Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload.
Speaker 2: The podcast last week Their Life.
Speaker 1: Hey guys, welcome back to TV Reload. I want to
Speaker 1: thank you for clicking and downloading on today's episode with
Speaker 1: Steph the second elimin at a contestant from Master Chef
Speaker 1: Australia for twenty twenty four, which is on Network ten
Speaker 1: from Sunday through to Thursday nights at seven point thirty.
Speaker 1: After making it into the Master Chef Australia Class of
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four, Steph had proven to Australia that she
Speaker 1: was a breath of fresh air, giving this competition her all.
Speaker 1: She identifies as a savory girl through and through Steph
Speaker 1: Cook's meat to perfection and loves creating high end dishes
Speaker 1: inspired by favorite chefs like Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Ruth
Speaker 1: Rogers and Mike Reid. Steph is on a mission in
Speaker 1: the kitchen and in her future and hopes to host
Speaker 1: exclusive pop up dining experiences. Steph reveals with me today
Speaker 1: what was really going on inside her head and why
Speaker 1: she struggles to listen at times. We will also find out,
Speaker 1: of course, what her mum did think of that comment.
Speaker 1: That she made about her on the show, and why
Speaker 1: she thinks that staff went home last night. We will
Speaker 1: discuss Jamie Oliver and what he's really like during filming,
Speaker 1: and if Steph thinks that Jamie Oliver is stopping viewers
Speaker 1: from getting to know some of the other new judges.
Speaker 1: I will get Steph's insights into how they collect the
Speaker 1: stories during filming and how they do actually have producers
Speaker 1: on set that eventually get edited out. There is also
Speaker 1: a fun analogy of one of the judges being a
Speaker 1: little bit like mister Bean. I'm pretty sure you can
Speaker 1: probably guess, and I'm sure you'll have a bit of
Speaker 1: a giggle with that. There is so much to unpack
Speaker 1: with Steph, so sit back and relax as we unpack
Speaker 1: her time in the Master Chef Australia kitchen. Hi bad Hi,
Speaker 1: how are you?
Speaker 3: I'm good considering circumstances.
Speaker 1: How were you feeling after last night? I mean, it's
Speaker 1: such a long time to wait. I mean this was
Speaker 1: all started filming, was it last year? And then yeah? Yeahsia.
Speaker 1: The pressure test of waiting.
Speaker 2: The pressure test of waiting.
Speaker 3: Look it's a little bit traumatic, but look that's also
Speaker 3: I am really proud of myself.
Speaker 2: What an experience.
Speaker 3: So although it was very short, but sweet, and I
Speaker 3: didn't expect it to be this short.
Speaker 2: My moment on Master Chef, what a journey.
Speaker 1: Well, that's a good point to make. I think when
Speaker 1: you sign up to these shows, you don't necessarily know you.
Speaker 1: I mean, I guess you hope that you're going to
Speaker 1: make it to the end. Did you talk about that
Speaker 1: with your friends and family and say I think I'm
Speaker 1: going to make it midway? What was that sort of conversation.
Speaker 3: With friends, family, fellow contestants. We all said, which probably
Speaker 3: everybody who comes into this competition says, is as long
Speaker 3: as I make it to the top ten, I'm happy.
Speaker 3: And I know that I had you know what it's
Speaker 3: worth to get there. I knew that I had it
Speaker 3: in me so and I had so much more to give.
Speaker 3: As everybody says as well, I knew I wouldn't.
Speaker 2: Make it to the very end, maybe not like you know.
Speaker 3: I knew I wouldn't win, But it feels like you
Speaker 3: are a winner even just being selected to go on
Speaker 3: the show.
Speaker 1: I really warm to you straight away in the part
Speaker 1: that I saw you in this show, I just thought
Speaker 1: there was something quite special about you, and you could
Speaker 1: see why they've sort of matted you into the mix
Speaker 1: of something like this show. Do you know what's interesting
Speaker 1: about Master Chef is there's no real conflict. That's not
Speaker 1: how the show is set up, I mean.
Speaker 2: How it's classes.
