It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast last week an welcome back to TV Reload. My name's Benjamin Norris and on this podcast, I go behind the scenes with the biggest players in television. Each episode you will get a front row seat with content makers like executive producers, writers, editors and casting agents,
plus the talent that we see on our screens. TV Reload reloads the shows that you were currently watching and gives you a better insight at our television industry and streaming services today. On the podcast, I Welcome mastershef Australia's twenty twenty two most celebrated fans. It's Kama and Daniel. This season, as the fans took on the favorites, we saw some real growth from Daniel and some impressive wins
from Kama. Both had some ex Both had some extra magic this season that led them to standing out amongst the crowd. Kama had an infectious shimmy Daniel with his boy nextdoor charm. What more could Australian audiences want. They may not have walked away with a big prize, but I guarantee you their names won't be forgotten. We will discuss how they got so far, their lasting relationships, what is next, and all the twists and turns along the way. However,
let's get started. I'd like to welcome Kama and Daniel to TV reload.
All of them. They all have fantastic skills.
Musta Shaff has produced some of the biggest names in food.
I was very open to opportunity the.
First time ever. It's fans versus favorites.
It's a really weird environment as well.
Pressure test is about recreating a dish.
My strategy was asking people if they were willing to teach me a few things.
We've loved having you in the kitchen. Have you enjoyed being here?
Surely it changed completely the way the relationships started to develop.
How are your mate?
How are you going?
All the better for talking to you? Who's like, you know the people's prints of this season of Master.
Chef, Oh stop it, but keep going.
It's nice to hear a couple of compliments. But you get that close to the finale and you don't win. You know, you need a few compliments to lift you up.
I mean yeah, like anyone that wants to give them to me, I'll take them for sure. Everyone loves the compliment consolation prize for not winning.
I guess, well, I just want to start off as well by saying, you know, the whole Mastership experience for us as an audience was so amazing to watch because you were in it. Did you feel like while they were making this show that you were going to be such a pivotal part of the story.
Oh, absolutely not in the slightest.
I don't know if I maybe a little bit pessimistic on the view or not, but I just didn't. I don't know, I didn't expect anywhere near what I managed to get out of the experience, you know, which is kind of a great failing because I feel like I've gained so so much from it, and you.
Know, that's it. You know, you can't so.
Much more for being able to go there and be selected in the top twenty four, get an apron, and then to have all this other stuff.
It's just been gravy. It's been so good for me. I've loved every moment.
I think with reality TV, we love as an audience a good journey, and you absolutely took us on the hero's journey of the competition. Do you feel like, in a way that you grew the most out of not just the new people to the competition, but you know even these returning favorites.
Definitely, everyone that goes on the show get some level of growth, you know, and very very in different ways. I feel like for me, obviously, my cooking really grew massively, which is amazing.
It was all I really wanted.
But I grew so much more outside of just cooking as well, like found a level of confidence in myself, which was which was just I never expected to get from reality TV, I guess. But I feel so much different as a bloke, and you know that's that's just an amazing feeling.
From watching the show. We could see that in you. Was there any theory to your mad the method to the madness, method to the madness?
Yeah, yeah, I feel yeah.
I don't want to, you know, I don't want to tell anyone how to skin a cat or anything. But like for me, my thought process going in was I had little goals, I guess, and they seem to have paid off for me. A lot of the growth you know in cooking I felt was it was kind of obviously the competition's there, obviously, people are like, you know, I'd love to get to the end.
I want to make the finale and all that sort of thing.
For me, I can, you know, hand on my chest to say that, I didn't expect that. So I didn't go in there with that expectation of trying to I didn't really go in trying to impress people from the very get go, which which is I know it probably sounds really bizarre and maybe dumb, but for me, I wanted to go.
I wanted to learn. I remember a lot of the time, like a lot of people.
That were there, and particularly the ex contestants, were saying that in their season and in other seasons, every contestant that hangs around till roughly about the halfway mark, they have a bit of a life while moment where a switch flicks in their head and they just start together it and they just start to understand a lot more about food what they're trying to achieve, particularly in a competition.
And I hearing all of that, I had just sort of had in myself this goal where I was like, I'd love to be around long enough for that light bulb moment that's kind of what I'd love to see where I can look at ingredients and understand them a little bit better.
Or how I can implement them in a different way. And right at the very start. You know.
