UNPACKED REALITY - MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA - JAMES

It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload.

The podcast Last Weep thereby.

Hey guys, welcome back to TV Reload. I want to thank you for clicking and downloading on today's episode with James, the first eliminated contestant from Master Chef Australia twenty twenty four, which is on Network ten from Sunday through to Thursday at seven point thirty. Having forged a successful career in primary teaching, family man, James is a father to son

I'm well, thank you?

How are you? I'm doing very well. I was just saying I am so excited with Master Chef being back because as the weather gets colder, you just need the comfort of the food and that's definitely what this show.

Vibes definitely, definitely.

I have many a memory of doing the same in wintery England and well, this is the kind of closest we get to winter here in person.

I just wanted to say win or lose. At least you had fabulous hair on national television. And I couldn't stop thinking about it.

It has a life of its own. I don't do anything to it.

It's what happened, and I don't think I could try and get anything else from it.

No, I think that people wanted to mimic it, they couldn't do that. Like it's it's got its own personality.

So the kids in my class used to do impressions of me, and it was always involving kind of flicking back the frind.

I guess you know your daughter Goldie is a bit young. But what did your son Benji think of his dad being on television?

You know what they're watching it right now? Well, last the night, it was a little bit, it was a.

Little bit late last night, but I went through kind of the photos with him and explained kind of what happened, and you know, he was a wee bit sad, but I explained that, you know, I felt super proud of myself, and he said, you know, but I wanted you to get that cafe and under Up and I said, well, you know what, We've just been in under Up for the holidays and I got to cook the lots there in our own place, and that's what I love about cooking. So you know, I'm hoping it feels very proud about it.

I explained to him. Some days things don't go your.

Way, and you know you gonna be proud of how you approach things as well, if not the outcome.

Of course, over the weekend, I was teaching one of my best friend's kids how to play Uno. The skill in teaching kids on the importance of winning and losing, I think is really important. You've probably taught a very vital lesson to Benji.

Yeah, I hope so, and I hope so that you know the kids I teach at school as well, I think maybe I'll do it. I'll do an assembly for them. And though I went on Master's Jeff and I failed and then put a question mark in the end and talk about you know what is failure? Was it a failure?

Because I feel like it wasn't for me.

Yes, you know, it was shorter, but I felt like I got a lot out of it, and you know, I think there's kind of lessons there that I can can pass on. So hopefully one day one of those kids might just go and give it a go.

You know, the Food Dreams Cook Elimination that had some pretty big stories being established by some of the other characters, and establishing those characters for the audience. Is having a good story just as important as being a good cook when it comes to being on the show.

Yeah, it's interesting. I think what really kind of strikes me is the people that.

Stand out and the kind of the stories that they have are the ones that come out so naturally, you know, explaining to my wife that, you know, Juan is this incredibly exuberant person, full of life, and he's like that for everything, so it's so genuine but never feels force. If you were shopping in a Supermark with him, he'd have the same reaction for, you know.

A beautiful tomato. And that's what I think.

Kind of helps you connect to those people, is that actually, when they're really being themselves and.

They're being kind of open and vulnerable.

About perhaps their experiences in their past, that's what helps with the story so I'd say, you know, anyone that's thinking about it, you don't need to conjure anything up. As long as you, you know, being real thing that will come across.

Well.

I think it's always Authenticity is the currency for the audience, you know, if you're wanting to connect through to anybody, and that is just being authentically yourself, which I guess you know is a really important lesson to be again, you know, teaching people and especially young people. You're not going to just win a show or do well on a show by being authentic. I think being authentic and being true to yourself is so important just day to day.

Yeah, it's incredibly important. I think.

You know, then you can be proud of how you conduct yourself. You can be proud of your efforts, can be proud of how you've interacted with other people, you know. I think of the team Challenge on the Tuesday. You know, we had a lot of us trying to do a lot of things, and you know, I picked leaves and I cut dough and I made a broth.

I did the jobs that needed to be done to.

