Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload, the podcast last week that mine. 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 on the popular TV shows that
Speaker 1: you may be watching from around the world. Underniably, our
Speaker 1: TV 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 the
Speaker 1: guests that want to dive just that little bit deeper
Speaker 1: into the shows that they're currently making, so that you
Speaker 1: can hear all their exclusive stories and gain access to
Speaker 1: some of the biggest characters in austray and television. I
Speaker 1: want to thank you for downloading or subscribing to this
Speaker 1: podcast however you've found me. I love hearing your feedback,
Speaker 1: so if you can, please leave a review or a
Speaker 1: comment on your chosen podcast platform. On today's episode of
Speaker 1: TV Reload, I'm joined by Adriana Zumbo, who was the
Speaker 1: latest eliminated contestant from Dessert Masters Australia on Network ten.
Speaker 1: Adriano is an Australian dessert genius come television presenter, He
Speaker 1: opened his first Partition three in two thousand and seven,
Speaker 1: before rising to prominence as a frequent guest on Master
Speaker 1: Chef Australia. Many have described him as Australia's own Willy Wonka,
Speaker 1: and to be honest, I wholeheartedly agree and will probably
Speaker 1: suggest to him today that he should open his own
Speaker 1: chocolate factory. This year, Network ten has treated audiences to
Speaker 1: this new series, Dessert Masters, which is a spinoff cooking
Speaker 1: show from Master Chef Australia with hosts Melissa Leon and
Speaker 1: Armare Guschion, who have recruited the best dessert chefs in Australia.
Speaker 1: While the idea to take on the grease theme in
Speaker 1: a movie theme challenge, the wheels did seem to come
Speaker 1: off for Adroano a few times and while that milkshake
Speaker 1: looks better than anything I could possibly ever make, sadly
Speaker 1: it was the reason we saw him packing. I will
Speaker 1: find out if the producers approached him to compete or
Speaker 1: if they asked him to host the series. Adroano will
Speaker 1: share exactly what went through his mind as he was
Speaker 1: shockingly eliminated third and if he regrets signing onto the series.
Speaker 1: I will also find out if he is looking forward
Speaker 1: to seeing that new Willie Wonka film that's about to
Speaker 1: be released in December, and if he grew up reading
Speaker 1: the books by Roll Dah. Plus, we will get plenty
Speaker 1: of exclusives from behind the scenes of Dessert Masters, which
Speaker 1: is back on Sunday night at seven thirty, and you
Speaker 1: can catch up on tenplay if you've fallen that little
Speaker 1: bit behind. Anyway, Guys, let's join Adriana in the kitchen.
Speaker 1: I'm calling him there. It's a very quick chat. Sometimes
Speaker 1: the audio can be a little bit strange, but you
Speaker 1: should be able to hear what he's talking about. And guys,
Speaker 1: I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast. Hi,
Speaker 1: how are you?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Thanks.
Speaker 1: I know you're a very busy man, so I'm just
Speaker 1: going to quickly throw some fast questions at you.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Do you know what I thought was really funny in
Speaker 1: that episode was where you were talking to Melissa and
Speaker 1: you were talking about making the strawberry milkshake. You were like,
Speaker 1: don't worry, I'm not going to throw it at you.
Speaker 1: I was wondering once the episode finished, did you feel
Speaker 1: like throwing that milkshake at her? At that point?
Speaker 2: Lusa's lovely. It's all good, you know, It's just it's
Speaker 2: a life of crimes built milk.
Speaker 1: Absolutely not. But I mean, you were so gracious and
Speaker 1: I feel like Australia was watching your face so intently
Speaker 1: to see whether or not you were going to crack
Speaker 1: or whether you were going to throw something. But you
Speaker 1: were just so amazing. Can you explain to me what
Speaker 1: was going through your mind at that moment when you
Speaker 1: were eliminated?
Speaker 2: Just shock mate? You know I put up a a
Speaker 2: wicked di Shu looked amazing. Y had a little crack
Speaker 2: in the side.
Speaker 3: But you know, for me, I don't know when I
Speaker 3: create a creat with the connection and the emotion the scene,
Speaker 3: you know, how well does it connect? And I thought
Speaker 3: I smashed it, But you know, obviously it's not up
Speaker 3: to me, and you know it's the judge's final decision,
Speaker 3: so you know, just cop it on the chin and
Speaker 3: keep walking.
Speaker 1: I would have thought that they would have asked you
Speaker 1: to host this show, not to be a contestant. Were
Speaker 1: there ever any discussions for you to be an Armor's role?
Speaker 2: Oh no, I think I'd probably be in it if
Speaker 2: I was.
