UNPACKED REALITY - MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA - STEPH

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

The podcast last week Their Life.

Hey guys, welcome back to TV Reload. I want to thank you for clicking and downloading on today's episode with Steph the second elimin at a contestant from Master Chef Australia for twenty twenty four, which is on Network ten from Sunday through to Thursday nights at seven point thirty. After making it into the Master Chef Australia Class of twenty twenty four, Steph had proven to Australia that she was a breath of fresh air, giving this competition her all.

I'm good considering circumstances.

How were you feeling after last night? I mean, it's such a long time to wait. I mean this was all started filming, was it last year? And then yeah? Yeahsia. The pressure test of waiting.

The pressure test of waiting.

Look it's a little bit traumatic, but look that's also I am really proud of myself.

What an experience.

So although it was very short, but sweet, and I didn't expect it to be this short.

My moment on Master Chef, what a journey.

Well, that's a good point to make. I think when you sign up to these shows, you don't necessarily know you. I mean, I guess you hope that you're going to make it to the end. Did you talk about that with your friends and family and say I think I'm going to make it midway? What was that sort of conversation.

With friends, family, fellow contestants. We all said, which probably everybody who comes into this competition says, is as long as I make it to the top ten, I'm happy. And I know that I had you know what it's worth to get there. I knew that I had it in me so and I had so much more to give. As everybody says as well, I knew I wouldn't.

Make it to the very end, maybe not like you know.

I knew I wouldn't win, But it feels like you are a winner even just being selected to go on the show.

I really warm to you straight away in the part that I saw you in this show, I just thought there was something quite special about you, and you could see why they've sort of matted you into the mix of something like this show. Do you know what's interesting about Master Chef is there's no real conflict. That's not how the show is set up, I mean.

How it's classes.

Would you have done a show? I mean, would this show work if there was some tension in the kitchen?

Oh?

Look, what makes this show is just the connection that everybody has to each other, from the producers, everybody working the coal crew, the contestants of course, and the contestants relationship with the judges.

Like it's just that's what makes it so incredible.

You walk into that kitchen and you just feel this positive energy and it's amazing, amazing to be part of.

So no, it totally wouldn't be.

The same, It wouldn't be Master Chef if it had a slight bit of bitchiness involved.

Do you get to keep your Master Chef aprons? Because I do do. Oh my god, that's amazing.

I'm so happy.

You know that they released I think it was Cole's last year released versions of the Master Chef aprons.

I know, I'm like, ex use me, I worked very hard to get that.

I know did you feel a little bit robbed because my partner's got one of home. He bought it as soon as he saw a pair, and you should see he walks around our kitchen when he's got.

That apron on.

Think they any of all that in a bag of chippies? No, I love it.

I actually went to the Fence Square activation and they were pumping about. You know, there were people everywhere wearing these aprons, and I was like, oh, my goodness, didn't go through what I went through.

Earn your stripes, own your stripes? What's the banter like with everyone? Are you?

Oh that's funny?

Do they help you organize like a WhatsApp to like do the master chef God say, guys? You know, do you swap numbers? Is there something facilitating? Or do you just gravitate towards all being on WhatsApp? Like how does that work?

Yeah? So, look, they were originally going to set it all up, but we just loved each other so much straight away we kind of took that to our own hands and started the group up straight away. Of course, you know, me being eliminated, you get off that group to make sure that.

You know, you don't know any inside a secrets of whatsapped.

Well, it's airing, but then we have an eliminated group chat and it's all fun and games there.

Oh wow, so hanging a sex So like, just to get this right, you've got two chats. So there's a certain sort of unspoken rule that once you leave the show, you have to leave the chat or do you get booted?

For me, I took myself off right away, just because what's going on behind the scenes, it's you.

Want it to be a secret uself at the end of the day as well when it's airing, so you know, a little bit of a surprise. So yeah, we created our own for the eliminated people in the afterlife.