Speaker 1: Would you have done a show? I mean, would this
Speaker 1: show work if there was some tension in the kitchen?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 3: Look, what makes this show is just the connection that
Speaker 3: everybody has to each other, from the producers, everybody working
Speaker 3: the coal crew, the contestants of course, and the contestants
Speaker 3: relationship with the judges.
Speaker 2: Like it's just that's what makes it so incredible.
Speaker 3: You walk into that kitchen and you just feel this
Speaker 3: positive energy and it's amazing, amazing to be part of.
Speaker 2: So no, it totally wouldn't be.
Speaker 3: The same, It wouldn't be Master Chef if it had
Speaker 3: a slight bit of bitchiness involved.
Speaker 1: Do you get to keep your Master Chef aprons? Because
Speaker 1: I do do. Oh my god, that's amazing.
Speaker 2: I'm so happy.
Speaker 1: You know that they released I think it was Cole's
Speaker 1: last year released versions of the Master Chef aprons.
Speaker 3: I know, I'm like, ex use me, I worked very
Speaker 3: hard to get that.
Speaker 1: I know did you feel a little bit robbed because
Speaker 1: my partner's got one of home. He bought it as
Speaker 1: soon as he saw a pair, and you should see
Speaker 1: he walks around our kitchen when he's got.
Speaker 2: That apron on.
Speaker 1: Think they any of all that in a bag of chippies? No,
Speaker 1: I love it.
Speaker 3: I actually went to the Fence Square activation and they
Speaker 3: were pumping about. You know, there were people everywhere wearing
Speaker 3: these aprons, and I was like, oh, my goodness, didn't
Speaker 3: go through what I went through.
Speaker 1: Earn your stripes, own your stripes? What's the banter like
Speaker 1: with everyone? Are you?
Speaker 2: Oh that's funny?
Speaker 1: Do they help you organize like a WhatsApp to like
Speaker 1: do the master chef God say, guys? You know, do
Speaker 1: you swap numbers? Is there something facilitating? Or do you
Speaker 1: just gravitate towards all being on WhatsApp? Like how does
Speaker 1: that work?
Speaker 3: Yeah? So, look, they were originally going to set it
Speaker 3: all up, but we just loved each other so much
Speaker 3: straight away we kind of took that to our own
Speaker 3: hands and started the group up straight away. Of course,
Speaker 3: you know, me being eliminated, you get off that group
Speaker 3: to make sure that.
Speaker 2: You know, you don't know any inside a secrets of whatsapped.
Speaker 3: Well, it's airing, but then we have an eliminated group
Speaker 3: chat and it's all fun and games there.
Speaker 1: Oh wow, so hanging a sex So like, just to
Speaker 1: get this right, you've got two chats. So there's a
Speaker 1: certain sort of unspoken rule that once you leave the show,
Speaker 1: you have to leave the chat or do you get booted?
Speaker 3: For me, I took myself off right away, just because
Speaker 3: what's going on behind the scenes, it's you.
Speaker 2: Want it to be a secret uself at the end
Speaker 2: of the day as well when it's airing, so you know,
Speaker 2: a little bit of a surprise. So yeah, we created
Speaker 2: our own for the eliminated people in the afterlife.
Speaker 1: It's definitely version of reality series I think happening. You know,
Speaker 1: it's time to go, you know, No matter how many
Speaker 1: times that I was told as a child and I
Speaker 1: think as an adult, I just never did it. And
Speaker 1: I just don't know if my brain is whired that way.
Speaker 1: But did that haunt you watching that sort of moment,
Speaker 1: even you bringing it up a camera?
Speaker 2: Wow? I know.
Speaker 3: And then because I'm living in Melbourne now in Queensland
Speaker 3: and we were messaging in the family group.
Speaker 2: Chat and we were having. She was like, I don't
Speaker 2: know whether to laugh or cry.
Speaker 1: Well yeah, literally both.
Speaker 3: But no matter how many times she can tell me,
Speaker 3: you got to learn the hard way.
