Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload the podcast last week, ay Light. Welcome back
Speaker 1: to TV Reload. My name's Benjamin Norris and on this
Speaker 1: podcast I go behind the scenes with the biggest players
Speaker 1: in television. Each episode you will get a front row
Speaker 1: seat with content makers like executive producers, writers, editors and
Speaker 1: casting agents, plus the talent that we see on our screens.
Speaker 1: TV Reload reloads the shows that you are currently watching
Speaker 1: and gives you a better insight at our television industry
Speaker 1: and streaming services today. On the podcast, I have mastershef
Speaker 1: Australia's latest eliminated contender, its favorite returning contestant, Alvin. This season,
Speaker 1: we have been lucky enough to welcome back some of
Speaker 1: the most powerful cooks ever seen on the hit reality show,
Speaker 1: and Alvin has been in our hearts and minds ever
Speaker 1: since we saw him on Series two. Alvin is as
Speaker 1: cute as a button and has been on an emotional
Speaker 1: but fulfilling ride this season of Fans Versus Favorites. We
Speaker 1: have seen him cry, we have seen him overcome his demons,
Speaker 1: and making it all the way to the finals week
Speaker 1: has been a joy to watch. We will talk about
Speaker 1: the highs and lows, his upcoming projects, who he thinks
Speaker 1: will win, and also which judge he would like to
Speaker 1: have over for dinner. However, let's get started. I'd like
Speaker 1: to welcome Alvin to TV reload.
Speaker 2: This is going to be a challenge for me. Musta
Speaker 2: Shaff has produced some of the biggest names in food.
Speaker 2: For the longest time, I battled whether I was deserving
Speaker 2: to go back to the kitchen, and.
Speaker 1: The first time ever it's fans versus favorites.
Speaker 2: I'm literally going through the seven stages of grief.
Speaker 1: Just towards the end was palpable, the sort of electric
Speaker 1: stress vibe that would.
Speaker 2: Get quite teary and my voice would start shaking. Right,
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, Alvin, that's why you're going home. She's another
Speaker 2: one that cooks with a lot of heart as well.
Speaker 1: Hi, Alvin, how are you?
Speaker 2: Hey? Ben? Thanks for having me. I'm very well. Thank
Speaker 2: you well.
Speaker 1: How strange was it to have made it this far
Speaker 1: into the competition? I mean, you've done so well.
Speaker 2: Oh, thank you. Like it's it's cliche to say, but
Speaker 2: it's such a journey. Like I remember when I first started,
Speaker 2: when they first started filming, what seven months ago, I
Speaker 2: remember thinking to myself, Okay, I'm just gonna this. My
Speaker 2: first goal is not to be the first one to
Speaker 2: be eliminated, and my next goal was to survive there
Speaker 2: for another week, and then my next goal was not
Speaker 2: to be the first favorite to be eliminated. And then
Speaker 2: it just kind of keep creeping up, and then I'm
Speaker 2: stort of thinking, oh my gosh, I can see the
Speaker 2: finishing line here, so that's kind of cool.
Speaker 1: Well, I don't know why I think this, but I
Speaker 1: just sometimes think lovable people like yourself won't make it
Speaker 1: this far in the competition, and it's amazing to have
Speaker 1: you stay in the competition and be there the whole
Speaker 1: way through.
Speaker 2: Oh thanks Ben, first of all for calling me lovable, so,
Speaker 2: you know, like brownie points, well done, But I no,
Speaker 2: But I also and I totally, I totally agree with you,
Speaker 2: Like I'm so sick of the whole nice guys finishing
Speaker 2: life sort of type thing, you know, Like, so I
Speaker 2: love I love the fact and this is I think
Speaker 2: one of the nicest things about Master Chef is, like,
Speaker 2: you know, like good people do shine and I like that.
Speaker 2: I'm not now it sound like I'm bragging about myself,
Speaker 2: but you know what I mean, what was.