It's definitely version of reality series I think happening. You know, it's time to go, you know, No matter how many times that I was told as a child and I think as an adult, I just never did it. And I just don't know if my brain is whired that way. But did that haunt you watching that sort of moment, even you bringing it up a camera?

Wow? I know.

And then because I'm living in Melbourne now in Queensland and we were messaging in the family group.

Chat and we were having. She was like, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Well yeah, literally both.

But no matter how many times she can tell me, you got to learn the hard way.

It's like your brains. I don't know. I mean, I can't speak for you, and I don't want to put words into your mouth. But like when I was in a classroom, or if I'm in a classroom format, there's something about this feeling or a sense of being kind of underwater, and also the pressure that I put on myself because I'm so aware of it. You know, come on listen, really, come on listen. And then because my brain is doing that in some way, it's blocking it out, does that.

I resonate with that immensely.

Like I was on the phone to Mum this morning and she said, you know, I think it wasn't about you not listening. It was completely the environment that you were in. I was struggling to be able to see what was going on to start with because of where I was placed, and.

You're just trying to get it all right, So your brain's in overdrive. It's hard.

So it's not really a matter of not listening at times, it's just trying to keep up with that. You know that episode's about keeping up with Jamie, not catching up with Jamie's.

So I'm pretty shit at those sort of look and learn cooking tutorials. I just the YouTube.

Try hate following instructions.

I hate it. I get Ikere. I'm like, I'd rather struggle for hours than read the instructions.

Jill screw the desk outs upside down, you know what I mean. Like that's just.

A friend to come over and help with the wine or something for me, and they can read the instructions.

But you know, I look those tutorials on YouTube in my kitchen, I top up on the counter and it's certainly like I make. It doesn't matter how many times I've made my besh mal sauce. I've still got that lady in the background, some weird Canadian lady telling me to make New Orleans besh male sauce. And it takes She's on loop, Like you know, I could never you know.

It's not going to be good anyway. A French one reading the subtitles or something.

Okay, Souff, you're gonna have to google that because there's a difference between the French and the New Orleans besh mal souce.

Oh stop, but you're teaching me something.

Well, this is only because I've been on loop this YouTube tutorial for about ten years. My friend, Oh my goodness, I love it.

I'm going to be googling this right after.

Yeah, I think it's the nutmeg. But anyway is that's a different podcast. So cooking with Jamie Oliver would have been a real life.

It was. Look, it was incredible, and to be able to taste his food.

As well, I was like, oh, he made this, so it's going to be like ten times more delicious.

I mean, I hadn't heard of it, like a chicken Wellington or you know, the chicken that he cooks in his family's part, but I'd never sit of seen that before. I had made a beef Wellington before, so I kind of had some idea. What was your relationship to that kind of food? And when he was presenting that, did you start to have a sinking feeling or did you think, oh, no, I could do this.

When they first kind of when it was unfolding and I knew what it was.

It's not the type of dish that I would be like, oh, I'm going to make that at home. So it was relatively new to me. But also, you know, how hard could it have been that puff pastry that was already made, bloody chicken, breast, mushroom, duck cell and a beautiful sauce and some sides.

So part of me was like, you know, this is really easy.

But thinking back, my headspace wasn't good from the very start, So I think that that was actually the undoing of me. If I was in a better headspace, I would have been fine. And you can really see that on screen as well.

From the very start, you know, being on a show like this and getting to see Jamieliva up close and then having to have you know, that first hand experience, did you get to learn anything about him that maybe most people wouldn't know about Jamie, he.

Is the most beautiful person. He's exactly how you would how you think of him to be. And there's not many times that you meet your hero and they are actually.

As amazing as what you thought they would be.

So he's super passionate about what he does, of course, and he's so just calm.

His energy is beautiful.

Like he walked into the green room and he was talking to us, and I was just so capped baby looking.

Up at him.