Speaker 1: It's like your brains. I don't know. I mean, I
Speaker 1: can't speak for you, and I don't want to put
Speaker 1: words into your mouth. But like when I was in
Speaker 1: a classroom, or if I'm in a classroom format, there's
Speaker 1: something about this feeling or a sense of being kind
Speaker 1: of underwater, and also the pressure that I put on
Speaker 1: myself because I'm so aware of it. You know, come
Speaker 1: on listen, really, come on listen. And then because my
Speaker 1: brain is doing that in some way, it's blocking it out,
Speaker 1: does that.
Speaker 2: I resonate with that immensely.
Speaker 3: Like I was on the phone to Mum this morning
Speaker 3: and she said, you know, I think it wasn't about
Speaker 3: you not listening. It was completely the environment that you
Speaker 3: were in. I was struggling to be able to see
Speaker 3: what was going on to start with because of where
Speaker 3: I was placed, and.
Speaker 2: You're just trying to get it all right, So your
Speaker 2: brain's in overdrive. It's hard.
Speaker 3: So it's not really a matter of not listening at times,
Speaker 3: it's just trying to keep up with that. You know
Speaker 3: that episode's about keeping up with Jamie, not catching up
Speaker 3: with Jamie's.
Speaker 1: So I'm pretty shit at those sort of look and
Speaker 1: learn cooking tutorials. I just the YouTube.
Speaker 3: Try hate following instructions.
Speaker 2: I hate it. I get Ikere. I'm like, I'd rather
Speaker 2: struggle for hours than read the instructions.
Speaker 1: Jill screw the desk outs upside down, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. Like that's just.
Speaker 3: A friend to come over and help with the wine
Speaker 3: or something for me, and they can read the instructions.
Speaker 1: But you know, I look those tutorials on YouTube in
Speaker 1: my kitchen, I top up on the counter and it's
Speaker 1: certainly like I make. It doesn't matter how many times
Speaker 1: I've made my besh mal sauce. I've still got that
Speaker 1: lady in the background, some weird Canadian lady telling me
Speaker 1: to make New Orleans besh male sauce. And it takes
Speaker 1: She's on loop, Like you know, I could never you know.
Speaker 2: It's not going to be good anyway. A French one
Speaker 2: reading the subtitles or something.
Speaker 1: Okay, Souff, you're gonna have to google that because there's
Speaker 1: a difference between the French and the New Orleans besh
Speaker 1: mal souce.
Speaker 2: Oh stop, but you're teaching me something.
Speaker 1: Well, this is only because I've been on loop this
Speaker 1: YouTube tutorial for about ten years. My friend, Oh my goodness,
Speaker 1: I love it.
Speaker 2: I'm going to be googling this right after.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's the nutmeg. But anyway is that's
Speaker 1: a different podcast. So cooking with Jamie Oliver would have
Speaker 1: been a real life.
Speaker 2: It was. Look, it was incredible, and to be able
Speaker 2: to taste his food.
Speaker 3: As well, I was like, oh, he made this, so
Speaker 3: it's going to be like ten times more delicious.
Speaker 1: I mean, I hadn't heard of it, like a chicken
Speaker 1: Wellington or you know, the chicken that he cooks in
Speaker 1: his family's part, but I'd never sit of seen that before.
Speaker 1: I had made a beef Wellington before, so I kind
Speaker 1: of had some idea. What was your relationship to that
Speaker 1: kind of food? And when he was presenting that, did
Speaker 1: you start to have a sinking feeling or did you think, oh, no,
Speaker 1: I could do this.
Speaker 2: When they first kind of when it was unfolding and
Speaker 2: I knew what it was.
Speaker 3: It's not the type of dish that I would be like, oh,
Speaker 3: I'm going to make that at home. So it was
Speaker 3: relatively new to me. But also, you know, how hard
Speaker 3: could it have been that puff pastry that was already made,
Speaker 3: bloody chicken, breast, mushroom, duck cell and a beautiful sauce
Speaker 3: and some sides.
Speaker 2: So part of me was like, you know, this is
Speaker 2: really easy.
Speaker 3: But thinking back, my headspace wasn't good from the very start,
Speaker 3: So I think that that was actually the undoing of me.
Speaker 3: If I was in a better headspace, I would have
Speaker 3: been fine. And you can really see that on screen
Speaker 3: as well.
