UNPACKED REALITY - MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA - SUE

It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast last week. Alf Hey guys, welcome back to TV Reload. I want to thank you for clicking and downloading on today's episode with Sue, the eleventh eliminated contestant from Master Chef Australia, which is now on Network ten from Sundays through to Wednesday nights.

At seven point thirty, married to her high.

School's sweetheart Glenn for thirty three years and together for forty three, Sue is an extraordinary mum to her son and daughter. Most recently, Sue was the head of customer experience for a building company, but when it's collapse left her unexpectedly unemployed, she was able to reassess her priorities. With the encouragement from everyone at home. Sue took on the Master Chef kitchen, and while we didn't always see a lot of her, I actually think that audiences really

Invisible.

Sue, Hi Hi, I'm very much here.

I know it, but I wanted to know that.

So the first thing that I wanted to ask you was like, what did you make of this nickname that Australia seemed to have given you?

Is that a surprise?

I found it really quite funny and hilarious, and therefore I embraced it. I mean, I've got a sense of humor, I'm self deprecating, I'm not afraid to having giggle at things like that, and so I just lean into it. I quite enjoyed it, to be honest.

So people felt more personal about your invisibility than other contestants. And you know, it's really funny because I was reading on a forum and people have clocked this is how much time people have. People have clocked screen time to see how long people are on the show, and you're not even at the bottom of the list. You've actually had more screen time than some other people. However, Australia is outraged.

Well, Australia should know that.

I'm very happy and the whole experience, you know, as far as I'm concerned, was.

A positive one.

So that just added a little bit more color to it if you liked honestly, you know, playing Where's Wally with myself?

It's quite cool, isn't it. I was noticed because I was there some of the time.

Did you see some of the Facebook forums where like people would circle you in the background, Did you see that.

I caught a couple of things I tried not to look at too much.

I would warn.

Don't go there, you know, but the things I did see I laughed out loud and my family laughed.

I've got a theory, and that is that because you sort of represent and I'm going, this is my this is my weird thought on it, but because you kind of represent the mum, you know, I think people took it personally. I think people saw you as the mum and they thought about their own mums or something like that, and they wanted more.

Maybe you might be onto something there. I'm not sure, but yeah I was. I was well chuffed.

To think that people were looking out for me.

And caring and wanting to see more, and they got more. It came full circle and that's wonderful.

You know.

My partner loved you, and like we're watching the episode your Final Cook and he kept saying, who does Sue sound like? Sue? Sounds like someone? And he was saying like, Asha, Ketty, do you know who actually candy in? Yeah, just from offspring. I couldn't hear that. I couldn't hear it, but I was like, have you ever been told before that you sound like someone?

No? No, no, only my sisters.

We've all got the same kind of voice, and yeah, so yes, but not not as sure.

And she's gorgeous, so that's a compliment.

Okay, take it. Take that one.

Did you feel like that might happen when you were filming the show, that there was a possibility that maybe you weren't as loud as some of the other people, or there was a possibility that you might get lost in the crowd. I mean, I've got a theory that you just cooked in the middle of the cooks, so you weren't the worst cook, and you weren't the best cook, so I felt like you you just were consistently cooking in the middle the whole time.

I think I put up dishes. I'm very proud of.

I figured myself out while I was on there, and one of the questions I found very difficult to answer. What I always asked is what is your strength in cooking?

Like what is it that you do?

And I could never answer that because I I feel like I glowed trot so I'm not deep into one cuisine. I feel like I'm a big lifelong learner and I love learning new techniques, and so my cooking is technical and it's it's sort of.

Across a globe trot.

I cook across a range of things, and so I don't think I necessarily stood out like I probably could have if I had a real like I did Japanese food really well or something like that.

So you're right, you know, yeah, I didn't have a title, you know what I mean.

So when there's twenty two contestants, they can't show everybody. So it's really if you're if you're at the bottom, interesting, what's gone wrong? If you're at the top, Wow, what have they done? That's so amazing? And so you're right middle of the road doesn't necessarily make the cut.

If you go back, you'll be like trying to create, you know, like a brand.

You'd be like, I've got to.

You know, hang my hat on something so that they have to pull through for the narrative. Anyway, that's too complicated. Be yourself, you know.

That's it, And I think you have to just be authentic and I was, and I feel that was the right sort of way to go. And I didn't really think anything of it during the shooting of Master Chef. I just went in there, loved every minute. Literally can't fold the experience.

So I felt like they were bastards for sending you home. Like I'm I've got a bit of a cold at the moment, so I feel like I'm being ruthless with you. But you know, like when you were talking to the judges and you said how much it meant for you to still be in the competition, and that how much being in the competition and doing well meant to you, and that they sent you home, I was like, this is the this is kind of cruel.

Thank you for sort of feeling that for me.

Look, I feel like it has to have to go go again to somebody. You know, I'm calling it my annihilation, not my own elimination. You've got to see the humor in these things. You know, I've lost nothing doing this. I've gained everything. And so were they cruel? Well, look, I did the worst cook so I had to go home. It was at least like Curtises and therefore, you know, I had to bow out, so literally I did bow as a left.

