.200 best time of day to make this brush because the 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:48.840 temperature is going to be right, there's going to be 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:51.439 less people in the kitchen, so I have a bit 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:53.400 more freedom and space to work with. I know they're 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:55.120 not going to need the bench at this time. So 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:57.520 these are these little tiny things. It's a little bit 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:02.120 kooky because you just literally the minor the most minor 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:05.439 of details and how you can improve yourself, your product, 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:08.680 your efficiency, and I guess, your life in general. 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:10.800 Just by making small little tweaks. 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:13.240 So having that knowledge in the Master Chef kitchen, I 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:16.319 guess also would just serve as a slight advantage. And 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:20.760 when we're getting to a competition of this caliber, you like, 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:24.120 these are well for one of a better term there, 0:11:24.920 --> 0:11:28.920 they're just the smallest things that they over time will 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:31.760 accrue and have big, big rewards. 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:34.359 I mean, for me, I just was like, I couldn't. 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:36.880 I was so surprised that they'd want to put people 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:40.760 like yourself and Adriano and Kirsten. I just was so 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:42.720 surprised that you'd all want to be in this competition 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:44.440 because I'd be so because if it was me, I'd 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:47.600 be scared that I'd ruin my you know, my credibility. 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:50.560 But then there's also people that probably never watched Assert 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:52.520 Masters that it wouldn't even affect them at all, do 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:53.760 you know what I mean? Like that maybe if they 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:56.280 googled you before they went to your restaurant, they'd be like, oh, 0:11:56.320 --> 0:11:58.560 I can't believe that you ktes on this show. Maybe 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:00.080 I'll go, yeah, well. 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:03.079 There was always that fear, I think, and no one 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:05.160 wanted to be the first to go. And then that 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:06.720 was I think a lot of us is all as 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:08.360 long as the first to go that I'm good. But 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:10.600 there was also like the sense of you know, the 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:14.719 first people. You know, we knew that we had reputations 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:16.120 at stake, and there was going to be a lot 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:18.640 of that. And even then there were there was I mean, again, 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:20.960 we're not going to delve too much onto into the 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:24.080 online hate, but like, yeah, there's there's a lot of 0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:27.400 opinions being shared around people because of how they performed 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:30.480 on the show, and their reputation was tarnished, like somewhat 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:34.920 in the eyes of the insignificant. That would would probably 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:37.760 you know, if it was relevant, like actually have an 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:39.920 impact on them. But yeah, there was a lot of stake. 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:41.960 You know, if I if I was if I was 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:44.719 dismissed early or something like that, then you know it 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:45.400 would have been. 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:49.520 Like okay, therapy after that before you could go back. 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:51.400 Probably I just hope that you just hope that it 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:53.719 wouldn't have a negative impact on the business and like. 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:57.360 The negative impact on your career following because they were changed. 0:12:57.480 --> 0:12:59.400 I mean, you would know that even from COVID, like 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:01.720 the world be quite a dangerous place. Like you know, 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:04.719 when COVID happened, I remember reading something about it as 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:06.720 we were coming out of COVID, something that you'd said 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:08.560 about you were out of the job and then you 0:13:08.600 --> 0:13:10.680 were redefining whether or not what you would do with 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:13.000 your career. Am I right by saying that? I remember 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:16.240 reading something somewhere where you were like, maybe, yeah, maybe 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:19.160 I'll go and get a corporate job, which, yeh is 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:21.680 mind blowing that something in the something can happen to 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:24.200 us in this world that could change our mindset like that. 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:26.400 I think it was, to be honest, it was more 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.000 of like a slow burnout, and I was become so 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:33.160 disillusioned by the industry. There was like I was exhausted, 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:35.560 Like so, I mean, I've always had like a really 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:38.280 strong friendship circle outside of the industry. 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:40.000 My partner's not in the industry. 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:44.199 I have a lot of hobbies and activities that usually 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:48.120 best enjoyed in the hours that are not conducive to 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:49.240 hospitality work. 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:50.760 You know, I love live sport. 0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:52.440 I love to go watch the foot I used to 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:55.920 play a lot of footy, like the weekends, the weekend things, 0:13:56.000 --> 0:13:58.920 last evening thing. It was like, and I always resented 0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:01.280 hospitality for that that it took that away from me, 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:02.880 and I kind of took it for granted in the 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:05.080 sense that like, yeah, of course, I'm part of this 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.080 and it's my passion, it's my lives is with my 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:10.920 skill set, and I'm doing it forever and I love it. 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:15.320 But I just craved like that normality and I really 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:18.720 just wanted to sort of have Friday night knockoffs, you know, 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:21.000 with my mates. I wanted to sort of have those 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.800 Saturday morning. I wanted to play footy, like play sport 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:25.680 on the Saturday morning. I want to go go to 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:27.920 the game on Saturday night. I want to have Sunday session, 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:31.080 like get breakfasted on Sunday morning. And I just, you know, 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:33.320 that old gone back to work Monday kind of feeling. 