Part of the reason I'm so thankful for Michael was after my first cook I did the territory tacos, which didn't seem to go down too well, but he pulled me aside and offered help. He just simply said, like, oh, I do quite a lot of Mexican I really enjoy it. Would you be interested in, you know, learning some to tears. I'll buy all ingredients, I'll buy everything. Just just come out of my room and I'll show you some things. And it was really amazing that he was willing to
offer that in a competition environment. For me, it was like, oh, you know, this would be great. I can probably use that later in the competition. But I also wanted to go back home, you know whatever stay that might be a lot of us we all call for our friends, and I kind of wanted that bit of a story to be like, you know, you're like these tacos. My mate Michael Weldon showed me this technique, and from there it sort of went to like Billy McKay obviously is
amazing at desserts. I wanted to, like I was a pretty terrible dessert cook and my missus has a massive suite too. I wanted to learn a cool dessert, like a pathe how she does it, so that I could come back home it's oh, Billy.
Showed me this, like here's a pathe.
And from there that was my strategy, was asking people to come, asking asking people if they were willing to teach me a few things and so.
That I could bring it back home and use it on another day.
From there, that was kind of the light bulb moment, I guess, because I found myself cooking in a challenge and next thing you know, I'm whipping out a random thing that Michael taught me or something Aldo taught me, or and that was it. Just it kind of happened,
and it wasn't forced in the slightest. I wasn't trying to impress people, but at the same time it kind of it kind of just happened by me trusting myself that I had learned this somewhere down the road, and then the food ended out getting better, and I guess that was the life of moment.
Things started to work and I started to understand things and look at things different ways, and it was it was incredible that I realized that myself, going like oh wow, like no, a thing or.
Two sounds like you can now name drop a lot of very well known people from television in the cooking world, and that's helping you. That's helping you with the ladies, as in, that's helping you with your missus.
So I like it, yeah, exactly, yeah, And you know, I've got a few cool roast recipes that I can impress one with that Julie Goodwin taught me. And it's so cool, Like I think it's such a weird thing to think back in my mindset, but at the very beginning, like constantly fearing of going home and and and doubting myself and then turning into oh I remember I saw yeah,
and I guess the other thing too. This is obviously what helped me and and for other people that are looking at getting on the show in the future, you know, there.
Is no one way to do things. I found that myself.
I'm obviously a visual learner and a practical learner, whereas a lot of the.
Other contestants are the opposite.
Where they read cookbooks flat out study it and they retain that, whereas I just lacked that part in my brain. So on the gantry and watching and stuff. It was kind of like a little bit of a masterclass where I could sit there and observe what people were doing and just taking in these little bits of information and found myself doing it later on in the competition and another cour well.
I could think A good question to ask you is who taught you the most in this experience. It might be an easy answer for you to have, but were the judges more influential on you walking out of it or was it the other contestants.
The judges are great, I found from my experience with them. They do a really great job of.
You know, I'm trying to think about this practically from my background at work, where you're training, say a recruit, and every recruit has a certain way of again like talking about the way people learn. Every recruit has a
way of which they receive information better. It's a judge's job to somewhat do that for twenty four contestants, and each one of the judges have their own approach, and I can only really talk from my experience and noticing what you know, the way that they would talk to others would be different to the way that they would speak to me, but it was what that individual kind
of required from the judges. You know, Jock still terrifies me, but he was kind of like the way that he spoke to me was like you know, and rightfully so with the background that he has, was that really, for lack of a better word, tough tough love, where it was information. And mel on the opposite hand, she gives that sort of emotional support where she would remind you constantly that you are capable of succeeding in this competition. And the three of them have their own way of
approaching criticism or mentorship in their own way. As for the contestants, it's really hard to say who really helped me the most or who I learned from the most, because I could pretty much name every one of the twenty three other contestants taught me something that either they went out of their way to show me or that I picked from them in a conversation that they were willing to share.
So I do have to say, like, you.
Know, naturally, Michael Weldon and Matt Matt Landmark.
There it is, I know I was there somewhere.
They were really good because the three of us could could bounce ideas and we had no shame, and if one of the ideas were bad, we would tell them that that was that bad.
It's not going to work. Man, don't do that. So yeah, it was really great for those two guys and I respect them a lot.
Well, what do you think that this competition has done for you in terms of where you want to go? I mean, did you go into the competition thinking, oh, if I do this, well, this is what will happen? Or have you been surprised as to what you feel like you can achieve now?
