Why Go On TV & What Happens After? - A Masterchef Special

Speaker: 00:00:00

This is Talking Hospitality with Timothy

R.

 

2

00:00:02,921 --> 00:00:06,665

Andrews, Sarah Kettel and Tracy Rashid.

 

3

00:00:06,706 --> 00:00:10,229

Welcome to this new episode, our

MasterChef special.

 

4

00:00:12,566 --> 00:00:15,167

We have a spectacular quartet joining us

today.

 

5

00:00:15,468 --> 00:00:21,031

Daksha Mistry, Mike Bartley, Miles Khan

and Pookee Treadle, all culinary artists

 

6

00:00:21,031 --> 00:00:24,053

who've braved the heat of the MasterChef

UK kitchen.

 

7

00:00:24,054 --> 00:00:27,396

Pookee and Mike will be joining us via the

magic of Zoom.

 

8

00:00:27,396 --> 00:00:30,938

A warm welcome to all of you.

 

9

00:00:30,938 --> 00:00:31,079

Hello.

 

10

00:00:31,079 --> 00:00:35,101

So Daksha, starting with you, we're

curious, what was it that made you decide

 

11

00:00:35,101 --> 00:00:38,504

to plunge into the world of television and

what was it that caused you to want to

 

12

00:00:38,504 --> 00:00:41,365

cook in front of the cameras and in front

of the whole nation?

 

13

00:00:41,422 --> 00:00:44,503

To be fair, it wasn't me, it was my

husband.

 

14

00:00:44,684 --> 00:00:50,829

Oh, basically how it started, it used to

show up on the ground, it was on the

 

15

00:00:50,829 --> 00:00:55,872

mental paper, in the paper, requiring

MasterChef Destinies.

 

16

00:00:56,053 --> 00:01:00,136

So he just sent, just brought it home

because you could do this.

 

17

00:01:00,356 --> 00:01:02,238

I said, come on, I'm a housewife.

 

18

00:01:02,238 --> 00:01:07,586

I go for families and science, not for the

BBC or for the public.

 

19

00:01:07,586 --> 00:01:08,586

No, no, you'll do it.

 

20

00:01:08,586 --> 00:01:09,207

You'll do it.

 

21

00:01:09,207 --> 00:01:13,390

So anyway, he made me fill the form in and

here I am.

 

22

00:01:13,391 --> 00:01:13,911

Amazing.

 

23

00:01:13,911 --> 00:01:16,854

After 18, well, almost 18 years now.

 

24

00:01:16,854 --> 00:01:17,794

Amazing.

 

25

00:01:17,794 --> 00:01:21,117

I think it's important to mention at this

point as well is that actually, Vax's on

 

26

00:01:21,117 --> 00:01:23,119

the first ever series of MasterChef.

 

27

00:01:23,119 --> 00:01:26,082

So when you're saying there was an advert

in the paper, obviously we don't need the

 

28

00:01:26,082 --> 00:01:27,603

advert in the paper now.

 

29

00:01:27,603 --> 00:01:29,524

Everyone jumps straight on the BBC

website.

 

30

00:01:29,524 --> 00:01:30,385

I'm entering, I'm entering.

 

31

00:01:30,385 --> 00:01:31,018

But...

 

32

00:01:31,018 --> 00:01:32,198

This was before all that.

 

33

00:01:32,198 --> 00:01:34,320

So you were one of the OG Masterchefs.

 

34

00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:34,721

That's right.

 

35

00:01:34,721 --> 00:01:38,484

I mean, remember there was no social media

in, I mean, there was, but not as what it

 

36

00:01:38,484 --> 00:01:38,944

is now.

 

37

00:01:38,944 --> 00:01:39,424

Yeah.

 

38

00:01:39,424 --> 00:01:44,588

So when I was on Masterchef 2005, which

was the original one that I was on, and

 

39

00:01:44,588 --> 00:01:49,592

then obviously no social media, but in

2006, they invited me again.

 

40

00:01:49,592 --> 00:01:52,675

And that's when I came a BBC finalist.

 

41

00:01:52,675 --> 00:01:54,036

So it was twice.

 

42

00:01:54,036 --> 00:01:56,357

I was a series one and series two.

 

43

00:01:56,458 --> 00:01:57,738

I didn't know that.

 

44

00:01:57,738 --> 00:02:00,559

So, serious, yeah, the serious one of

MasterChef.

 

45

00:02:00,559 --> 00:02:01,399

Serious exclusive there.

 

46

00:02:01,399 --> 00:02:04,480

Serious exclusive, yeah.

 

47

00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:08,441

But you know, it was like when they

invited me for the second time, it says,

 

48

00:02:08,441 --> 00:02:10,681

we've saw potentially new.

 

49

00:02:10,681 --> 00:02:11,722

I said, really?

 

50

00:02:11,802 --> 00:02:13,502

I was like, wow, thank you.