Support other people create the dishes that they wanted to do. And I think that in itself is something that I think is important as well, that sometimes you just got to be, you know, a part of it rather than you know, the shining star at the front.

When did you start to get the sinking feeling that you might be going home? Because I'm assuming, you know, with so many people cooking in that dream cook, you know eventually going to start to think, oh, it's going to be somebody.

I think I'd made a real kind of decision that morning that I was ignoring the black apron and just going to really enjoy myself. And you know, you know, I hope I don't feel a bit of foolish to say, actually, like I really enjoyed the cook And up until seeing Andy peering at the squid, up until that point, I was feeling really good. I was hoping i'd taken on board what the judges said earlier in the week to other contestants about being kind of intentional and you.

Know, not kind of trying to overdo it.

So I was feeling good and then you see Andy kind of peering at the squid, in my heart sank.

That's when you go, yeah, that's the sinking feeling. If I was to be sent home on one of these shows. I always wonder if I would ever try and make that dish at home again, to see if I could do a better job, or whether I would be like patistic, could never see it again.

Do you know what.

I had the same thoughts, and I thought, you know, maybe it'll be a long time before before I tackle a squid.

But actually, you know, I cooked it the other day.

My nieces wanted to have a look at it, so I did some cooking with them and kind of, you know, adjusted it based on the judges feedback to think, you know, okay, you know, Poe wasn't a fan of the the you know, the filling mixed with us all.

So what should I do differently? And I think that's important too, to kind of not be stubborn and think, oh, you know what, you know, I did what I.

Wanted to do and that's the way to do it, to actually think, okay, you know what, these these judges know what they're talking about. So I gave it another go with taking their feedback on board, and yeah, I'm sure it's not the last time I'll cook it.

Was it something that you'd made before?

Though?

Because I always think of these shows like if I was cooking, I'd have like about ten dishes that I knew really well. If I was on Ruphoul's drag race, i'd probably have a few outits made. You know, were you prepared with meals? I mean, was this the one you were going to go with?

I think, you know, I've got I've got my little kind of pads, and I've got like different ideas.

It's kind of scribbled down and different dishes that you cook for friends.

And you know, I had actually cooked this for friends before, So I think it was probably there kind of sitting in my mind, and I felt.

That it suited the food dream. Perhaps there's a bit to me the things.

Maybe I should have gone for something else, But I think kind of also with its link to kind of Greek holiday memories with me, I was I was going to go down that path anyway, and I was I was pleased with the choice, just not the execution.

How long were you filming for, like to make five episodes of this show? You know, it's you know, which are very long episodes. I'm assuming that you're there for a very long time.

Yeah, so we've obviously we've got that kind of what comes across the week filming, but there's you know, time before it as well, perhaps even looking at kind of the equipment and how how we do things, and obviously you've got to get across the.

Melbourne So I was there kind of what would have.

Been about two weeks or so, perhaps you know, might not feel that long, but also when you're two weeks away from your your wife and your kids does feel like a long time.

And also you know the days are long.

It's a huge, huge production and you can see the quality of it.

It looks fantastic on TV.

You know, my family back home kind of looking at the English one, which perhaps you know, I assume a different budget, so they've got to make sure they get things right. They've got to make sure that they kind of don't miss kind of reactions and angles.

So you know, they're big pays too, so not just kind of you know how many weeks.

It is, but yeah, each day is long and you've got to be you've got to be Master Chef fit.

What was your journey with Master Chef Australia, Because you know, a few times you've sort of related back to what it looks like overseas where you're from. Had you thought about applying for that series, so it was this the first time you applied for this one? Did someone see you cooking on Instagram?

Like?

What was the lead up?

So we watched it in England for years as well. My wife's Australian, so you know, we'd kind of tuned into it there. And then I was watching last season and at the same time I was thinking, you know, did I want to go to Tafe and maybe do like a commercial cookery or culinary arts course. And then I saw you can't apply to Master Chef once you've

And I, you know, up until the point of you know, getting the phone call to.

Say that I was going to be going across the Melbourne it all felt quite surreal and.