Yeah, so I think I didn't go in with any expectation coming out, and I think that that was a great thing to do because it's just my views on things that you know, if you lead with expectation, you could possibly get let down, whereas I was very open to opportunity and that having that mindset and having what has happened for me throughout the Confidence Competition, The best thing that I've gained moving forward, I think is confidence.
And again my Instagram could vouch for this. I was I was a guy that.
Was too shy to put up a photo of food on my story. Prior to the competition. I had a lot of self confidence issues with that sort of thing, and it doesn't discriminate, you know, I was worried. You know, A great, a great example of this was I went to Japan, came back. I fell in love with ton Koti Raman over there. I came back and obsessed on it.
I couldn't find a good ramen place near me, so I wanted to learn how to make it, and I did, and that takes a long time to make, about sixteen eighteen hours sort of cook put it in all this work and made it and it was it was really nice. I took a cool photo of it in the process, naturally of making this long dish. You know, I had a few beers and gained a little bit of confidence. I was so proud of what I managed to do. I got a bit of the old but the courage to post up something online.
And I woke up the.
Next morning so embarrassed, like, oh no, I've put it up, and put it up and deleted it straight away, even though it was up for a whole night. I put aure up of it on read it and it got twenty five thousand likes and all.
These people like that looks amazing, you know, like can you share a video? And I was like, oh, I really want to do that.
I really want to record it, and you know, share a YouTube video on how I made it.
You know, people are there asking that's that's a really cool feeling. And I never did it. I actually went out, I bought a camera and everything to do it, and it fizzled out. I just I just sort of got inside my head and got really really scared and I never did it. Naturally.
I had all these reserves after that, like these sort of regrets going like, oh.
I should have done it.
I should have hit while the iron was hot there and hated myself for a little bit, I guess, and you know, fizzled out. And it's sort of is what turned into applying to master Chef was I saw something on Facebook a Master Chef you know clip, and I was like, oh man, that would be pretty cool lurk and you know, I'd love to give that a crack.
And I just googled it master Chef Applications and the application was open for about another month for this last season, and I sent a screenshot of it to my partner Cassie, and I said, how cool with that be? And she replied, it would be amazing, but I don't think you would you would do it, which which really sucks. And then I sort of sat on it for a bit and we had a bad job at work and there's a car accident, and it just all hit me at once that I regretted not chasing, you know, posting a video
of Rahmen. And then then this job happened, unfortunately, someone died, and it all just sort of came into perspective there. And then at the spot that like, you know, what if that was me, you know, and I didn't apply for my chef, I'd regret it. That Why am I so worried about stupid things of what people might think about me or my own insecurities when there could be so much more waiting for me out there, you know, I will never know what's down that road, and let's
take a step. And then yeah, that's what made me apply. Kind of I've heard a little bit of your question there, but there you go.
I couldn't know. I think it's it's a media answer. I think it's a good answer, you know, it's a series of unfortunate and fortunate events that always lead us to in the right place at the right time. And absolutely and even listening to you trying to unpack a lot of this, I mean, I can see where you know, the producers and the storytellers at Endemol Shine have been able to utilize your talents because you're just a very honest guy who's just wanting to do a good job
and gain some experiences in life. And it's very Australian, you know, And I.
Think, yeah, like I don't want it to sound corny or cheesy, but I have. I have had a lot of people no, no, no, no, well, I mean what is cheesy? I guess really like I've had a lot of messages and a lot of comments saying which are really lovely, saying just that that you know, you're you're that Australian guy.
And I remember being a young fellow.
Seeing you know, back in the early two thousands where it was like Australia's about having to go and we get around each other for that and I've really have experienced that and it's fullest where I can again I can wholeheartedly say that it's not that I didn't want anything. I mean, if if you know toyot or if someone's responsored me like fabulous. But I didn't go in with
any expectations of that or chasing that. I went in and still do what I do because unfortunately with life, we're given as much time as we're given.
There's no sort of if.
Or butts with that, and I want to try and really just learn as much as I can and have as much fun and have a crack.
While I can.
It sees the day, you know, saying that, you say that's the day.
I mean, the question is the day.
And I've always wanted to ask people who do the show, is you know when you stand out like you have on the show to restaurants or job offers, or have you been asked by like a restaurant or.
Yeah, I suppose to still early days, but I have been approached by a restaurant now in Melbourne who would love to hire me.