 

51

00:02:13,682 --> 00:02:18,283

But then it's because I was nervous in the

first one because I was following what the

 

52

00:02:18,283 --> 00:02:20,244

others were doing, which I should know.

 

53

00:02:20,244 --> 00:02:23,125

I should have followed my heart and what I

cook.

 

54

00:02:23,125 --> 00:02:25,045

But I was seeing others, but other people

do all this.

 

55

00:02:25,045 --> 00:02:25,930

Oh my God.

 

56

00:02:25,930 --> 00:02:27,791

I better start doing what they're doing.

 

57

00:02:27,791 --> 00:02:29,092

But that's where I failed.

 

58

00:02:29,092 --> 00:02:34,095

When they re-invited me in the second one,

I did exactly what I wanted to do.

 

59

00:02:34,595 --> 00:02:35,976

And hey, that's right.

 

60

00:02:35,976 --> 00:02:37,457

It was me, Nakshya.

 

61

00:02:37,697 --> 00:02:38,878

And that's how I carried on.

 

62

00:02:38,878 --> 00:02:45,303

And soon after that, I opened up my

private chef and my catering company.

 

63

00:02:45,303 --> 00:02:47,064

And I did wonders.

 

64

00:02:47,064 --> 00:02:51,167

I mean, I did so many things in between

being a chef and everything.

 

65

00:02:51,167 --> 00:02:54,789

And then a lot of wedding caterings I've

done in my life, in my lifetime.

 

66

00:02:54,869 --> 00:02:55,726

And I worked with.

 

67

00:02:55,726 --> 00:02:57,426

Tim in the past as well.

 

68

00:02:57,426 --> 00:03:03,528

So, I mean, to be fair, where I was and

where I am now, food is my passion.

 

69

00:03:03,549 --> 00:03:09,251

I know MasterChef was something that I

joined and I became a finalist, but

 

70

00:03:09,251 --> 00:03:12,692

through that, my passion grew and grew and

grew and grew.

 

71

00:03:12,692 --> 00:03:16,074

And I have learned so much and I'm still

learning.

 

72

00:03:16,074 --> 00:03:19,955

You know, food is something that people

think that you know something, but every

 

73

00:03:19,955 --> 00:03:21,136

day is a different day.

 

74

00:03:25,386 --> 00:03:29,268

No, that's Shiree, MasterChef Kitchen, a

bull scene on the TV.

 

75

00:03:29,268 --> 00:03:32,791

Did you envision yourself holding the

title at the end or did you just take it

 

76

00:03:32,791 --> 00:03:33,991

one recipe at a time?

 

77

00:03:34,011 --> 00:03:38,294

It was definitely a one recipe at a time

kind of situation for me.

 

78

00:03:38,294 --> 00:03:43,177

So I was quite aware that I probably

wasn't the finished article.

 

79

00:03:43,198 --> 00:03:48,021

I expected that there would be other cooks

that might be a bit more advanced than me.

 

80

00:03:48,021 --> 00:03:52,884

But I was kind of relying on the fact that

I think I can take in knowledge quite

 

81

00:03:52,884 --> 00:03:55,030

quickly and sort of learn.

 

82

00:03:55,030 --> 00:03:56,110

And that was my plan.

 

83

00:03:56,110 --> 00:04:00,173

So the competition was just to pick things

up as quickly as possible and learn

 

84

00:04:00,173 --> 00:04:01,394

throughout the process.

 

85

00:04:01,394 --> 00:04:06,438

And having watched MasterChef for so long,

I found that a lot of the time, the best

 

86

00:04:06,438 --> 00:04:10,101

contestants, the contestants that get

really far are the ones that grow

 

87

00:04:10,101 --> 00:04:11,422

throughout the competition.

 

88

00:04:11,422 --> 00:04:15,164

So I kind of went in hoping that would

happen to me.

 

89

00:04:15,285 --> 00:04:19,928

As much as it would have been lovely to

hold the title, that was my plan from the

 

90

00:04:19,928 --> 00:04:22,329

beginning was just to grow with the

competition.

 

91

00:04:24,430 --> 00:04:25,671

What was it like being in competition?

 

92

00:04:25,671 --> 00:04:27,212

Was there much tension there?

 

93

00:04:27,212 --> 00:04:29,113

Was it fun?

 

94

00:04:29,113 --> 00:04:31,075

I found it really stressful.

 

95

00:04:31,075 --> 00:04:32,976

I think that that's just a personal thing.

 

96

00:04:32,976 --> 00:04:35,037

I put a lot of pressure on myself.

 

97

00:04:35,378 --> 00:04:38,860

You know, when I saw the briefs and I was

like, well, this is, I've got this chance

 

98

00:04:38,860 --> 00:04:39,921

to go on the show.