Speaker 1: The process like deciding on returning to the kitchen. I
Speaker 1: mean it was such a long time. Some people came
Speaker 1: back straight after their last season, where for you it
Speaker 1: has been a while.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it has, And I think a lot of it
Speaker 2: is I was sort of badly my own demons in
Speaker 2: a way, you know, like I didn't think that my
Speaker 2: cooking was worthy because after my series, you know, like
Speaker 2: Master Chef have Master Chef has actually gone through leaps
Speaker 2: and bounds in terms of you know, featuring like the
Speaker 2: winners and the style of cooking, and it just got
Speaker 2: more and more and lack of a better term, chefy.
Speaker 2: So there's a lot of like fancy cooking out there,
Speaker 2: and my my cooking style has always been, you know,
Speaker 2: the rustic sort of home style sort of cook So
Speaker 2: for the longest time I battled whether I was I
Speaker 2: was deserving to go back to the kitchen, and several
Speaker 2: times they asked me, and I actually said no, it's
Speaker 2: more pride, to be quite honest, like I didn't think
Speaker 2: I was good enough.
Speaker 1: Well, how much have you changed over the last what
Speaker 1: is it nearly a decade? Is it a decade since
Speaker 1: you we last saw you and I wanted to change
Speaker 1: the most for you. Between appearing on the show, Well, I.
Speaker 2: Think I've sort of grown up quite quite a bit
Speaker 2: in terms of you know, like personal growth and even
Speaker 2: celebrating my cooking. And while there is always that voice
Speaker 2: that sort of tells me, you know, I think I
Speaker 2: think we all have that if we don't then wear
Speaker 2: narcissistic I think, like I think there's that little voice
Speaker 2: that says, you know, you're not good enough, you know,
Speaker 2: that sort of stuff. And what I'm how I'm dealing
Speaker 2: with that a lot better is basically sort of saying yeah,
Speaker 2: you know, like I can do this rather than I can't.
Speaker 2: So there's a lot of that sort of growth inside
Speaker 2: as well. And cooking wise, I've had a lot more
Speaker 2: time to sort of, you know, like do a lot
Speaker 2: more cooking from my mum's heritage and Malaysia and just
Speaker 2: experimenting with a lot more food, and I guess that
Speaker 2: sort of helps and it sort of prepared me. I
Speaker 2: suppose for round two.
Speaker 1: Well, you look exactly the same, so we know that
Speaker 1: there hasn't been too much stress in your life.
Speaker 2: Oh, Ben, I love you. I should interview me more often.
Speaker 1: You know, I haven't quite recovered from your cooking the
Speaker 1: what was it called the polywally Waffle.
Speaker 2: I mean, oh, don't that that challenge? Ben? Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2: I remember I was talking to the producer you know,
Speaker 2: who was producing me at the time, and I said,
Speaker 2: I'm literally going through the seven stages of grief right here.
Speaker 2: And it was it was hilarious in hindsight, like she's saying, Okay,
Speaker 2: what stage are we on now? It's like I'm still
Speaker 2: stuck on anger and it's it's so it was so traumatic,
Speaker 2: and I think because A it was the first pressure
Speaker 2: test of the season and you know, all that self
Speaker 2: doubt so that it came creeping back. And then b
Speaker 2: it was Zoombo as well who sent me home the
Speaker 2: first the first time, and I'm thinking, ah, for goodness sake,
Speaker 2: it's like, is this some weird poetic justice thing?
Speaker 1: Well so idy for me watching that is still with me.
Speaker 1: I still feel emotional thinking about it. But the question
Speaker 1: I really have for you is did your ability to
Speaker 1: keep it together get better as the competition went on,
Speaker 1: Because you know, I was thinking, well, I don't know
Speaker 1: if he's got enough gas in the tank, if he's
Speaker 1: going to have to do this every week. But then
Speaker 1: you got better and better with being able to cope
Speaker 1: with the pressure.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's it too. And for the record, when
Speaker 2: I think about that episode, Ben, I get quite emotional
Speaker 2: as well, Like I would just if I would play
Speaker 2: some of the moments of that episode in my mind,
Speaker 2: I would get quite teary and my voice would start shaking,
Speaker 2: right because it's such a poignant part of the competition.