It was really engaged with us and trying to motivate us.

And he's just incredible. He's an amazing person.

In the last couple of episodes, you know the judges who are knew some of them are you and we've got Andy back again. But we asked sort of seeing them taking a back seat. And I was looking online this morning and there's a few publications taking the show to task to say, by having Jamie Oliver in the kitchen, we're not really getting to know Sophia. Maybe an o christoph as much. Interesting? Was that a feeling that you guys had though in the kitchen was.

It definitely not?

Look, they were also present and my very first cook in the kitchen, John Kustaf came up to me and he was already teaching me techniques and they they're really.

Genuine gorgeous people.

So I think that Australia they're going to learn to resonate with them and grow.

To love them if they don't already. So we definitely I've read.

This from the morning and I was like, okay, I was like, I guess them bang up on the gantry and being amongst the contestants. You know, maybe isn't positioning them for some audience or for some people watching the show in the way that they want. Like you know, when a new kid comes to school and you want to get to know that new kid, you kind of like everyone turn. So I think that's what's happening for them.

Yeah, I feel like, you know, you're starting to see their personality, their humor coming out.

Oh my god, John Kostoff, he's so funny.

He would have us just in absolute hysterics, but then he's so genuine and caring as well, Like he just comes up to him goes, how are you today?

And that's so nice. So they're all really really good people.

And I was always had to beat Poe and she's just amazing as well.

So we're surrounded by the best, we really are.

Jean Christoph kind of reminds me of a couple of people and I'm probably who laughing, Like he's like a really smart mister bean with a bit of oh my god.

I've said that and he acts like it too, and it's so goofy.

You know, let's just put a pinch of you know, the chef from the Muppets, and oh my god Time from Sesame Street. You know there's he's Erica Caricaturi, you know what I mean?

Gosh that Honestly, I've said so many times he's like mister Bean because he pulls these spaces and he just doesn't care what people think, like he just what he wants to make people laugh.

He could be a comedian.

Are the producers collecting the stories or is it those judges the whole time? Like, well, I've never been in that kitchen, so I don't really necessarily. Is there like story producers around watching you the whole time to make sure that there's a cohesive story or is that being left to a lot of the judges to collect story like that the whole floor.

What's so amazing about watching Mastership is you could be watching it and you only see the contestants and the judges. There is so many incredible talented people all around, from yes story producers to the cameramen, and they're.

All dressed in black so you don't see them in everything. They're all hidden away.

But you know they're asking us questions along the way, basically like a bank of information as well, so they.

Remind me of things. I'm like, oh, my gosh, did that actually happen? Did I do that? They know me better than I know me.

So the way in which I think that this show is produced, I think it is really hard to always know as a viewer who's going home, because they're quite often switch us, you know, with the drama. Now that you've been in the Magic, you've seen how the strings are being pulled at the Puppet Show, do you think that you now will never be faked out by the bait and switch? Because in some ways we could have thought that Stephen or Lily could have gone home the

Do it so well.

But it's interesting that you say that, because when Lil and I were standing up there waiting to see who's going home, I.

Could I was watching Poe as she was speaking, and.

She was really looking at Lil, and I'm like, previously, when I have watched Master Chef, you know that they try and like, you know, the person that they're looking at the most is not the one going home.

So that's when I knew are screwed.

So I knew that what they were trying to do, like head scool almost to keep people like, oh my god.

You know I've spoken to I've got few friends that host TV shows and they have to do this moment with elimination. And I remember Sandel Krueger was telling me that she would look above the people, so she would look them at anyone, No one would be looked in the eye.

Interesting, that's good.

And yeah, so Andrew g who as we know, is now Osha Ginsburg, but he was referring to Andrew g days. He was saying that he used to look at the person who was safe because he felt more comfortable being like, well, well I feel guilty I'm looking the other one in the face, you know.

Yes, Okay, So it's like their own like kind of personal way about it.

Maybe, however, they Cote.