 

99

00:04:39,921 --> 00:04:43,724

I think it worked against me a little bit

was I have a problem with wanting to put

 

100

00:04:43,724 --> 00:04:45,004

everything on the plate.

 

101

00:04:45,145 --> 00:04:48,968

There's many possible things about

competition.

 

102

00:04:48,968 --> 00:04:50,188

There's nothing going on.

 

103

00:04:50,188 --> 00:04:50,529

Yeah.

 

104

00:04:50,529 --> 00:04:51,889

It was like, no.

 

105

00:04:51,910 --> 00:04:53,531

every texture, every flavor.

 

106

00:04:53,531 --> 00:04:55,773

And then I got the flavor, thesaurus.

 

107

00:04:55,773 --> 00:05:01,998

And my Mike said, you kind of, you want to

learn as you go and you're given briefs.

 

108

00:05:01,998 --> 00:05:05,701

So it is quite nice as a challenge to look

at.

 

109

00:05:05,701 --> 00:05:11,106

And I went with the Great British Chefs

website and I looked at all of the best

 

110

00:05:11,106 --> 00:05:11,747

techniques.

 

111

00:05:11,747 --> 00:05:13,908

And I think I put a bit of pressure on

myself.

 

112

00:05:13,908 --> 00:05:17,931

But yeah, I found it quite stressful.

 

113

00:05:20,262 --> 00:05:22,042

Mike's definitely nodding then.

 

114

00:05:23,582 --> 00:05:25,463

Yeah, that mirrors my journey so much.

 

115

00:05:25,463 --> 00:05:30,945

I mean, I was definitely guilty of putting

too much on the plate in various parts of

 

116

00:05:30,945 --> 00:05:35,326

the competition, but also doing the

flavour thesaurus, using great British

 

117

00:05:35,326 --> 00:05:38,146

chefs, it was exactly the same.

 

118

00:05:39,367 --> 00:05:40,287

Pookie, what about you?

 

119

00:05:40,287 --> 00:05:43,168

Did you have a similar, I would need to

put it all on the plate or did you come in

 

120

00:05:43,168 --> 00:05:44,809

with some kind of game plan?

 

121

00:05:44,809 --> 00:05:48,349

Oh no, I haven't got any game plan at all.

 

122

00:05:48,370 --> 00:05:52,611

I didn't even apply for a master's degree

myself.

 

123

00:05:52,611 --> 00:05:55,351

It's my husband put me forward.

 

124

00:05:55,512 --> 00:06:01,393

And I only know about it on the last week

before he just clicked send because he's

 

125

00:06:01,393 --> 00:06:02,913

an application.

 

126

00:06:03,554 --> 00:06:09,235

He said, because during COVID time, yeah,

on our year, it's toward the end of the

 

127

00:06:09,235 --> 00:06:15,157

COVID, so the application form is still

during the COVID like full on COVID time.

 

128

00:06:15,157 --> 00:06:17,014

So I was at home.

 

129

00:06:17,014 --> 00:06:22,758

But every show of the way I like to do the

dinner party at home, visit before COVID,

 

130

00:06:22,758 --> 00:06:25,681

just before COVID, like, when we have

guests come over.

 

131

00:06:25,681 --> 00:06:28,984

And every time when my friend or family

come over, they would just say, oh, you

 

132

00:06:28,984 --> 00:06:30,004

should go on MasterChef.

 

133

00:06:30,004 --> 00:06:35,149

I said, no way in the middle of the night.

 

134

00:06:35,149 --> 00:06:35,489

No chance.

 

135

00:06:35,489 --> 00:06:40,693

And they just thought that your friend and

family just like being nice to you, like,

 

136

00:06:40,693 --> 00:06:42,615

because they have been a food for free.

 

137

00:06:42,615 --> 00:06:42,955

Yeah.

 

138

00:06:42,955 --> 00:06:45,177

So they just have to say something nice.

 

139

00:06:46,114 --> 00:06:50,355

So I never thought of like sort of I can

cook in a level that to go on the

 

140

00:06:50,355 --> 00:06:51,436

competition.

 

141

00:06:51,436 --> 00:06:55,618

So when my husband, he was in the form and

then he said, oh, you need to do the video

 

142

00:06:55,618 --> 00:06:57,778

clip to send as a video clip on what.

 

143

00:06:57,778 --> 00:07:02,060

He said, you need to do like sort of a

short introduction to MasterChef.

 

144

00:07:02,060 --> 00:07:03,141

I said, no way.

 

145

00:07:03,141 --> 00:07:06,442

So I didn't send any introduction neither.

 

146

00:07:06,442 --> 00:07:11,204

So my husband just say, well, at least you

do what your friend or what family and

 

147

00:07:11,204 --> 00:07:13,485

friend always say like apply for

MasterChef.

 

148

00:07:13,485 --> 00:07:14,486

You do it.