Speaker 2: And yes, I did get better because that was that
Speaker 2: was it, Like, you know, like that was my button
Speaker 2: really that they pushed and essentially like I got over
Speaker 2: that hump and that's when I thought, yeah, I can't
Speaker 2: keep going through that because it's not good for me
Speaker 2: and I'm not going to survive. So, you know, like
Speaker 2: I did get better, and then every challenge just became right, Okay,
Speaker 2: this is just another one, just cook.
Speaker 1: I think that's it's just your currency, my friend. Is
Speaker 1: you know, people love watching on television because you're real
Speaker 1: and whilst it's never fun to shed a few tears,
Speaker 1: I think people can relate, you know, people can relate
Speaker 1: to the pressure they put on themselves.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I you know, like the bigger picture is
Speaker 2: I think society needs to be comfortable seeing men shed
Speaker 2: a tear or get emotional or talk about their feelings
Speaker 2: that sort of thing, because I think for the longest time,
Speaker 2: we've been told we can't. We have to be stoic,
Speaker 2: we have to behave a certain way. And you know,
Speaker 2: like mind you, I was never like that, so you know,
Speaker 2: like I think, but I think showing the raw sort
Speaker 2: of nature of the emotion, it's it's it's the truth,
Speaker 2: isn't it. It's like and I think that's where people
Speaker 2: would look at it. And if you don't connect to that,
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, Like you just don't have a hut. I mean,
Speaker 2: come on, it's so real.
Speaker 1: You want people to, you know, go through the gamut
Speaker 1: of emotions, and that's what makes it fun for the
Speaker 1: people at home. The question I also was going to
Speaker 1: ask you is who is the surprise of the season
Speaker 1: in terms of making at this far under the competition?
Speaker 2: And I say this with love, and you know, like
Speaker 2: I think the bigger surprise is Kema. So she's been
Speaker 2: a bit of a you know, dark horse. She's been
Speaker 2: flying under the radar, and it's all about how, you know,
Speaker 2: like how she's improved being and and she's she sort
Speaker 2: of giggles her way through things and you never quite
Speaker 2: know what she's talking about, but she actually knows what
Speaker 2: she's doing, and I like that. I think she cooks.
Speaker 2: She's another one that cooks with a lot of heart
Speaker 2: as well, and she's she's all about the feels, and
Speaker 2: I think she is the one that is the biggest
Speaker 2: surprise for me.
Speaker 1: Was Tasmania a good choice for this finals week? You know,
Speaker 1: for the top five? Oh?
Speaker 2: Look, I think I think Tasmania is a good choice
Speaker 2: at any time of the year because I love Tasmania.
Speaker 2: Like I'm just I'm so upset that I got eliminated
Speaker 2: in Tasmania, but that's beside the point. I still love
Speaker 2: you Tasmania. So it's such a perfect backdrop because I think,
Speaker 2: you know, you just cannot have bad food in Tasmania.
Speaker 2: The produce there or fresh is so seasonal, you know,
Speaker 2: like and you know people they really know their craft,
Speaker 2: you know, the producers are so passionate about what they do.
Speaker 2: So I love it. I think it's a perfect spot.
Speaker 1: Oysters, you know, a polarizing food for some people, they're
Speaker 1: not for everyone. Do you think that the food at
Speaker 1: hand predetermines the chance of someone, you know, some of
Speaker 1: these contestants going home, like the oysters get revealed, and
Speaker 1: you think, well, this person or maybe myself, this isn't
Speaker 1: the ideal food for me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it does. And I think where like, I mean,
Speaker 2: there has been several times where you know, like that
Speaker 2: would come up, you know, like a challenge on seafood
Speaker 2: for instance, if seafood's not your strength, dessert, if dessert's
Speaker 2: not your strength, you know, like so so you know,
Speaker 2: But I think it's more about the It's more about
Speaker 2: the mind of a matter thing, you know, like more
Speaker 2: than anything. I think Master Chef is a mental game.