Speaker 1: Well, would you if you had the decision to be
Speaker 1: the host of the show or to take on this amazing.
Speaker 1: I mean, this competition's been going for so long and
Speaker 1: is so popular. I mean there'd be the little well
Speaker 1: a llure of you know, wanting to be a contestant.
Speaker 1: Which one would you have chosen?
Speaker 3: I think probably the I mean it's been amazing being
Speaker 3: a contestant because I've I've learned so much and the
Speaker 3: experience with all the other contestants was epic. But I
Speaker 3: really enjoyed the kind of judging thing, you know in
Speaker 3: a sense because you get to you know, inspire and
Speaker 3: help people and.
Speaker 2: In different sense.
Speaker 3: But I wouldn't take back what being a contestant or
Speaker 3: anything like that, because I think it's something now in
Speaker 3: my life that I've experienced and you know, kicked the box,
Speaker 3: you know, like something off your bucket list and being
Speaker 3: able to understand what it's like to be on the
Speaker 3: other side of the bench.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: Things you have to think about, you know, while you're
Speaker 3: cooking that this comes into play. It's just it's immense
Speaker 3: and it's.
Speaker 2: A lot, but it's a good adrenaline rush and great
Speaker 2: for the mind.
Speaker 1: What was the most surprising thing about swapping the side
Speaker 1: of the counter in this kitchen.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think probably just learning all the things, you know,
Speaker 3: running for your ingredients tools, you know, like thinking of
Speaker 3: recipes in your head on the fly and then trying
Speaker 3: to execute them, you know what I mean, forgetting stuff
Speaker 3: and going back and this and then oh no, I'm
Speaker 3: going to do that for this to do and that
Speaker 3: hasn't said.
Speaker 2: You know, It's it's kind of like.
Speaker 3: Being at work, but like someone's put it on ten
Speaker 3: times fast forward, you know, and you just you're just
Speaker 3: hanging on and banging it out, you know, do the
Speaker 3: best you can and try and make your vision and
Speaker 3: dream come to life.
Speaker 1: You know, when you asked to do this series, what
Speaker 1: was your first reaction? You know, did you think, should
Speaker 1: I do this show but to change the perception of
Speaker 1: who I am if I don't do well or if
Speaker 1: I do well? Like, can you talk me through what
Speaker 1: was going on in your mind?
Speaker 2: Oh? Totally, you know, I think I want in the
Speaker 2: first perception again more than going to do it.
Speaker 3: You know, it was just like putting myself out there
Speaker 3: to what I'm kind of get criticized and whatnot.
Speaker 2: I've already kind of achieved a lot in life.
Speaker 3: And you know kind of have that sort of og
Speaker 3: sort of people thinking that you're the dessert person in
Speaker 3: Australia and stuff like that. So originally, yeah, that where
Speaker 3: I was at. And then then I thought it came around.
Speaker 3: I was just like thought about it a bit and
Speaker 3: I was like, you know what, I've never done this before,
Speaker 3: Like I sin, it's like being a contestant and getting
Speaker 3: on outher side, and I sort of jumped in there
Speaker 3: and you know, I'll give it a crack.
Speaker 2: Whatever happens happens. You know, it's competition.
Speaker 1: Had the producers ever asked you to be on this
Speaker 1: show before as a contestant? Like, was this the first
Speaker 1: time you were asked to do it?
Speaker 2: First time? Yeah? Yeah, first time asking to be a contestant? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Wow? And then what's the reaction been since last night?
Speaker 1: You know, have you been getting a lot of messages
Speaker 1: from people in the industry. I mean, Dessert Mustars has
Speaker 1: already renewed for next year, so they're going to want
Speaker 1: to bring in new dessert chefs that are at your level.
Speaker 1: Do you think that people will be wondering whether or
Speaker 1: not to do the show after watching you come out
Speaker 1: of it like this.
Speaker 2: Oh look, I think I think it was why a
Speaker 2: lot of people do the show, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: I think there's a lot of great, amazing dessert people
Speaker 3: in Australia and I think it will really ignite the
Speaker 3: flame for them to get out there and bring their
Speaker 3: talents and their ideas, you know, on a national scale.
Speaker 1: I mean, the show is famous for seeing contestants by
Speaker 1: the way leave. You know, my favorite contestant Master Chef
Speaker 1: of all time is actually and you know that man's
Speaker 1: one of the best cooks in Australia. So you know,
Speaker 1: the show is set up in a way that you
Speaker 1: can easily be eliminated because it all comes down to
Speaker 1: each an individual cook, Like you could have been phenomenal
Speaker 1: the week before and then you know, it just takes
Speaker 1: one cook to not go as well and it all
Speaker 1: goes belly up.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, it's anyone's game and any day anyone can go
Speaker 3: and any day anyone can succeed.