Speaker 1: From the very start, you know, being on a show
Speaker 1: like this and getting to see Jamieliva up close and
Speaker 1: then having to have you know, that first hand experience,
Speaker 1: did you get to learn anything about him that maybe
Speaker 1: most people wouldn't know about Jamie, he.
Speaker 3: Is the most beautiful person. He's exactly how you would
Speaker 3: how you think of him to be. And there's not
Speaker 3: many times that you meet your hero and they are actually.
Speaker 2: As amazing as what you thought they would be.
Speaker 3: So he's super passionate about what he does, of course,
Speaker 3: and he's so just calm.
Speaker 2: His energy is beautiful.
Speaker 3: Like he walked into the green room and he was
Speaker 3: talking to us, and I was just so capped baby looking.
Speaker 2: Up at him.
Speaker 3: It was really engaged with us and trying to motivate us.
Speaker 2: And he's just incredible. He's an amazing person.
Speaker 1: In the last couple of episodes, you know the judges
Speaker 1: who are knew some of them are you and we've
Speaker 1: got Andy back again. But we asked sort of seeing
Speaker 1: them taking a back seat. And I was looking online
Speaker 1: this morning and there's a few publications taking the show
Speaker 1: to task to say, by having Jamie Oliver in the kitchen,
Speaker 1: we're not really getting to know Sophia. Maybe an o
Speaker 1: christoph as much. Interesting? Was that a feeling that you
Speaker 1: guys had though in the kitchen was.
Speaker 2: It definitely not?
Speaker 3: Look, they were also present and my very first cook
Speaker 3: in the kitchen, John Kustaf came up to me and
Speaker 3: he was already teaching me techniques and they they're really.
Speaker 2: Genuine gorgeous people.
Speaker 3: So I think that Australia they're going to learn to
Speaker 3: resonate with them and grow.
Speaker 2: To love them if they don't already. So we definitely
Speaker 2: I've read.
Speaker 1: This from the morning and I was like, okay, I
Speaker 1: was like, I guess them bang up on the gantry
Speaker 1: and being amongst the contestants. You know, maybe isn't positioning
Speaker 1: them for some audience or for some people watching the
Speaker 1: show in the way that they want. Like you know,
Speaker 1: when a new kid comes to school and you want
Speaker 1: to get to know that new kid, you kind of
Speaker 1: like everyone turn. So I think that's what's happening for them.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I feel like, you know, you're starting to see
Speaker 3: their personality, their humor coming out.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, John Kostoff, he's so funny.
Speaker 3: He would have us just in absolute hysterics, but then
Speaker 3: he's so genuine and caring as well, Like he just
Speaker 3: comes up to him goes, how are you today?
Speaker 2: And that's so nice. So they're all really really good people.
Speaker 3: And I was always had to beat Poe and she's
Speaker 3: just amazing as well.
Speaker 2: So we're surrounded by the best, we really are.
Speaker 1: Jean Christoph kind of reminds me of a couple of
Speaker 1: people and I'm probably who laughing, Like he's like a
Speaker 1: really smart mister bean with a bit of oh my god.
Speaker 3: I've said that and he acts like it too, and
Speaker 3: it's so goofy.
Speaker 1: You know, let's just put a pinch of you know,
Speaker 1: the chef from the Muppets, and oh my god Time
Speaker 1: from Sesame Street. You know there's he's Erica Caricaturi, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Gosh that Honestly, I've said so many times he's like
Speaker 3: mister Bean because he pulls these spaces and he just
Speaker 3: doesn't care what people think, like he just what he
Speaker 3: wants to make people laugh.
Speaker 2: He could be a comedian.
Speaker 1: Are the producers collecting the stories or is it those
Speaker 1: judges the whole time? Like, well, I've never been in
Speaker 1: that kitchen, so I don't really necessarily. Is there like
Speaker 1: story producers around watching you the whole time to make
Speaker 1: sure that there's a cohesive story or is that being
Speaker 1: left to a lot of the judges to collect story
Speaker 1: like that the whole floor.
Speaker 3: What's so amazing about watching Mastership is you could be
Speaker 3: watching it and you only see the contestants and the judges.
Speaker 3: There is so many incredible talented people all around, from
Speaker 3: yes story producers to the cameramen, and they're.