 

149

00:07:14,486 --> 00:07:15,786

then they will never call you.

 

150

00:07:15,786 --> 00:07:16,526

Don't worry.

 

151

00:07:16,526 --> 00:07:17,907

You're not that good book.

 

152

00:07:17,907 --> 00:07:22,588

So I'm just like, okay, just send it then.

 

153

00:07:22,588 --> 00:07:27,330

So I didn't even register in my brand that

he applied that for me.

 

154

00:07:27,330 --> 00:07:29,630

And then one day MasterChef rang.

 

155

00:07:29,730 --> 00:07:35,192

I put that disability MasterChef we would

want you to like set up the audition.

 

156

00:07:35,192 --> 00:07:37,573

I'm just, I thought that it's a plan call.

 

157

00:07:37,573 --> 00:07:39,273

So I put the phone down.

 

158

00:07:40,502 --> 00:07:43,786

No, before I put the phone down, I say,

I'm so busy because I was on the way to

 

159

00:07:43,786 --> 00:07:46,990

get some sand and cement for my rental

house.

 

160

00:07:46,990 --> 00:07:48,593

So just like, I'm really busy.

 

161

00:07:48,593 --> 00:07:51,637

If you want to talk to me, like, bring

back, put the phone down.

 

162

00:07:51,637 --> 00:07:52,318

Click.

 

163

00:07:52,318 --> 00:07:54,800

But then the team ran back, didn't they?

 

164

00:07:57,238 --> 00:07:59,960

They said, for real, I'm going to kill my

husband.

 

165

00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:02,541

He said, they will never ring me.

 

166

00:08:02,542 --> 00:08:04,724

But then they did ring me.

 

167

00:08:04,724 --> 00:08:06,245

So I went for the audition.

 

168

00:08:06,245 --> 00:08:11,389

But at the time of the time that I went to

the Master's program that we want you got

 

169

00:08:11,389 --> 00:08:16,293

through and we want you to be in the

studio, the top 45, yeah?

 

170

00:08:16,293 --> 00:08:21,517

It's on the same day as I'm catching the

flight to go to be on my boat.

 

171

00:08:21,537 --> 00:08:26,441

So I was like on the journey, like to make

a big decision, one of the big decision in

 

172

00:08:26,441 --> 00:08:27,226

my life.

 

173

00:08:27,226 --> 00:08:32,068

is to get our boat because it's like

buying the house.

 

174

00:08:32,068 --> 00:08:34,909

So I was like crying then because I can't

do two things.

 

175

00:08:34,909 --> 00:08:39,571

I'm just thinking, oh my God, I'm going on

a TV and I'm going to make a big decision

 

176

00:08:39,571 --> 00:08:41,732

on buying the boat, which one?

 

177

00:08:42,092 --> 00:08:43,032

I can't do boat.

 

178

00:08:43,032 --> 00:08:47,394

And the child just like, I can't really, I

have the panic attack at the time.

 

179

00:08:47,394 --> 00:08:52,176

Just like, oh, I can't do boat because I

don't want to like do things by half

 

180

00:08:52,176 --> 00:08:55,594

meter, but it just come at the same time.

 

181

00:08:55,594 --> 00:09:02,737

So to be fair, like going into MasterChef

studio, the first day I just like clueless

 

182

00:09:02,737 --> 00:09:07,098

because in the past I was working very

long hours, 70 hours a week.

 

183

00:09:07,098 --> 00:09:09,719

So I hardly was MasterChef program.

 

184

00:09:09,739 --> 00:09:14,942

So I don't know the pattern or the formula

or what people have to go through.

 

185

00:09:14,942 --> 00:09:20,884

I might see bits of the show, but never

seen the full on show from the episode one

 

186

00:09:20,884 --> 00:09:24,525

to the last episode when they call the

winner.

 

187

00:09:24,546 --> 00:09:27,417

So I only like the word, oh, maybe some

yet.

 

188

00:09:29,270 --> 00:09:34,551

Did you watch my- obviously not you,

Daksha, but did you watch my show before?

 

189

00:09:34,551 --> 00:09:38,012

Or did you, like, you're the guy, you're

the mic's nodding.

 

190

00:09:38,012 --> 00:09:42,553

I watched a couple episodes, but I didn't

watch- I don't think I finished the entire

 

191

00:09:42,553 --> 00:09:43,513

series.

 

192

00:09:43,874 --> 00:09:45,314

Oh, my heart.

 

193

00:09:45,314 --> 00:09:50,135

And then, yeah, and- Another podcast

exclusive.

 

194

00:09:51,196 --> 00:09:53,136

Well, I'm glad you've seen every episode.

 

195

00:09:53,136 --> 00:09:57,577

I'm like, this is really a span of

master'ship, it's saddening to be fair.