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:35.800 I almost even wanted that, you know, and I never 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:39.040 had it because of HOSPO, and I was torn between 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:42.400 this like high performance, high achievement thing. And I even 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:44.800 took a little break at one point in my career 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:47.760 before I moved to Melbourne and worked at Dinner and 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:50.360 did a bit of catering at the Comic Bank. It 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:52.320 was like for a year or something of that, and 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:55.440 I loved it. Like the work itself was draining and 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:58.800 soul destroyings. I felt like I'm not getting that satisfaction 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:00.800 through my work. But I was out of there at 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:04.160 three o'clock every AVO. I had every weekend off, making 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:07.960 good enough money to really enjoy that lifestyle. BONDI beach 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:12.880 during the summer, just incredible, playing sport, engaging with friends 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:15.520 who have not really seen for so long. So yeah, 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:19.160 and then after dinner and then having all these awful, 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:22.680 awful things happen to us, these wage scandals, these talks 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:26.400 of abuse in the industry, like having whistleblowers calling out 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:31.400 friends of mine for making up lies about their behavior 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:33.040 just because they want to shine a light in the 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:37.160 toxicity of the hospitality industry. Having like our practices and 0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:42.120 our behavior as management within like a very reputable restaurant 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:46.480 that's run by passionate and determined and like so highly 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:52.240 motivated people being shot on because of some entitlement of 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:55.360 people who don't really see Italian hard work. Now I'm 0:15:55.440 --> 0:15:58.120 all across, and I'm all for like legalities and they 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:01.840 paying for money owed of work. But it was it 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:04.080 seemed like people were like putting their foot down and saying, 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:08.400 like I deserve this. I deserve more because I've shown up, 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:10.840 like I've come to work, so like this is what 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:14.160 I'm owed and like, well that's true to a certain extent. 0:16:14.440 --> 0:16:17.320 And then we sort of imposed the hospitality industry awards. 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:19.280 So this is getting maybe a little bit controversial here, 0:16:19.320 --> 0:16:20.800 but there was a lot of stuff that I thought 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:23.640 was like, it's kind of unfair on people who want 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:25.400 to be motivated and want to be driven in their 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:28.520 careers because of what this was. And so anyway, I 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:30.320 think at the end of the day, it all very 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:33.280 much like kind of broke my spirit a little bit. 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.240 So coming out of dinner by Heston, I just thought, well, 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:39.120 I don't like I can't stand this and I don't 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:41.120 see myself doing it. I thought this is a good 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:43.240 opportunity for me to maybe start a new So yeah, 0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:46.000 I looked at working with some of the suppliers that 0:16:46.080 --> 0:16:48.360 I'd worked with all like an agency that we used 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:49.840 to use to get our kitchen hands. It's like, what 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:51.880 if I worked within the industry and tried to like, 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:54.680 you know, engage in another aspect of it and like 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:58.600 work with product instead of the service side, and yeah, 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:00.640 dip my toes in there and like put the feelers 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.040 out at least, and COVID happened and they all kind 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:06.160 of went away, and then I just sort of did 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:08.200 what I needed to do to get by and worked 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:10.200 in the supermarket, started baking it home. 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:12.119 It's kind of interesting though, because it's kind of like 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:14.639 the superhero complex in a way. If you gave that 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:17.800 all away, would you be fulfilled creatively? If you were 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:20.040 to be going to the footy with your mates or 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:21.840 you're just out having a drink with your mates. I 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:25.200 guarantee you in ten years, knowing that you had that superpower, 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:26.960 you would feel depleted. 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:28.280 I think one hundred percent. 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:30.480 And no matter how much joy I would bring to 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:34.119 people through like exploring new products or whatever, I feel 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:36.600 that was always going to be a compromise. And it 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:38.679 took only it was like a couple of months and 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:40.639 I was just like what am I doing? I just 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:42.720 I have to be cooking. I'd have to be And 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:47.120 it seems so like like chef bro I'm not sure 0:17:47.280 --> 0:17:49.760 that's a concept that you're familiar with, but like these 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:53.280 guys whose personalities are their job, you know, they go 0:17:53.400 --> 0:17:56.280 foraging on the weekends, they only go out to restaurants, 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:57.600 you know, on their time off. 0:17:58.080 --> 0:17:59.760 That like, chefing is your life. 0:17:59.800 --> 0:18:03.800 And I feel like, oh, it's so nauseating, But then 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:07.000 I go and do it and I was like back, like, yeah, 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:08.600 this is actually me, but it is. 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:11.960 That's why you've got that balance. You've acknowledged that yourself 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:14.439 in the sense that you know your partner isn't. In 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:17.400 the industry, you've obviously craved that balance, and we do 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:19.879