That's probably the only real thing that comes to mind. You know. I've had other bits and pieces where they've offered me different products and stuff like that. But yeah, again, I guess it's on the early days.
My episode is only air the other day and I guess I'm so excited to see what comes from it.
I get, well, it's cold down here. You're not used to the call, No, I'm not.
I like the warmth in palm trees and I'm going to probably annoy a lot of people, but you know, Terseley sunsets are.
Better blown away by the Northern Territory. Like we had, Like my partner and I just went there three years ago. We had the best time and it was such a surprise, Like the food was amazing, the sunsets were amazing, the markets, type of stuff, all of that is phenomenal. It's a great way to live.
It is, it is, and it's I love the lifestyle. Everyone is so crazy and they're on their own time.
You know, there are things that you miss out on unfortunately, like live sports and life.
You know, as much love music as you get down there. But it is. It is a really cool place to live, for sure. And I think that's it's a surprising thing to me too.
After being in Melbourne for six months, well so, after being in Melbourne for quite a while, I realized how many people just haven't been to the top end, particularly in Melbourne.
I've met a lot of people there that just haven't been it that want.
To go, But yeah, I haven't been whereas it's the opposite up here, you know what I mean, everyone in Darwin has been to every other major city because we're so far away from everyone. And I think it's on a lot of people's listed just check out each major city while they can't, like up here.
I hope anyone listening to this also goes and you know, books a trip to go there, because, as I said, it's the food, the weather, but the sunsets, it's the whole it's the whole package. It's just a really nice place in Australia that if people haven't visited, they should go. Applications are open. Have you got any advice for people who are listening to this right now? And I'm going to fill out the application.
Yeah, I think, I think.
Yeah, if if, if anyone can use my story as an example, I think, you know, go for it, just just give it. The interesting thing is that I've met since doing the show a lot of people that were in exactly the same place where I was, where they were like, oh, I'd love to give it a crack, but I don't know. I'm not that good, like I mean, like I wasn't that great. I had obviously. I think there's every cook has a strength. I think mine was
I had. I definitely had something in me there. I just needed a little bit of guidance, which unfortunately I didn't have pride to master chef and and that that might be down there, down there at the show where you know you might be relatarily good enough to get there, and then you know you will you will figure out what's inside you where you can just whip up this crape.
I totally get it when you see people like Reynald without like what was that the rabbit Hole dessert and you look at that and go, I can't make that.
I still can't make that, and I did pretty well.
So yeah, don't let the people like Rental the robots who are bloody amazing cooks scare you, because you know it just comes down to how well and how tasty you can make your.
Dish, and you know there are a lot of people out there that can do that. They just got to just give it a crack. Absolutely well.
I think there's something in all of this chap for a lot of people out there, master chefs and people that may want to take part of the show. Something I ask everyone who joins the podcast is what's something from behind the scenes, something of like a little secret from your time, oh shaft.
I wish we could put a montage together all of the stuff that we did behind the scenes. There's you know, you see in the show reflected so well, how close all it contest and to.
Get with each other because we are spending such a long time together, we go for always sort of say adversity songs, you know, create strong bonds of friendship, and it really had and not to say Master Chef's adversity, but you know, going through all that stress, you know, there were a few different little things that we did at our accommodation.
There was a period there where we you know, it's common knowledge that we were locked down and we did like the Zoom meeting and we did a quiz together.
And that was a lot of fun.
And Julie Goodwin's iconic jewelry that she makes, you know,
she was doing our classes. On our days off, we all got to go down and make little jewelry pieces for our loved ones, which got a little I made a little friends Japanny necklace for her, and you know, there was another thing there where the contestants did a we acted our own Master Chef episode out So I dressed up as Zandy and I think Jen dressed up as mel and we judged we're all filming different parts of the episode of There's all these little things behind
the scenes that just that there was so much fun and we really grew so quiet.
Julie did a karaoke night one night we one of our nights off.
She she got a little microphone and you know, I'm a big fan of karaoke, so well, they had this sort of pride the microphone out of my hands because I just kept singing.
But yeah, what's the bang? I mean, Julie Goodman's gonna pump out.
O her and I sung Islands in a Stream by Dolly Parton. That was that was really cool. That was a special moment. She sung another song. But she's got a really good voice. Hey, a really good karaoke boye. So she's the master ul Trade she Oh no, it's kind of annoying, Like I wish I was Jollie Goodman.
Don't we all?
Well? Mate?