Beth, looking back at the show, is there any kind of intricate detail that you think might have worked better or you could have done something different?

Yeah?

Look, I look back on what I've done, and you know, although I nearly caught the kitchen on fire, could have changed.

It for the world. Like I really pushed myself. I challenged myself.

I did the very best I could do in each challenge. I knew that I did the best, and I couldn't have done anymore. The only thing that I would say is in last night's you know, elimination, I could see from the very start, I wasn't there. I was you know, I wasn't feeling it. I was nervous. My brain space wasn't right from the start. So I guess that's taught me to get out of my own head.

Say that on reality shows, they pulled them aside and say, by the way we can see you're in your head, You've got to get out of your own head. But if anyone said that to me, what I'd be further back in my head, Like if there's a space in my head I've never been before, that's where I've gone to, you know what I mean?

Yeah, yes, And that's exactly right. That's the way that i'd work as well. So I think you're either you got the mojo or you don't. And last night I did not have my mojo, and that was the undoing.

So book's the plan.

Now, Oh gosh, I have so much which I'll be launching today.

But I've been, you know, having fun at all. The beautiful restaurant in Soakiera called Denoi.

It's just gorgeous, Yeah, gorgeous Sardinian restaurant Pietro best.

With Yeah you come, I make pastor in the window. It's so gorgeous.

Okay, well waving at you. Actually that's going to be hard because I think there's going to be a lot of people who watch Mastership through the window.

Oh, we would love to have you.

So yeah, I'm doing that, and they're my first client because I'm launching my own business called Kalinae Black Books, who are basically headquarters for the hospitality industry almost say a restaurant consultant, but that sounds super boring. So a black Book of the best industry contacts helping from you know, website development, menu design, interior, exterior, everything to make your space incredible because I've found that chefs just don't have the time for that.

And also the expertise.

So yeah, I'm quite well versed in the hospital industry already, so can to get my hands on it.

Find your niche I think that's where you know, and I could say are you doing all of that? Before letting I've been asking people for their favorite judge and their favorite contestant, which is really hard. Please don't give me the list of your top three.

All right, JC, John Christoph he is just I really personally resonate with him, mister Bean, he's doing funny, makes me laugh.

Love a man that makes me laugh.

And favorite contest cooking wise, favorite can not say, you know, for the expertise and everything she Nisana she is now one of my best friends, and I you know, she has years of experience and I can't wait to see what she does on the show.

So she's to the talented chalk. They should watch out for her. So yeah, she's my fav girl. Yeah.

The last question I ask everyone who joins the pod is what is something from behind the scenes, something that maybe, you know, the viewer at home wouldn't know about what it's like to be a contestant on a show like this, or maybe a moment that he thought could have happened on television.

They feed you really well.

You know, there was one cook back in the day with the Craft services were really discussing Yeah, look I guess that.

Yeah. They almost like I'm like, gee, are you trying to make us fat? Because you know, we have a face every day, would get to place like a grocery order, and they just I think they just looked after us really bloody well, and I don't think that a lot of reality TV shows would do that, so they don't.

It might be bloring, but that's.

My ets kind of goth, not really gos.

But yeah, I think, you know, it's I think it does allow us to understand how they create that warmth to this show.

I know so much warmth.

You know, taking away food and giving people food on these shows changes the dynamic quite considerably.

It's more than food, definitely, I.

Really do think. So. You know, Steph, I'm so happy with this whole Dennoy thing and where you're taking your work. I have loved talking to you. I loved you on the show. So congratulations and yeah, He'll be in your audience to see what you're doing it.

Thank you. So it was so nice speaking with you.

Lovely to chat to you. Oh my god, I'm ossed. I'm obsessed. Go and enjoy chatting to the media with everyone today. I'm sure you'll have a great time and look after yourself. I'll be in the window you too.

Thank you, so much for

Me too, all right, cheers, bye bye,