Speaker 2: All dressed in black so you don't see them in everything.
Speaker 2: They're all hidden away.
Speaker 3: But you know they're asking us questions along the way,
Speaker 3: basically like a bank of information as well, so they.
Speaker 2: Remind me of things. I'm like, oh, my gosh, did
Speaker 2: that actually happen? Did I do that? They know me
Speaker 2: better than I know me.
Speaker 1: So the way in which I think that this show
Speaker 1: is produced, I think it is really hard to always
Speaker 1: know as a viewer who's going home, because they're quite
Speaker 1: often switch us, you know, with the drama. Now that
Speaker 1: you've been in the Magic, you've seen how the strings
Speaker 1: are being pulled at the Puppet Show, do you think
Speaker 1: that you now will never be faked out by the
Speaker 1: bait and switch? Because in some ways we could have
Speaker 1: thought that Stephen or Lily could have gone home the
Speaker 1: way in which that that episode unfolded. But like you've
Speaker 1: been in there, do you reckon you'd never be double
Speaker 1: faked out by that kind of stuff again, because you
Speaker 1: understand they.
Speaker 2: Do it so well.
Speaker 3: But it's interesting that you say that, because when Lil
Speaker 3: and I were standing up there waiting to see who's
Speaker 3: going home, I.
Speaker 2: Could I was watching Poe as she was speaking, and.
Speaker 3: She was really looking at Lil, and I'm like, previously,
Speaker 3: when I have watched Master Chef, you know that they
Speaker 3: try and like, you know, the person that they're looking
Speaker 3: at the most is not the one going home.
Speaker 2: So that's when I knew are screwed.
Speaker 3: So I knew that what they were trying to do,
Speaker 3: like head scool almost to keep people like, oh my god.
Speaker 1: You know I've spoken to I've got few friends that
Speaker 1: host TV shows and they have to do this moment
Speaker 1: with elimination. And I remember Sandel Krueger was telling me
Speaker 1: that she would look above the people, so she would
Speaker 1: look them at anyone, No one would be looked in
Speaker 1: the eye.
Speaker 2: Interesting, that's good.
Speaker 1: And yeah, so Andrew g who as we know, is
Speaker 1: now Osha Ginsburg, but he was referring to Andrew g days.
Speaker 1: He was saying that he used to look at the
Speaker 1: person who was safe because he felt more comfortable being like, well,
Speaker 1: well I feel guilty I'm looking the other one in
Speaker 1: the face, you know.
Speaker 3: Yes, Okay, So it's like their own like kind of
Speaker 3: personal way about it.
Speaker 2: Maybe, however, they Cote.
Speaker 1: Beth, looking back at the show, is there any kind
Speaker 1: of intricate detail that you think might have worked better
Speaker 1: or you could have done something different?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Look, I look back on what I've done, and you know,
Speaker 3: although I nearly caught the kitchen on fire, could have changed.
Speaker 2: It for the world. Like I really pushed myself. I
Speaker 2: challenged myself.
Speaker 3: I did the very best I could do in each challenge.
Speaker 3: I knew that I did the best, and I couldn't
Speaker 3: have done anymore. The only thing that I would say
Speaker 3: is in last night's you know, elimination, I could see
Speaker 3: from the very start, I wasn't there. I was you know,
Speaker 3: I wasn't feeling it. I was nervous. My brain space
Speaker 3: wasn't right from the start. So I guess that's taught
Speaker 3: me to get out of my own head.
Speaker 1: Say that on reality shows, they pulled them aside and say,
Speaker 1: by the way we can see you're in your head,
Speaker 1: You've got to get out of your own head. But
Speaker 1: if anyone said that to me, what I'd be further
Speaker 1: back in my head, Like if there's a space in
Speaker 1: my head I've never been before, that's where I've gone to,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Yeah, yes, And that's exactly right. That's the way that
Speaker 3: i'd work as well. So I think you're either you
Speaker 3: got the mojo or you don't. And last night I
Speaker 3: did not have my mojo, and that was the undoing.
Speaker 1: So book's the plan.
Speaker 3: Now, Oh gosh, I have so much which I'll be
Speaker 3: launching today.