It was just so good to be able to catch up with you and unpack your season of Master Chef fans versus favorites with you. It's been an absolute joy to watch and your contribution to the show was fantastic. So I think, like a lot of Australia, you know, I'll be in your audience and waiting to see what you may do next. I did read something online this morning saying that you might do some outdoor camping cooking thing of me, and.
Yeah, I'd love to. Yeah. So if anyone wants to give me a TV show.
I think you know what, my friend, I think people would watch.
No. Thank you very much, Benda on A pleasure was all one. I had a lot of fun. Thank you.
That was a really fun chat with Dan. But now we have another celebrated Master Chef contestant from this year joining us. I love this woman and I love a good shimmy. So let's bring in Kama to the podcast. Hi came, how are.
You very well? Thank you, Ben, Hi you.
I'm very excited to be having this chat with you. You know, you have been fantastic throughout this series to watch. I don't know, I can't be more excited as I am to be able to have this conversation and unpack your time on Mastership.
I'm excited to be here as well. I mean, obviously to be talking openly about what happens behind the scenes and with the show with you. It's really incredible.
Well, congratulations. I wanted to start by saying how much I love a shimmy.
Jimmy all the way. Well, that's the only way to go through this fantastic experience. I mean, with all the pressures you had on told I mean, dancing is a fantastic way to decompress.
I guess absolutely. I don't know if you know this, but it was my catchphrase on a reality show ten years ago, and so wherever I go people say to me shemmy, and I'm like, oh, that's how they know. You know, that person must have watched that show. But then when you started doing the shimmy, I was like, oh my god, I love this. It's being brought back all over again.
Yeah, I mean, I think we need more to me in our lives.
Well, what has it been like, I mean, what is the highlight of making it to the top four.
The highlight, I guess is their really really quick growth you get at that end of the end of the space in massa chef because it's like an accelerated growth. I feel that you have to push a lot harder and obviously all all of the people that stays at that top they also put each other. So the growth is amazing. But also the friendships. I guess that not even top four, I will say top six, it changed completely the way the relationships started to develop around. We
had so much support going on between each other. I mean, having Julie, Alvin, all of them that were fantastic at the end of the show, and it can be more prateful because without them, none of us will just have made it because it's so stressful honestly, but behind the scenes we just all hack and hold each other in love.
Well, I think that's the reward for the viewer. I mean, Mastership is the longest running series in Australia. You know, by the time we come to the end and crownded winner, we're up to sixty episodes, which is a lot of TV. But I think by the time we get to and have you had committed, we feel like we are friends with you. You know, I can only imagine how you must feel with the connection with the final six and with the final four.
Yeah, completely. I mean I've been having messages of people saying that they've been crying along all the last week with me. That's fantastic that I can. I'm able to actually come across the screens and then show a little bit and share that love and that and those emotions that actually happened during the day, and the editors that are you know, so skillful putting together the show and being able to showcase what happened, what actually happens. But it is a lot more intense in at this end
totally because we're feeling it. I mean, it's really intense.
Last week. I loved the idea of having a home kitchen and a challenge. You know, I love when it gives us as an audience something to relate to. Do you enjoy being able to see relatable things happening on Mastership that audiences connect with more completely.
I feel this season, especially all all the dishes we're able to put up, they've been more closer to the to the audience in a way that we've been doing simple, simple cooking, but elevating flavor. So it's been the aim to probably approach the audience in a more relatable way, so people can actually go and have a goal at any of the recipes, I guess, but still being skillful enough to bring technique, but at the same time being rustic and simple enough for due to actually have a goal, I guess.
I mean you even said it in your words last week as well about rustic food. Do you think that people love to see more rustic food that we can make at home, you know, instead of seeing the food that is near impossible to make.
I think the thing about rustic food is it has a soul and a deep level of connection with the basic of that particularly cuisine and showcases the food in a different level, and it doesn't really straight from what is the core of the the cuisine. So when you put up rustic foods, rather than being ugly or messy, it's flavorful. So I think aiming for those rustic food it's just elevating the cuisine and being ast as possible to the guisine itself.
You know, when Julie left the competition last week, do you think that someone else became the biggest competition? I mean, who stood in Julie's place at that point? As in your mind, someone who's going to take out the competition.