 

196

00:09:57,577 --> 00:09:58,457

But-

 

197

00:09:58,634 --> 00:10:03,715

Your series, Daxia, was to rebrand because

Lloyd Grossman used to run the Call of the

 

198

00:10:03,715 --> 00:10:03,855

Sheik.

 

199

00:10:03,855 --> 00:10:04,815

That's right.

 

200

00:10:04,915 --> 00:10:06,856

And I remember it from those days.

 

201

00:10:06,856 --> 00:10:07,776

That sounds like...

 

202

00:10:08,296 --> 00:10:13,158

Yeah, because Lloyd Grossman was the

original, but originally it was called

 

203

00:10:13,158 --> 00:10:14,378

MasterChef because large.

 

204

00:10:14,378 --> 00:10:15,958

I don't know if you remember that.

 

205

00:10:15,958 --> 00:10:16,539

It was called MasterChef.

 

206

00:10:16,539 --> 00:10:18,459

And then they changed it to MasterChef.

 

207

00:10:18,459 --> 00:10:21,080

So all of those things, I remember that.

 

208

00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:26,041

And when we first started doing the series

one, I remember there was a little bit of

 

209

00:10:26,041 --> 00:10:27,602

a conflict going on.

 

210

00:10:27,602 --> 00:10:32,564

with Lord Grossman and Shine, which is the

actual brushing company.

 

211

00:10:32,564 --> 00:10:36,625

There was a little friction going on

because he will say that, well, no, this

 

212

00:10:36,625 --> 00:10:38,126

is not how the format should be.

 

213

00:10:38,126 --> 00:10:40,667

Something went pear-shaped and MasterChef

took over.

 

214

00:10:40,667 --> 00:10:41,728

It had to go over the times.

 

215

00:10:41,728 --> 00:10:42,088

Yes.

 

216

00:10:42,088 --> 00:10:43,268

So yeah, absolutely.

 

217

00:10:43,268 --> 00:10:43,368

Yeah.

 

218

00:10:43,368 --> 00:10:44,269

I've been amazing.

 

219

00:10:44,269 --> 00:10:44,649

Amazing.

 

220

00:10:44,649 --> 00:10:47,230

How many years now?

 

221

00:10:47,230 --> 00:10:51,632

Mike, looking back on MasterChef, would

you say that it was beneficial for you as

 

222

00:10:51,632 --> 00:10:55,390

an experience or did it provide challenges

that you weren't quite ready for?

 

223

00:10:55,390 --> 00:10:56,910

I probably both actually.

 

224

00:10:56,910 --> 00:10:59,812

So yes, it was beneficial as an

experience.

 

225

00:10:59,812 --> 00:11:03,894

If I didn't go on MasterChef, I wouldn't

be doing what I'm doing now.

 

226

00:11:03,894 --> 00:11:09,997

So it gave me the opportunity to quit my

day job and work for myself as a private

 

227

00:11:09,997 --> 00:11:10,557

chef.

 

228

00:11:10,557 --> 00:11:14,779

So it provided the springboard for that

and I'm incredibly thankful.

 

229

00:11:14,779 --> 00:11:18,581

Sometimes I do wonder if I was ready for

it.

 

230

00:11:18,581 --> 00:11:20,441

So occasionally I think...

 

231

00:11:20,466 --> 00:11:23,907

Maybe if I'd waited another year and

practiced hard, I might've got a little

 

232

00:11:23,907 --> 00:11:29,250

bit further in the competition, but then I

always go back to thinking, well, this is

 

233

00:11:29,250 --> 00:11:33,592

where I'm at now and this is exactly where

I wanted to be as a result of the show.

 

234

00:11:33,592 --> 00:11:38,535

So yeah, it was massively beneficial for

me and just such a positive experience as

 

235

00:11:38,535 --> 00:11:40,816

well.

 

236

00:11:40,816 --> 00:11:43,318

Being in the COVID year, it was quite...

 

237

00:11:43,318 --> 00:11:48,199

bizarre and we obviously didn't know what

to expect anyway, but having been able to

 

238

00:11:48,199 --> 00:11:52,600

connect with the MasterChef contestants

after the show, we realized that it was a

 

239

00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:53,900

little bit different.

 

240

00:11:53,921 --> 00:11:57,762

So there were less contestants, there were

less people going through, there were

 

241

00:11:57,762 --> 00:12:02,123

measures in place throughout the

application process and during filming.

 

242

00:12:02,123 --> 00:12:05,744

There were some things that we missed out

on, for example, the social aspects and

 

243

00:12:05,744 --> 00:12:11,065

the contestants who've done last year and

this year and they...

 

244

00:12:11,346 --> 00:12:14,928

finish filming and go out for a drink and

then going for some in the next morning a

 

245

00:12:14,928 --> 00:12:19,051

little bit worse for wear we Didn't get to

experience that probably a good thing if

 

246

00:12:19,051 --> 00:12:19,691

anything.