Kind of happened quite quickly.

Well, the return of Master Chef comes with you know, some people talking about the usual critiques and the contestants please wear hair nets and you know, no, it's done casting and make the food that we can cook at home. I feel like all I want to see is relatable people on this show. What do you think the magic of MASTERSHEF Australia is for you?

Yeah, I think it's it's kind of that marriage of all those different elements. You know that these are everyday people, These are the people you work in the office with, your kids, teachers, and that they've all got this little kind of passion and they just want a platform to try and experiment with a bit more and see where it can go. And to see the quality that a

I think it kind of really connects and resonects with people.

Are there any tricks that you've learned along the way from being on the show, Like if they asked you to go back to do it again, like would you be like, oh, I kind of understand this, and I've seen some secrets from behind the scenes that you have helped or would help me do better next time.

Yeah, I think a lot of it is kind of how you approach the first five minutes and getting yourself sorted and then giving yourself time at the end, because obviously you want it to look great as well, and perhaps we don't always do that when we're cooking at home with friends.

Or you pause to go and sort out the kids fast.

Time, or you have a glass of wine that you don't often have that kind of concentrated time on a dish. So setting that preparation time at the beginning at the end.

I think is really important.

You could see those people that only had to go to the pantry once or only had to race to the back to get all their equipment wants are really going to kind of maximize their time, and it's going to come across in their food rather than you know, everyone kind of doing a half jog trying to look as calm as possible, but wanting to know that actually they feel like they should be sprinting to go back there.

Again, do people get sad about where they get placed in the kitchen? I mean, obviously the producer whoever you know, come over and say you've got to stand certain places. Does that become something that people become conscious of, like, oh no, I've been put in the back row because it's something I've always thought with Master Chef, you know, when the series first started, there's so many contestants there, you know, does the placement of where you are in the room become important to anyone?

Do you know what?

I always assumed that it was, you know, it was chosen, or that people there for certain places, but it really is a bit of a free for all. Oh wow, Yeah, it's whoever you know, you to go wherever you go. So I think some people definitely prefer the back bench because then you're close to the equipment, so anything you've forgotten you can just nip across, and it's like being at home where you can reach down to your cupboards.

You get what you get and you don't get upset. You know.

I think about yesterday, I was, you know, next to Lily and Jill, and you kind of you have that little bit of kind of support from each other. You're trying to focus on your dish, but also you're kind of chatting away or giving words of encouragement, So I think, you know, you get all those different elements and you're thinking, oh, should I be choosing place, or should I be looking at person? Or have I just been too long in the pantry and there's only one spot left.

I mean, it's all just would be so surreal because as well, when you're in the moment with this sort of stuff and the tensions on the clocks, obviously ticking people will behave differently.

We all kind of respond to a pressure in different ways. Some people absolutely thrive from it, and I'm sure they're the ones that will.

Go the furthest.

It's funny, like the moment when you're you know, perhaps the judges come over and you feel like time has slowed right down beforehand, and then when they're talking away to you and you feel like you've got to get in with something, you.

Look up and time has flown by.

And then also obviously that physical representation of a huge clock hanging above you, that thing really.

Absolutely enough, that's just thee of for me, I'd be looking at that clock more than I need to. I don't know whether or not this is hard for you to pick because you were there. This lineup of judges that are there this year, they seem like they're helping you guys a little bit more with some tips that people can use at home.

Yeah. I think that's a really interesting point.

I think, you know, obviously they are judges and they are judging, but I think they also are acknowledging that we're amateurs in a completely alien environment, both in the set of a kitchen you've never cooked in before, but also a TV set.

You know, they want you to succeed.

No one wants to be eating a bad plate of food at the end, and you can see it.

You know, it's a lot of them.

Why they've taken these parts is because they want to share their knowledge or share those experiences. Probably like in class, if I see a kid, you know, making a mistake, I'm not going to walk past and go, oh, that's wrong and then just leave them.

You want to you want to say to them, you know, have you thought about this?