I feel that at that point we all were kind of gravitating amound the same level of skills, so I could feel anyone could be in my competition. But if I have to say, I was really impressed with Sarah, I feel that towards the end, she was really really you know, showcasing finding skills and creating flavoring in a really interesting way, and going outside her comfort zone as well, and showcasing that she could do more than her original flavors in the beginning of the show, I mean, showcasing
Japanese cuisine as well and doing it great. But all of them, they all have fantastic skills. And in order to who is, kind of honestly, I'm on shore because even Daniel, he's crossed so much during the show and I can definitely see him winning. But also Billy, I mean, she's great, It's fantastic in technique, and I think all of us we've just been equipped with amazing skills throughout the show.
So yeah, anyone, anyone, And I mean those two goals they could be sisters. Like they're about the same height, they're about the same size, and they're just so beautiful and they've made it all the way to the end. I mean, it's quite quite amazing. Was there anyone making any of those comparisons to the two of them while the show was being made?
Well not really, I think because we all had a particular you know, personality. I guess we all have our kinks and we are so different, but at the same time we relate in the same level of you know, cooking in terms, so that's our connection through food, but not really that we didn't have anyone similar in personality. There was so different.
Shouldn't compare people, never compare people.
Really, but like we come from all different you know, levels of paths and different life paths, and it was fantastic that having all that diversity was still connected in a profound way.
Why do you think that Daniel is the only you know, fan still in the competition? Why do you think he's made it so far?
He is amazingly How do you say that he copes with pressure pretty well? I think he's very good at pivoting when he needs to. And I don't know if that has to go with him being a five fars a fireman. I don't know if that's something that that definitely gave him the skills to manage pressure in a way that he could pivot when he needed to. But I feel that from my own experience, I mean, the
Massachi kitchen is a lot more than just cooking. It just tests you your levels of making, your decision making, and it's sometimes not just to the cooking, but the decisions you make in the kitchen.
I think you were the quiet achiever. You know what helped you get so far in the competition? Do you think Ooh?
I mean, I think for me it was just being open to experience and learning along the way, and being humble enough to receive feedback, come back, think about and reflect about what they told me, and then work on my skills and excel myself. Every time. I wasn't comparing to anyone. I was just comparing against my own expectation of what I wanted to achieve in the competition. So for me, it was just every day just making it
better than the previous day against myself. So it was a race where I had to back myself a lot, you know, overcome self doubt, overcome like mindset, a lot of mindset. I did a lot of meditation to be able to cope with the pressure and the anxiety because there's a lot of you know, I guess pressure involved in in the environment. But at the same time, I think it's just being open to the whole experience.
I love with Master Chef that you know, who's got the best resume or who looks the best on paper isn't going to be always the person who wins the pressure tests. You know, we saw people like Sashi go home or you know, Julie Goodwin's gone home. I think, you know, who the best person on paper isn't always the one that wins, and I think that that is an enjoyable part of Master Chef. Do you think at times it can be a little unfair.
I think it's not unfair because I think the competition doesn't test how good of a cook you are. It tests so many other skills. I believe, like all of them are amazing cooks. They do amazing stuff, and when we're out of the show and tasted their food, I mean,
it's amazing. They're all fantastic cooks. But then you're in the competition and you're testing all their abilities, like reading a recipe, reading a recipe fast enough, not making mistakes and making decisions the only way so you can cope with you know, fast paced environments, and then it's a really weird environment as well, and you have to be able to chut down the whole environment and concentrate as well. So there's a lot involved that is not necessarily cooking.
I followed the show on Twitter as it's happening because I watched Master Chef Live with the rest of Australia and I love when the celebrity chefs get revealed. You know, they get so much love, and last night, you know there's a lot of love for Matt Gilmore. Who's your favorite celebrity chef that joined the competition that you got to work alongside with.
I must say Claire Smiths, But then I got Petter Gillamore, and I think it's two different levels of enjoyment with both chef. I think Claire because of her career, I mean impressive and to have an international chef coming here and she she was my idol. But then with Peter Gilmore,
I got to connect in a different level. I mean, he's so genuine and every time he came to my bench, he was just really really genuine in terms of give it as I think at some point I felt he wanted to jump in and help us because he really wanted us to succeed. So to be able to have a chef that has that level of mentorship and genuine approach to you, it's amazing.