 

247

00:12:19,691 --> 00:12:24,414

Yes But yeah, it was it was massively

beneficial to me.

 

248

00:12:24,414 --> 00:12:28,497

Definitely The most important question to

you really was it's early days for you has

 

249

00:12:28,497 --> 00:12:31,519

being a master show had any massive

impacts on you already?

 

250

00:12:31,519 --> 00:12:32,720

Oh, yeah, huge.

 

251

00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:38,724

I've done a complete like 180 I just went

all in like I knew wasn't a one point one

 

252

00:12:38,724 --> 00:12:41,125

for our thing I was quite unfortunate that

 

253

00:12:41,246 --> 00:12:45,309

I took a sabbatical to go on the show and

then I thought, right, I'm going to go all

 

254

00:12:45,309 --> 00:12:48,912

in and again, with the putting everything

on the plate being quite, as we know,

 

255

00:12:48,912 --> 00:12:51,494

didn't work out in hindsight.

 

256

00:12:51,494 --> 00:12:54,477

But that was a massive learning curve for

me.

 

257

00:12:54,477 --> 00:12:57,859

And there was a lot of things I could have

done differently, but I didn't.

 

258

00:12:57,859 --> 00:12:58,520

I went all in.

 

259

00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,823

And then when I went back to work, I got

made redundant straight away.

 

260

00:13:03,304 --> 00:13:08,148

So yeah, they were like, no, I do the show

and we'll support you.

 

261

00:13:08,148 --> 00:13:10,329

And you know, to be fair, they were really

supportive.

 

262

00:13:10,774 --> 00:13:11,934

But they got hit.

 

263

00:13:11,934 --> 00:13:13,135

I was in a design industry.

 

264

00:13:13,135 --> 00:13:14,756

Design industry got hit pretty hard by

COVID.

 

265

00:13:14,756 --> 00:13:17,217

And yes, I got made redundant.

 

266

00:13:17,217 --> 00:13:21,059

And then I thought, no, came off the show

within a week.

 

267

00:13:21,059 --> 00:13:21,860

I thought I can't.

 

268

00:13:21,860 --> 00:13:22,500

I cried for a bit.

 

269

00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:24,061

I went into the pillow.

 

270

00:13:24,501 --> 00:13:25,442

Yeah, I curled up.

 

271

00:13:25,442 --> 00:13:26,922

And he keeps rocking in the shower.

 

272

00:13:26,922 --> 00:13:29,024

Just like, I'm taking a bath.

 

273

00:13:29,024 --> 00:13:32,805

I was thinking about fresh chicken.

 

274

00:13:33,326 --> 00:13:35,227

Yeah, I was like, I'm hungry, but I'm sad.

 

275

00:13:37,528 --> 00:13:40,309

And then I just started, I was like, no.

 

276

00:13:40,454 --> 00:13:44,356

I went on every website, I went on a

website called Count and Talk, and they do

 

277

00:13:44,356 --> 00:13:47,558

a lot of encouragement for people trying

to change careers.

 

278

00:13:47,558 --> 00:13:51,800

And I got in touch and I just said, look,

I'm changing my career.

 

279

00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:53,081

I don't actually know what I'm doing.

 

280

00:13:53,081 --> 00:13:54,441

Can I just talk to someone?

 

281

00:13:54,441 --> 00:13:58,444

They called me and they just said, right,

just send out as many emails to as many

 

282

00:13:58,444 --> 00:13:59,584

people as you can.

 

283

00:13:59,584 --> 00:14:00,525

So I did that.

 

284

00:14:00,525 --> 00:14:03,987

And then I ended up doing like a day at

Butchers, a day at Fishmongers.

 

285

00:14:03,987 --> 00:14:06,928

Then I went and stood behind a greengrocer

for about a week.

 

286

00:14:06,928 --> 00:14:07,709

I just worked free.

 

287

00:14:07,709 --> 00:14:09,149

I had nothing to lose.

 

288

00:14:09,854 --> 00:14:15,158

Eventually landed a role at Elliot's and

they took me in, put me in and just

 

289

00:14:15,158 --> 00:14:19,342

basically was just like, just absorb

everything and any job you get, just do

 

290

00:14:19,342 --> 00:14:19,782

it.

 

291

00:14:19,782 --> 00:14:24,326

I did all the doubles, everything, but I,

yeah, total 180 and just went complete all

 

292

00:14:24,326 --> 00:14:26,849

in, even though I was getting paid nothing

for it.

 

293

00:14:26,849 --> 00:14:29,611

Just, just went and learned as much as I

could.

 

294

00:14:29,611 --> 00:14:31,273

It was a big, big change up.

 

295

00:14:31,273 --> 00:14:32,354

Yeah, good for you though.

 

296

00:14:32,354 --> 00:14:34,696

Being stuck behind the desk.