And I think that's the interesting balancing act that the judges get in that they're not telling you exactly what you need to do, but they're giving you kind of questions to draw out that knowledge from you to get you to kind of reflect about it.

Jean Christoph and Po particularly, I've picked up in the first five episodes that there's moments that they're they're really offering you some new skill sets, you know, And I think that that that's something maybe I hadn't even noticed on this series before.

Yeah, I think I think it probably kind of speaks to their personalities. They're both kind of very generous spirits. They probably kind of can't help themselves. Yeah, true, but also you know, again they want the very.

Best from everyone that you know.

I know, Jean Christoph spoke to me about kind of being respectful of a squid and kind of, you know, being careful with it.

Perhaps too careful.

In the end, but you can see he really wants to impart that knowledge. You know, He's got so much experience that you know, he wants to share it and it'll be interesting kind of perhaps as the competition moves on, whether they get to a point where they feel like contestants should be knowing these things now, or whether they keep sharing that information.

I know this is a terrible thing to ask contestants because it puts you on the spot, but all I want to know is these two things. And the first one is which one of those judges hosts of this show did you connect with the most. I always find that very fascinating.

I think for me it was probably Jean Christoph.

You know, we had a nice chat about London because obviously he spent a lot of time there. I really kind of connected with his approach to things that he's got this amazing knowledge, but he's very softly spoken, he's quite quiet, and then you get these bubbles of energy and kind of quirkiness from him.

Yeah, even off camera, he's.

Wanting to kind of have a chat and wanting to get to know people more. So I think probably in

So established with the brand, but like I was interviewing her last week, and you know, we was able to sit down and have a conversation, and there's she's just a very cool check, you know what I mean, Like there's something very real about her which makes you just want to tell her your most appalling secrets.

Yeah, I know what you mean.

She's you know, yeah, she's very natural and you know, I think you know, Yeah, definitely a.

Great addition to the mars Chef team.

And the second part of that question is the one that no one likes, and that is who is your favorite contestant? Like, who's left behind that you loved that you would like to see when.

Oh, it's tough because we.

Only want one. It's like so far boys, you know, it's a terrible thing to do to anyone.

Oh, it's really tough. Okay, I'm thinking out loud.

Obviously, like one, his energy shines through and he's an absolutely beautiful soul. But maybe I might have to go team w A and be a toss up there between Alex and darsh Obviously Dash was my roommate, and you know, I think also his his ability to do sweet and savory might give him an.

Edge sort of push.

Maybe that, But I could give you a much longer list and I'd be happy with that.

It's a longer podcast. It's a longer show.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the version.

Everyone who joins the podcast gets asked this last question, what is something from behind the scenes, something you know, kind of like a behind the scenes secret of what it's like to even be on a show like this.

I think it's.

Yeah, it's interesting because you watch the show and it's like, oh, you just think they're cooking and then that's done, but you're spending so much time with the other contestants. Kind of the bus to and from set is like a rowdy school bus. It is full of life, and when you've got you know, characters like John O.

And then also I.

Think maybe people don't realize that you need to be properly like Master Chef fit. You need to be able to cope with long, long days, and you need.

To be able to be happy with a pause at.

Some times, and there might be while they're kind of resetting cameras alonger pause, and you need to be able to not let your mind wander too much in those moments.

And then other times you'll just be told right, ready go and you've really got to go, and you'll be thinking oh, I thought we were going to, you know, take a breaking away. You said something.

So it's that change of pace that I think could really throw some people. And I think perhaps you know, it doesn't come across in the show, because it comes across as this beautiful whole, the whole thing. And obviously things have got a pause at different.

Points to get cameras, so you've got to be kind.

Of in the zone to go slow when you need to, and you know, raring to go at other points.

Well, James, I must admit it was probably where I start up with this conversation. I noticed you right from the start with gorgeous hair, and I was able to, you know, follow your story throughout it. I think you did a fantastic job and I look forward to seeing what happens with you next. I don't think I think it's in important to still hold onto the dreams that you had, win or lose. I think that's still very important.

Absolutely, Thank you so much,