Speaker 2: It really is about the cook. How it goes for
Speaker 2: you in there.
Speaker 3: I think it's quite a bit of luck in it
Speaker 3: for some senses as well, right because in what you choose,
Speaker 3: how it goes, how it turns up at the end,
Speaker 3: and also you know, you've got to think about the
Speaker 3: judge's preferences in a sense of what they like out
Speaker 3: of a dessert and what they see is fit. We're
Speaker 3: all different, everyone's different, you know, especially when everyone has
Speaker 3: a different I like that, or I like my deserts
Speaker 3: to be a little bit more finessed, or like bigger
Speaker 3: boulder flavors, or that's real personal, and that's that's unfortunately
Speaker 3: kind of when you've only got like small judge set,
Speaker 3: that leaves a lot of a room there to only
Speaker 3: have a very small gateway sort of a distincts, you know,
Speaker 3: like some people sometimes use a lot of savory flavors
Speaker 3: and stuff like that, you know they don't like, say flavors,
Speaker 3: then your style just sort of goes out the.
Speaker 1: Door, right, you know, we see everyday contestants on Master
Speaker 1: Chef come out of this show and what they do
Speaker 1: in their cooking journey after the series is often determined
Speaker 1: by how long they stay in the competition. What advice
Speaker 1: do you have for them, because you know that would
Speaker 1: be really interesting with your experience being that you're at
Speaker 1: the top of your game and you are the og
Speaker 1: dessert king, you know, does that mean that taking part
Speaker 1: of a reality TV series that's about cooking doesn't necessarily
Speaker 1: equate to the level of success that you can achieve
Speaker 1: in the industry.
Speaker 2: Oh totally. I mean, this doesn't. It doesn't define who
Speaker 2: I am, what I can do, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: It's a reality competition. Like I said, anyone could win it,
Speaker 2: anyone could lose it.
Speaker 3: So for anyone going into these kind of things, you know,
Speaker 3: believing what you do and yourself in your personality and
Speaker 3: style and stick to it whether it does well or
Speaker 3: you know, it gets you other the first round.
Speaker 2: To pass off for even get in.
Speaker 3: There, you know, think for a lot of people takes
Speaker 3: a lot. For anybody, especially you know, for your home
Speaker 3: cook or a passionate home baker or anything like that,
Speaker 3: or a professional takes a lot to want to take
Speaker 3: that next step. So I think I hope that a
Speaker 3: lot of people jump on the next one and show
Speaker 3: what they can do, you know, because a lot of
Speaker 3: people in Australia.
Speaker 1: So you know what was interesting was when I saw
Speaker 1: your name and Kristen Tibbles and I was like, you know,
Speaker 1: this is not an even playing field. You know. When
Speaker 1: I saw the lineup of cooks, I was like Oh,
Speaker 1: this is really unfair. Do you think the contestants in
Speaker 1: this competition this year has been on an even playing
Speaker 1: field when it comes to Dessert Masters?
Speaker 2: Totally?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so, you know, I think everyone's an
Speaker 3: even playing field because competition, like I said before, it's
Speaker 3: anyone's game. Could you know, if you stick to what
Speaker 3: you do and what you know and you know you can.
Speaker 2: Make it come true reality in that time frame, you
Speaker 2: could do really well. Right.
Speaker 3: It's one thing you could see is that small blemishes
Speaker 3: got marked harshly, you know what I mean. If you
Speaker 3: finished it and put it up of one hundred percent,
Speaker 3: then you can do really well because they like that.
Speaker 2: They like that one hundred percent. It's just the show
Speaker 2: was I guess.
Speaker 3: So if if you feel a little bit short or
Speaker 3: left then elemet off, they really kind of they already
Speaker 3: pick on it, right, make it quite prominent that everyone
Speaker 3: knows that you left something offul or whatnot, because I mean,
Speaker 3: I guess in TV great drama they need drama for ratings.
Speaker 3: So you know, you've got to look at some of
Speaker 3: those aspects as well. Be prepared when you're going on
Speaker 3: TV show. She like that's going to happen.
Speaker 2: You know what I mean.
Speaker 3: So you kind of got to make sure you bring
Speaker 3: your thick skin and and get up. You sort of
Speaker 3: knock down and get back up sort of attitude.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: True, that's just the nature of it. So and then
Speaker 2: you got the cookie.
Speaker 1: I mean, with this movie theme challenge, what did you
Speaker 1: think was more important? Actually, what do you think is
Speaker 1: more important now? Looking back? Do you think hitting the
Speaker 1: brief or making the dish more delicious? Because we saw
Speaker 1: with Anna she didn't really understand the theme and just
Speaker 1: made delicious desserts.