 

297

00:14:34,696 --> 00:14:35,877

Yeah, it does.

 

298

00:14:35,877 --> 00:14:36,798

Don't get your job.

 

299

00:14:36,798 --> 00:14:39,799

Yeah, yeah, very tired a lot of the time.

 

300

00:14:40,419 --> 00:14:41,219

Those doubles killed.

 

301

00:14:41,219 --> 00:14:44,241

Really good.

 

302

00:14:44,241 --> 00:14:48,562

And finally, Kiki, has your MasterChef

experience influenced your journey in ways

 

303

00:14:48,562 --> 00:14:50,383

you never expected?

 

304

00:14:50,383 --> 00:14:55,945

In a way, yes, it adds on to my journey

because of my past and my plan with my

 

305

00:14:55,945 --> 00:15:00,787

husband is to go travel the world anyway,

and we'll share what I cook on the boat.

 

306

00:15:00,787 --> 00:15:06,189

But now with the life of being in the

MasterChef, the experience of a lifetime.

 

307

00:15:06,278 --> 00:15:13,944

It made me see food a little bit more in

depth, more passion that goes into it.

 

308

00:15:13,944 --> 00:15:20,189

The style and the method and how to search

for the ingredients is more in details

 

309

00:15:20,189 --> 00:15:23,251

than I ever thought that I would go into.

 

310

00:15:23,292 --> 00:15:26,254

But after MasterChef, it made me learn

more.

 

311

00:15:26,254 --> 00:15:33,740

And I like to use the MasterChef journey,

including into my world tour that I'm

 

312

00:15:33,740 --> 00:15:35,258

learning to sell.

 

313

00:15:35,258 --> 00:15:36,878

I still cannot sell.

 

314

00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:41,942

Honestly, every day we learning the new

thing.

 

315

00:15:41,942 --> 00:15:44,484

I ripped the sail, I nearly burned the

boat down.

 

316

00:15:44,484 --> 00:15:49,567

I flat the boat and all sort, but I do

have finally cooking on the boat as well.

 

317

00:15:49,567 --> 00:15:54,731

So it's like, I will try to combine the

love and the passion of traveling and

 

318

00:15:54,731 --> 00:15:55,992

cooking together.

 

319

00:15:55,992 --> 00:16:01,495

And even on the boat, I'm using the solar

power when I'm traveling to cook my food.

 

320

00:16:01,495 --> 00:16:04,797

And I'm trying to create something that

probably will be.

 

321

00:16:04,846 --> 00:16:09,247

still be boogie style because my boogie

style is like quirky and it's out there a

 

322

00:16:09,247 --> 00:16:10,047

little bit.

 

323

00:16:10,047 --> 00:16:15,889

But make it easier and make it like sort

of you can use like the local ingredient

 

324

00:16:15,889 --> 00:16:21,951

because you cannot just go down the shop

and buy noodle or buy lemongrass or lamb

 

325

00:16:21,951 --> 00:16:22,511

leg.

 

326

00:16:22,511 --> 00:16:24,391

You just have to be creative.

 

327

00:16:24,391 --> 00:16:26,152

You have to change your taste.

 

328

00:16:26,152 --> 00:16:29,733

You are like do the service and talk to

the local people.

 

329

00:16:29,733 --> 00:16:31,833

Like the other day I just made the pasta.

 

330

00:16:31,858 --> 00:16:39,183

Dorton Italy area and do it on the boat,

which is good for me to share this

 

331

00:16:39,183 --> 00:16:43,526

knowledge with the people at home or

people that live on the boat.

 

332

00:16:43,526 --> 00:16:48,570

So it's something fun as well as like sort

of gaining the knowledge and my

 

333

00:16:48,570 --> 00:16:53,193

creativity, like I'm looking at the sea

someday, yeah, like big wave and thing.

 

334

00:16:53,193 --> 00:16:57,496

I just like draw up the picture of the

dish that I want to make.

 

335

00:16:57,496 --> 00:16:58,677

Amazing.

 

336

00:16:58,677 --> 00:16:59,730

Just amazing.

 

337

00:16:59,730 --> 00:17:06,256

And then with MasterChef, believe it or

not, my fan is not the older, like, 20 or

 

338

00:17:06,256 --> 00:17:06,877

30 years old.

 

339

00:17:06,877 --> 00:17:10,200

My fan is that from the age of five and

six years old.

 

340

00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:12,563

Oh, no, no.

 

341

00:17:12,563 --> 00:17:16,187

It's just like because of that, just like

being watching MasterChef when I was in

 

342

00:17:16,187 --> 00:17:17,868

the show last year.

 

343

00:17:17,868 --> 00:17:22,533

And some of them crying when I cry, or

some of them crying when I did.

 

344

00:17:23,006 --> 00:17:28,368

And they send me like their passion or

their menu or the name of their restaurant

 

345

00:17:28,368 --> 00:17:30,009

because of their watching the show.