Speaker 2: So if you think you've been you know, like this
Speaker 2: is going to beat you, it will beat you. I
Speaker 2: know that sounds like, you know, a bit kumbaya sounding,
Speaker 2: but like it's really true. Like you know, like if
Speaker 2: you think this is going to defeat you, then that
Speaker 2: you know, like you've lost battle already. I think it's
Speaker 2: there's something to be said about the can do attitude.
Speaker 1: Absolutely. Did you have an inkling I guess at the
Speaker 1: start of this particular pressure test. Did you look around
Speaker 1: and think you knew who would go home? Or was
Speaker 1: it anyone's game? Yeah?
Speaker 2: I did actually like when when when they did reveal
Speaker 2: the oysters, I sort of thought, like, I love eating oysters,
Speaker 2: so get me wrong, like I love it, like it,
Speaker 2: except you know, like I've probably shocked oysters twice in
Speaker 2: my life, and I sort of thought, with oysters, you know,
Speaker 2: we've been we've been. I guess we've been taught from
Speaker 2: a very young age like oysters shouldn't be adulterated. You
Speaker 2: should just you know, squeeze a lemon and that's it, right,
Speaker 2: So you know, like that's one problem, and then the
Speaker 2: other problem is we have to shock our own oysis
Speaker 2: and you think, oh no, And that's when I sort
Speaker 2: of think, Okay, this is going to be a challenge
Speaker 2: for me. So when I looked around, I thought and
Speaker 2: came miles worse because came I didn't like oysters. She
Speaker 2: doesn't even like to eat it. So good on her
Speaker 2: for actually surviving that. Yeah, I thought she was a goner.
Speaker 2: I didn't pick as the person going home then, I know,
Speaker 2: I know, but the look on the judges faces seem
Speaker 2: to be very telling for audiences as to where this
Speaker 2: was going to go.
Speaker 1: I wanted to know, you know, can you see the
Speaker 1: reactions of you know the judges' faces as you walk away.
Speaker 1: Can you see them as they're eating the food?
Speaker 2: Sometimes they are quite sometimes they're quite coy about it,
Speaker 2: so they don't reveal so much. You knows, as they
Speaker 2: taste our food, you know, when they visit our bench
Speaker 2: and whatever, they taste our food, you sort of think, okay,
Speaker 2: you're not giving some things away, so you don't know
Speaker 2: whether they like it or not. But when you're taking
Speaker 2: it to them to be tasted, if it's a good dish,
Speaker 2: then it's it's bloody obvious, you know, like you know, yeah,
Speaker 2: you you really really like this, And likewise, if it's
Speaker 2: a bad dish, then you know it's bad as well.
Speaker 2: But it's those private tasting kind of like what happened
Speaker 2: last night, So you serve them food, but you don't
Speaker 2: get to see them eat the food, so that and
Speaker 2: you only get to see it when you watch the
Speaker 2: show again, and that's when you can tell.
Speaker 1: Did you ever think that you would be back here
Speaker 1: on Master Chef and your wildest dreams to be with
Speaker 1: more outrageous pairs of sunglasses, more classes than ever before.
Speaker 2: No, would be the short answer, because after my season
Speaker 2: in season two, I thought all right, I'm done. You know,
Speaker 2: like that is ridiculous. I remember my exit interview. I
Speaker 2: was so appalled by the challenges that they gave us.
Speaker 2: One of the questions was, you know, like, so what
Speaker 2: do you think they're going to how do you think
Speaker 2: they're going to make it more difficult in season three?