I can't believe I just got his name wrong as well. I was like trying to rattle my brain, Peter, Peter Gilmot, Peter Gilmot, not back Gilmot. I was like, this was his name again, because I mean, a lot of these chefs to me, because I'm not in the food world, you know, they're not as big a deal for me. And so I apologize to the kitchen gods up there
for getting his name wrong. But I want to know, why do you think so many renowned chefs, so many recognizable names, are so willing to join the Master Chef competition and have their guest appearance. You know, why do you think this show attracts so many amazing chefs.
I mean, we're not trained, but at the same time, I think we inspire them so much as well. Because there's I said, told me, there's a different it's a different environment, and to be creative in such a chuirt amount of period, it's a skill.
One of the things I loved about the last episode that you were a part of was I loved hearing that you said that you felt like there's more out there for you, and I think it's amazing that you know you will now go on your own journey and feel just that much more prouder and have that little bit more confidence. What have you been cooking up? Like, what do you think is going to be something you're going to take on next?
Obviously when you get this far, you get fire up with ideas and all the motivation that the churches gave me. I definitely want to continue with my cooking journey. So I'm passionate about sharing Latin and Caribbean food and toocase in my heritage, sharing my story. I mean, and it's been such a wonderful experience to do that in Master Shift.
But at the same time, I feel that I have like a little bit of responsibility to continue that because I feel Australia hasn't seen Latin American food in its widest and beautiful diversity that it is. I was able to do just a little bit of that in the show, but I feel that there's a lot more and I do want in conversations to join a couple of restaurants here in Merran and set up a menu with them and collaborate with another one and try to have some
people to come over and try their food. And I'm thinking in you know, taking Australia into a journey throughout those wonderful flavors that we haven't met. I think it's an amazing opportunity to educate people about my food and happy and excited about it.
I'm going to be following you on Instagram and stalking you at whatever restaurant you will be at, so I will be in your audience. You know, the applications are open for a future Master Chef season already, which is very exciting. What advice do you have for future applicants who may want to come on Master Chef?
Well, break up for he journey, I guess. I mean, it's it's amazing, but there's a roller coaster. You have to be willing to go through the pressure and the bobs and and lows, I guess. But by all means, go and apply. Just prepare yourself for a wonderful experience. Learn the basics, learned flavor more than recipes. I guess and then understand how to prepare a dish from scratch. I guess, not not just you know, memorizing recipes is not really useful. I guess, and cook with your hearts.
That was what I did. Just you know, pour out your soul, open your heart to the experience and you do wonders.
That's such a rich experience. And I mean the judges bring so much the competition as well. I mean, out of those judges who managed to who taught you the most.
All of them, But I think Jock obviously it was pretty pretty helpful in terms of cooking skills. But on the other hand, Melissa was very inspiring and constantly encouraging, so I think she really supported me along my personal journey throughout the whole competition. But all of them, they're just bringing something different to the show and to the contestants, and they have a lot to offer us in terms of learning and growth.
Something I ask everyone who joins the podcast is what is something from behind the scenes that were as an audience didn't say that we won't see that you know happened for you or you saw while making Master Chef Fans versus favorites, we have.
Such a wonderful time behind the scenes. I think we will put music sometimes and we will look like like people that have been drunking for a while. But it was just the exhilarating moment of enjoying that little moments, a little break and dancing and goofing around. So that's that's a wonderful part of the story, Masterschef, that we get to mingle and banter and have a wonderful time behind the scenes as a family.
What happens though, when you say we saw you shimmy away? What happens when you go through the doors? Like, once you've shimmied away, when you're at the other side, what happens to you there? Do they do they take you back to the hotel? Where do they do they send you home? Do you have do you have to do they have a fareweld drinks for you? Like what happens after someone is eliminated?
It really depends on what's next on the following day. Sometimes we had like for me, we had a little bit of a chat with each one of us. Obviously it was it was just a few of us left in the apartments. I didn't get to go home because I had to be back to the next episode. So I'm going from the kitchen to the game free and I never left, which is fantastic. But yeah, those two last days, I was exhausted in the games, just cheering
them up. But there's moments where we do our farewell party for some of them, and yeah, it depends really the best of the channel and what's next during the week.
Well, I've just had so much fun chatting with you, and thank you for your time on the show. You were so fantastic to watch.
Thank you, Vannie. It is so fun to just meet you today and you know, have a have a talk about what happens in this chair.
Well, look after yourself. I'll follow you on Instagram. You'll see me sitting in your restaurant sometime soon.
Thank you, Ben Oh, it was so nice to meet you. Have a lovely day.
Yeah you too, mate,