Speaker 2: But I've been, you know, having fun at all. The
Speaker 2: beautiful restaurant in Soakiera called Denoi.
Speaker 3: It's just gorgeous, Yeah, gorgeous Sardinian restaurant Pietro best.
Speaker 2: With Yeah you come, I make pastor in the window.
Speaker 2: It's so gorgeous.
Speaker 1: Okay, well waving at you. Actually that's going to be
Speaker 1: hard because I think there's going to be a lot
Speaker 1: of people who watch Mastership through the window.
Speaker 2: Oh, we would love to have you.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I'm doing that, and they're my first client
Speaker 3: because I'm launching my own business called Kalinae Black Books,
Speaker 3: who are basically headquarters for the hospitality industry almost say
Speaker 3: a restaurant consultant, but that sounds super boring. So a
Speaker 3: black Book of the best industry contacts helping from you know,
Speaker 3: website development, menu design, interior, exterior, everything to make your
Speaker 3: space incredible because I've found that chefs just don't have
Speaker 3: the time for that.
Speaker 2: And also the expertise.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I'm quite well versed in the hospital industry already,
Speaker 3: so can to get my hands on it.
Speaker 1: Find your niche I think that's where you know, and
Speaker 1: I could say are you doing all of that? Before
Speaker 1: letting I've been asking people for their favorite judge and
Speaker 1: their favorite contestant, which is really hard. Please don't give
Speaker 1: me the list of your top three.
Speaker 3: All right, JC, John Christoph he is just I really
Speaker 3: personally resonate with him, mister Bean, he's doing funny, makes
Speaker 3: me laugh.
Speaker 2: Love a man that makes me laugh.
Speaker 4: And favorite contest cooking wise, favorite can not say, you know,
Speaker 4: for the expertise and everything she Nisana she is now
Speaker 4: one of my best friends, and I you know, she
Speaker 4: has years of experience and I can't wait to see
Speaker 4: what she does on the show.
Speaker 2: So she's to the talented chalk. They should watch out
Speaker 2: for her. So yeah, she's my fav girl. Yeah.
Speaker 1: The last question I ask everyone who joins the pod
Speaker 1: is what is something from behind the scenes, something that maybe,
Speaker 1: you know, the viewer at home wouldn't know about what
Speaker 1: it's like to be a contestant on a show like this,
Speaker 1: or maybe a moment that he thought could have happened
Speaker 1: on television.
Speaker 2: They feed you really well.
Speaker 1: You know, there was one cook back in the day
Speaker 1: with the Craft services were really discussing Yeah, look I
Speaker 1: guess that.
Speaker 3: Yeah. They almost like I'm like, gee, are you trying
Speaker 3: to make us fat? Because you know, we have a
Speaker 3: face every day, would get to place like a grocery order,
Speaker 3: and they just I think they just looked after us
Speaker 3: really bloody well, and I don't think that a lot
Speaker 3: of reality TV shows would do that, so they don't.
Speaker 2: It might be bloring, but that's.
Speaker 3: My ets kind of goth, not really gos.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I think, you know, it's I think it
Speaker 1: does allow us to understand how they create that warmth
Speaker 1: to this show.
Speaker 2: I know so much warmth.
Speaker 1: You know, taking away food and giving people food on
Speaker 1: these shows changes the dynamic quite considerably.
Speaker 2: It's more than food, definitely, I.
Speaker 1: Really do think. So. You know, Steph, I'm so happy
Speaker 1: with this whole Dennoy thing and where you're taking your work.
Speaker 1: I have loved talking to you. I loved you on
Speaker 1: the show. So congratulations and yeah, He'll be in your
Speaker 1: audience to see what you're doing it.
Speaker 2: Thank you. So it was so nice speaking with you.
Speaker 1: Lovely to chat to you. Oh my god, I'm ossed.
Speaker 1: I'm obsessed. Go and enjoy chatting to the media with
Speaker 1: everyone today. I'm sure you'll have a great time and
Speaker 1: look after yourself. I'll be in the window you too.
Speaker 2: Thank you, so much for
Speaker 3: Me too, all right, cheers, bye bye,