Speaker 2: And I'm like, oh, I don't know. They probably get
Speaker 2: them to cook them underwater or something. So that was
Speaker 2: that outrageous. Like I sort of thought like, there's no way,
Speaker 2: and then as I kept watching every season go past me, Wow,
Speaker 2: this is like it's ridiculous. I could not have done that.
Speaker 2: I can't have done that, but I'm not like having
Speaker 2: done it, Like I sort of think, wow, now looking
Speaker 2: back at the episodes and what I've cooked, I'm still
Speaker 2: at shocks. Well I made that, So it's it's very interesting.
Speaker 1: So you obviously didn't say to the producers to lose
Speaker 1: your phone number.
Speaker 2: See here's my number, call me anytime. So so yes,
Speaker 2: I would. I would love to sort of go back,
Speaker 2: probably not as a as a competitor. Again, I think
Speaker 2: it's still a bit raw. I love to sort of
Speaker 2: go back and visit and taunt the new contestants.
Speaker 1: You have to set the pressure test. You need to
Speaker 1: go back and it's your.
Speaker 2: Term, yes, yes, or I get to judge them. Oh
Speaker 2: my gosh, I would love to judge.
Speaker 1: Well, I think that, you know, I don't know how
Speaker 1: hard it is to make it. That definitely looked complicated
Speaker 1: to me. But I think if you came back to
Speaker 1: the kitchen and set a pressure test, the drunken Chicken
Speaker 1: two point zero might be a good one to see
Speaker 1: if people could recreate it as well as it looked.
Speaker 2: Oh that that? I know? How's that?
Speaker 1: Hey?
Speaker 2: Like that was? That was another emotional episode that was horrible.
Speaker 2: I mean it's good and bad. Do you know what
Speaker 2: I mean?
Speaker 1: Well, over the weeks of filming this series, you know,
Speaker 1: if you had, well, you had so much time being
Speaker 1: able to spend time with these judges. But if you
Speaker 1: can only pick one to come around to your place
Speaker 1: for dinner, now that the series is over, who would
Speaker 1: you pick to come around to your place for dinner?
Speaker 2: Oh? Hands down, melissaly On.
Speaker 1: Everyone is going to say that for some reason. I know,
Speaker 1: without ever meeting her, and I did keep an eye
Speaker 1: out at the logis, but without meeting her, I just
Speaker 1: feel like she is very authentic and she just comes
Speaker 1: across like she's your best friend. I don't know how
Speaker 1: she is.
Speaker 2: And I think, and that's it, Like she's so authentic
Speaker 2: that she connects with everyone in so many different levels.
Speaker 2: So imagine having her over for dinner, mind you, like
Speaker 2: she she would Yeah, she would critique.
Speaker 1: Not just the food, Alva, what's going on with this
Speaker 1: picture on the wall.
Speaker 2: That's right, let's unpack this a little bit, Alvin, So
Speaker 2: like what it's say? Oh yes, I'll love it.
Speaker 1: Well with two master chefs in the tank, you know,
Speaker 1: what are you going to? What have you got planned?
Speaker 1: You know? What are you going to do after being
Speaker 1: through this experience all over again?
Speaker 2: So there's a couple of things said. One might possibly
Speaker 2: excite you, Ben. I'm actually thinking of working on my
Speaker 2: own eyeway line, so so watch this space. I'm currently
Speaker 2: sort of in talks with a local sort of producer
Speaker 2: to see if I can get my name on some Specs,
Speaker 2: which would be nice.
Speaker 1: That's my favorite thing about you. What people don't know
Speaker 1: is that when we turned up here, we could you know,
Speaker 1: I could see Alvin and I could see the signature
Speaker 1: pair of glasses of Specs, and they didn't disappoint they're
Speaker 1: quite amazing, and I think that there's plenty of people
Speaker 1: out there that would love to be wearing your specs.
Speaker 1: My friend, Oh it's so cool.