Yeah.

But as the Invisible Sue sort of name came up. It was funny because I brought it up on this podcast with some of the other participants. You know, some of the other contestants and they sung your praises like I remember, I can't remember exactly who it was, but one of the girls was like, I love Sue's cooking, like it's amazing, and you know, she was just really surprised, and then it sort of made me wonder, And I

I don't think so.

Look, I mean, we're in a competition, but it's also a TV program, and I guess the most there's so much less thousands and thousands of hours across twenty two contestants and then you know, four judges and guests people coming in. There's lots of exciting things going on, and there's lots of the exciting things that don't.

Make it to air.

So they can only p you can choose a certain amount. And so that's just the way the mop flops, my friend.

I'll take it.

Yeah, you know, that's just how it is.

And maybe they can lose these judges.

There's too much screen time for them, you know what I mean, Like there's four of them now, there's too many.

So fascinating. It was fascinating to watch.

Did you get along with them? Because you know, it's funny.

I've been asking everyone and normally I finish the podcast with this question, but I feel like it's appropriate to ask it now. But like, did you particularly connect to maybe one judge over another?

I did, And you're going to say I absolutely connected with Poe. I just she is so authentic and so kind and just the perfect judge to have on there for contestants because because she she like she can only say so much as a judge, but she just I call.

Her my fairy godmother because in a time of need.

She just happened to pop up and she'd say one thing like you've got this, or you can do it, You've got time.

You know, she was It's believable, you know what I mean, Like, yes, that's a really hard thing to do on a show when you're in that sort of position to be so present, and I think that's what he does really well. I was watching her. I don't know if you saw it, but did you see her? She was on I didn't hear the podcast, but she was recording a podcast with chrisy Swan and I just loved the interaction between those two women because those two women are very authentic and

Somebody who's authentic.

You don't feel like you need to be anybody but yourself because they are, and you kind of mirror that, don't you think?

Of course?

So yeah, I just so I'll just flat out say her with them, and I loved the others, but she was just special.

Yeah, yeah, she's standing out because like and I feel like, you know, I don't know if it's been a long time for me, because I'm forty four, I don't know how long it has.

Been for you.

But do you remember when you were at school and you always tried to do your best, so you'd look at the teacher for approval, you know what I mean? And so I feel like that's what I see with Poe. Like I feel like i'd be cooking and looking for that approval and she gives it, you know what I mean, Like she actually is acknowledging what you're doing.

Yes, yeah, that's right. And she's a judge, but she's not listen. Might not make sense to you, but she's a judge, but she's not judgmental.

Does that make sense? She kind of yeah, I'll leave it at that. But she's just very Oh gosh, she's a one in a million chub of a woman.

And yeah, I love her.

I wish she could be my bestie.

I'm sure she will be. I'm sure she will be. You know, I think it was Lachlan but who chopped his finger? And it made me think about is chopping off your finger kind of like an immunity pin? Like what happens if you have like an accident? Will they pull you out of the cook Do you know what happened that?

I think it would have to be pretty severe to do that. But no, they they're on standby. It happens all the time and they work as quickly as I can. But it's not just cut burns as well, lots of burns and that sort of thing. But well, I think if you were that injured, you wouldn't be able to go on.

Look at one one.

One's incredible because he had really bad burns. You probably recall, Yeah, but he was strapped up and he was in there, so it's got to be pretty bad for you to not be able to cook.

I just chop off my think if that was if that was a rule, I'd be like, that's a strategy.

Not a good one, not a good one.

Probably not a good one, not for long. Jem, you're pinky, You're pinky, not your thumb.

Or something you could lose.

How did you feel going into the Black Apron challenge with the Orange team? You know, did you have a sense of doom or did you think, oh god, I should have been in the other team, Like how did you feel about that? Oh?

You know what, that's really interesting because when we got split, Normally when you get split into teams, you see it's a team challenge, you pull an aprint out of a bag, right a sack, and you go, oh, I hope I'm on Science Tho's team. And I really wanted to be if it was a team challenge, I really wanted to be on it with my bestie to meet. And when they split us down the middle, it was Green one side and Orange on the other, and I wasn't on her team.

I was like, oh my god.

I think you can even see it on that episode where we look at each other and go, oh no, and so but I felt at this point everybody's good, you know, everybody. You could be with anybody and come up with be the winning team. So the end of the day, you just got to work together and not dwell on. I wish I was with this person or that person, and they're all damn good in their own right. They will bring something different to the table in their

I didn't see that.

I can hear it. Isn't it cool though, that you made it this far? Like that's pretty cool, you know.

Oh gosh, I keep bringing it back because yes, there's disappointment because you want to go further and further. But I honestly, it took a lot of courage for me to apply, and so when I got an audition email, I lipped my lid. I went, bloody hell, they've chosen me. I can't believe it.

Why, Like I'm knuck at a special.