Speaker 3: So for me, as a judge, I've been a judge
Speaker 3: in many if you don't hit the brief for me,
Speaker 3: you're out, you know, because that's the challenge.
Speaker 2: The challenge isn't just to turn up and do whatever
Speaker 2: you want.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, as a queer person who grew
Speaker 1: up obsessed with breakfast to Tiffany's, the fact that she
Speaker 1: didn't have a croissant in there was really quite disturbing.
Speaker 3: Yeah, looks a sense up to in the end, it's
Speaker 3: the judges and what their perception of it is. But yeah, yeah,
Speaker 3: I think there's yeah, there's no high teen reckast Tiffany's.
Speaker 3: But look, that's the way the ball rolls, I guess
Speaker 3: and and unfortunately, yeah, because.
Speaker 1: The way the pastry crumbles is I think what you're
Speaker 1: what you were looking for?
Speaker 2: It dropped out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, your reception sounds better now because before it was
Speaker 1: a little bit crackly. Oh no way, Well you now
Speaker 1: sound like yourself. Before I was like, I'm not getting
Speaker 1: the full Adriano sounds of your voice.
Speaker 2: I know it's a good sound.
Speaker 1: It's a beautiful sound. I always think I could go
Speaker 1: to sleep listening to you talking about cooking.
Speaker 2: That's creepy. Get like a little app.
Speaker 1: I think you could read like the bed anyway, cooking
Speaker 1: bedtime Stories. There's an app there. I guarantee there's money
Speaker 1: in it as Australia's own Willy Wonka. Are you looking
Speaker 1: forward to seeing that new film coming out next month?
Speaker 1: That's what I'm keen today.
Speaker 2: Man, can't wait.
Speaker 3: You know, they really dogged up the last one. You
Speaker 3: don't think it's I can't wait till a new one
Speaker 3: comes out. You know, Look, it looks it looks really
Speaker 3: it looks. It looks like it's a good one.
Speaker 1: I want to know, though, with that roll dull book,
Speaker 1: did you grow up reading that as a kid and
Speaker 1: have any idea that you would become Australia's own Willy Wonka.
Speaker 3: Oh definitely not. Yeah, yeah, I mean I had all
Speaker 3: rolled our books. I love Rolldal so you know, it's
Speaker 3: pretty epic.
Speaker 1: I was brought up on them. My mom was a
Speaker 1: primary school teacher and she read them all to me.
Speaker 1: But was that your favorite out of the series.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that one and James and the Giant Peach.
Speaker 1: I thought you were going to say George's Marvelous Medicine,
Speaker 1: which is my second favorite. All about the ingredients. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm going to have to let you go because you
Speaker 1: are literally the busiest chef working in Australia and I
Speaker 1: know how busy you are. But before you go, something
Speaker 1: I ask everyone who joins the podcast is what is
Speaker 1: something from behind the scenes, something that we didn't get
Speaker 1: a chance to see from your experience of being on
Speaker 1: Dessert Masters.
Speaker 3: I'd have to say it'd be like either Andy Baddie
Speaker 3: without a shirt on and I'm just wearing.
Speaker 2: An apron, or or if he's just gun for Gilado.
Speaker 3: At night with the crew, you know, three scoops, three
Speaker 3: scoops every night was the medicine, you know for me
Speaker 3: like you would go something different every night and I'd
Speaker 3: grab three scoops, so they called me three scoops.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm asking everyone as well is do
Speaker 1: you think that Amory good Sean is how is he
Speaker 1: getting that? How is he looking so buff in that apron? Like?
Speaker 1: Do you think that tailor making that for him?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I think so. I think the custom custom may
Speaker 2: day we're.
Speaker 1: Going to find out a recipe for how to look
Speaker 1: that good.
Speaker 3: Hey, you gotta get that and you've got to get
Speaker 3: that walk when you're walking on he's got the he's
Speaker 3: got the walk and he's walking looks like he's kind
Speaker 3: of gliding across the It's kind of like a computer game,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean, kind of like when you're
Speaker 3: when you're watching.
Speaker 1: Well mate, I just want to say I've been in
Speaker 1: your audience for so long and I'm so proud of
Speaker 1: you for being able to come on this show and
Speaker 1: do and do this. It's been fantastic to watch you
Speaker 1: on the series. I think, like the rest of Australia,
Speaker 1: we're going to be in your audience eating and watching
Speaker 1: whatever you do next.
Speaker 3: Yeah, awesome, Thanks so much and thanks thanks for the
Speaker 3: opportunity need to talk with you and be on your
Speaker 3: show and have a great day.
Speaker 1: Amazing,