Speaker 2: I have like fans basically writing to me and said, oh,
Speaker 2: my daughter's going to school and as dress up theme
Speaker 2: and today she's dressing up as Alvin Spex. And there
Speaker 2: was a photo of this cute girl with like this
Speaker 2: big round white glasses. Just adorable, adorable. But my second,
Speaker 2: my second project, Ben is I think it's time I
Speaker 2: write a cookbook. I've been putting it off for so long,
Speaker 2: and I think there's so many stories from my heritage
Speaker 2: and my culture and my mum's kitchen that deserves to
Speaker 2: be told.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm in your audience. I'll buy the glasses and
Speaker 1: the cookbook, and I'll send you a photo on Instagram.
Speaker 2: And you know what you know? Bet never mind, Melissa Lyon,
Speaker 2: come over, I'll cook for you.
Speaker 1: I'm so excited about that drunken chicken. Dooboy. Let me
Speaker 1: tell you what an honor would it be to have
Speaker 1: you make it. At this point of the competition with
Speaker 1: only four people left, you know, who do you think
Speaker 1: is going to take this out?
Speaker 2: Look, my money is on Billy. She is so calm
Speaker 2: under pressure. She's really good at you know, like her artillery.
Speaker 2: When it comes to cooking, it's just it's just kind
Speaker 2: of like a jack of all traits and the master
Speaker 2: of everything. I think, So my money is on her.
Speaker 1: Well, maybe we should organize this as a dinner. We'll
Speaker 1: get Melissa involved, We'll get Billy there. You can cook
Speaker 1: and chicken.
Speaker 2: I think Billy can do the rest. You bring them one. No,
Speaker 2: it's okay. We love anyone who brings mine. Ben.
Speaker 1: Well, my last question that I want to ask you
Speaker 1: something from behind the scenes. You know, what is something
Speaker 1: that audiences didn't get a chance to see that they
Speaker 1: loved to see, you know, maybe a little secret from
Speaker 1: behind the scenes of the makings of master chef.
Speaker 2: Oh, here's a little secret. So we we love to
Speaker 2: put on music and just do bad singing and bad dancing.
Speaker 2: So you know, like, let's just say, we're better cooks
Speaker 2: than we are singers or dancers. So usually to release
Speaker 2: the tension or more I guess, a release of like
Speaker 2: energy at the end of a cooking a hard cooking week,
Speaker 2: we just play on some dodgy I don't know Petula
Speaker 2: Clark from Downtown or something, and we just sort of
Speaker 2: dance and sing and yeah, do it really badly?
Speaker 1: Who is the worst? Who is the worst dancer and singer?
Speaker 1: From Master Chef fans versus favorites? Oh I want to know?
Speaker 2: Oh do you want to know? Can I name and shame?
Speaker 1: Yes? Of course. Then I can listen to this podcast
Speaker 1: unless we send it to them.
Speaker 2: Ah, I have no Actually, I would say all the boys,
Speaker 2: all the boys can't sing or dance. I put myself
Speaker 2: in that category.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'll hashtag them all into that. You know, Ben,
Speaker 1: I've had such a great time being able to chat
Speaker 1: with you. I've actually loved you on the show. And
Speaker 1: when I heard who was coming back, I was like,
Speaker 1: what an icon? And I think you haven't disappointed and
Speaker 1: your fans have been there with you right the whole
Speaker 1: way through. So congratulations.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you, Ben. It's lovely chatting to you, and
Speaker 2: thank thanks for having me. It's been really cool.
Speaker 1: It's been so strange. I've got to chat to everyone.
Speaker 1: I think I've missed one because I had COVID, and
Speaker 1: apart from that, I think I have interviewed everyone, and
Speaker 1: it's it's been a really good season, like a bunch
Speaker 1: of really nice people.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I have to say the same, like they're all
Speaker 2: they're all special people, aren't there special human beings? Lovely?
Speaker 1: Okay, Well, thank you for being here on the podcast.
Speaker 1: I'll send you that Instagram photo of me with the
Speaker 1: glasses of the cookbook.
Speaker 2: Thanks Ben, have a good day.