And so from there, really every step further was gold for me. I felt like I'd won every day that I went back into that kitchen, and it didn't matter whether I was wearing a black apron or a colored apron or whatever. I was just in there, living my best life. And I couldn't want the spot off my face until last night. So it really felt like I could hold. I really could see myself picking up at the trophy because every day I went in and I came out again alive.

I thought, oh, why can't I do tomorrow? Why can't I do the next book? Why not?

So I gained a lot of belief in myself, and each person around us gave each other courage, and that was really nice because as a group, your your competitors.

So everyone's so.

Kind legitimately kind to one another when they do a great cook and they get, you know, to stand on the gantry, or they do a bad cook and they're going into a black aprin cook. So ah, man, I've never experienced anything like that in my entire life. And I doubt that I have a will unless I go back to wind, which I hope I will.

Wonder maybe you will, maybe you will, And there are other things. You know. It's strange because the sense of being on television gives something like this a heightened sense of importance. But there are other things in our world that all can do, you know. And I think that's what I try and say to people a lot, you know, because people be sort of living in the past with their experience, where it's important to acknowledge it and feel proud of it and then look for new story.

You know what I mean, wouldn't agree more. And that's sort of what I'm going through now, right.

Yeah, it's disappointment, but at the same time a lot of And that's why talking to somebody like you was great because you do this synopsis of it and you go, wow, that was really cool. But that's like, I didn't go on there to be famous or a celebrity or anything like that. It was really about me. I don't want to die wondering. I've wanted to go on that show. I've played a long at home since season one. Wow, and every.

Year I thought, oh gosh, how cool would that be? But I've got to go back to my corporate job on Monday sort of thing.

And so for me now, I'm not going back on into that corporate life. That has broken the that's a circuit break for me.

I now can I'm not thinking of retiring.

I should be I'm thinking of what can I build in a life that surround I'm surrounded by food and people, and so that's the win. You know, it's not about you know, being a celebrity or anything like that, or being on TV.

Well, who wants to be a celebrity anyway, because I mean, you'd know this because you get recognized when you're on a show like this, and it's not the same thing as what you think it would be. Like I remember thinking, oh, I want to be like you know when you're young. I'd be like, oh, I wonder what it's like to have people look at me like that. And then when it happened, I remember it was like, after a week or two, I actually loathed it. I give me back my anonymity.

You know what I mean, Ben, I'm not going to have that problem. I don't think anyone's going to recognize me, you know what.

I think.

I'm going to try not to cry with this because this is and you're like, what are you going to ask me? But I wanted to ask you about what your children's thought, because I loved that moment on the show where you were talking about showing your kids that they can do things and I think that resonated with a lot of people. You hear it in my voice, I just cry. I'm a very in emotional person.

But yeah, I mean hearing you say that it makes me my love Alice Waiver. Yeah, this is my this is my little trigger point when I asked about that.

They're the most beautiful children.

They've really had struggles and they're adults now and the roles have reversed. So I think for me, I went through life I suppressed a lot of things I wanted to do, and I didn't follow I didn't go after my dreams. I kind of I think I just wanted to do the normal stuff, whereas really I'm not wired that way. And so for my children, I've always said to them, whatever you want to do, I don't mind what your grades are. Just try your best, and whatever you want to do in life, I will back you.

Beautiful.

It's so beautiful.

But I mean it comes back to that saying of what you put in two things.

Is what you get out of it.

You've raised these babies and you know they're yours, and you've put so much into it, and so when it comes back, it's so powerful.

You know.

Yeah, threw Barrymore, you know on that show where she's like crying with every guest and holding.

Them leave them alone through very much.

I had so many questions and I had to ask you, and I've just running out of time. I wanted to know about a stone and so much more and like what happened in that final cook. But you know, I have to say, I just enjoyed talking to you about all the things around it.

So I have to finish this podcast.

And the question I ask everyone is what is something from behind the scenes, something that maybe we didn't get a chance to see, you know, like a behind the scene secret, but for.

You, life in there was brilliant with for me. So she was my roomy.

And we decided because you know mumsy obviously, and we decided we turn our place into like a haven. So we moved all the furniture out we bought. We bought goldfish we named the goldfish and Gil. We bought candles, We had plot plants and whiteboard markers that we would write words of affirmation on our new wardrobe doors, you know.

And it was just wonderful.

So my life in their locked away with her was just like you know, having sort of a little haven away from home.

It was wonderful.

Yeah, but a break for you as well, like a life break, you know what I mean?

Yes, correct, exactly, that's a mate.

I'm not really rooting for se Meat, to be honest, So I guess we'll have to keep watching to see what happens.

You will, you will have to.

But so can I just say so lovely to chat to you about your experience on this show, and thank you for being so generous with your time and sharing your story. I love chatting with you.

Too, Ben, and thanks for being a fan. Somebody watched so closely.

Watching it all, I think, so I had like maybe another fifty questions that I could have possibly asked you, so, you know, and I love it anyway.

You enjoy chatting to the video, enjoy yourself, Appreciate it.

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