 

346

00:17:30,009 --> 00:17:32,470

So that it just touched my heart.

 

347

00:17:32,470 --> 00:17:36,832

And it just like, I didn't know that what

I done in the show by sharing the

 

348

00:17:36,832 --> 00:17:41,754

imagination, by sharing like sort of a,

I'm not really like so serious about it,

 

349

00:17:41,754 --> 00:17:42,114

you see.

 

350

00:17:42,114 --> 00:17:43,595

I'm just like having a go.

 

351

00:17:43,595 --> 00:17:49,897

I wasn't scared of making a mistake

because of I didn't read the recipe.

 

352

00:17:50,018 --> 00:17:55,902

my thing is more or less like having a

goal and try right or wrong and then

 

353

00:17:55,902 --> 00:18:00,385

creating something that I have in mind out

onto the plate.

 

354

00:18:00,385 --> 00:18:08,230

So it is good that even the young people

follow me and still until this day they

 

355

00:18:08,230 --> 00:18:15,995

still write to me or having the video, so

it's just heartwarming.

 

356

00:18:15,995 --> 00:18:19,357

Also for MasterChef, like I say, you can

 

357

00:18:19,474 --> 00:18:22,956

earn the career, make the career out of

this journey.

 

358

00:18:22,956 --> 00:18:25,858

I do some sort of like that for

collaboration.

 

359

00:18:25,858 --> 00:18:32,082

I do pick and choose job that I would sign

in or accept because it's just my personal

 

360

00:18:32,082 --> 00:18:34,764

journey that I live on the boat a lot.

 

361

00:18:34,764 --> 00:18:37,846

But believe me with MasterChef, it opens

so many doors.

 

362

00:18:37,846 --> 00:18:42,729

I think we all would agree that you can

make something.

 

363

00:18:42,830 --> 00:18:45,812

Like what we were all saying, I think

there's a common factor is that I was

 

364

00:18:45,812 --> 00:18:48,813

pushed into going on the show from my

girlfriend.

 

365

00:18:49,002 --> 00:18:53,483

She, after two years, I just kept putting

off the show and I was like, I'm not that

 

366

00:18:53,483 --> 00:18:53,684

good.

 

367

00:18:53,684 --> 00:18:56,145

Like I only just could cut her.

 

368

00:18:56,145 --> 00:18:56,925

She said, no, you have to do it.

 

369

00:18:56,925 --> 00:18:57,625

And then you have to do it.

 

370

00:18:57,625 --> 00:19:00,486

And then constantly I do videos on

Instagram and then I'm like, do it, do it,

 

371

00:19:00,486 --> 00:19:00,727

do it.

 

372

00:19:00,727 --> 00:19:03,167

And in the end, I just went to the pub.

 

373

00:19:03,328 --> 00:19:05,609

I sat down, I had a plane and I was like,

what the hell?

 

374

00:19:05,609 --> 00:19:06,049

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

 

375

00:19:06,049 --> 00:19:10,551

But it was, there was a nudge, I think.

 

376

00:19:11,051 --> 00:19:12,071

I think there's a running thing.

 

377

00:19:12,071 --> 00:19:12,372

Yeah.

 

378

00:19:12,372 --> 00:19:15,113

Because you're not blowing your own smoke

while you just kind of, you do what you do

 

379

00:19:15,113 --> 00:19:15,673

because you love it.

 

380

00:19:15,673 --> 00:19:15,933

Yeah.

 

381

00:19:15,933 --> 00:19:17,134

As you will.

 

382

00:19:17,134 --> 00:19:20,195

You can enjoy whatever you create and

share it.

 

383

00:19:20,195 --> 00:19:21,555

It doesn't matter.

 

384

00:19:21,555 --> 00:19:24,497

I just have to tell to everyone, doesn't

matter.

 

385

00:19:24,497 --> 00:19:25,957

Don't get too serious.

 

386

00:19:25,957 --> 00:19:27,818

Get in there and have a laugh.

 

387

00:19:28,118 --> 00:19:32,740

But you can't help but get stressed when

you're in the studio, MasterChef.

 

388

00:19:32,740 --> 00:19:34,160

You didn't read Miles.

 

389

00:19:34,181 --> 00:19:37,262

You just know later you get the...

 

390

00:19:37,262 --> 00:19:37,822

Yeah, yeah.

 

391

00:19:37,822 --> 00:19:40,043

But it goes out the window, right?

 

392

00:19:40,243 --> 00:19:40,503

Yeah.

 

393

00:19:40,503 --> 00:19:42,164

I want you to have fun about it.

 

394

00:19:42,164 --> 00:19:43,284

Don't worry about it.

 

395

00:19:43,284 --> 00:19:46,325

Once you're in it, when you see Greg and

John, that's it.

 

396

00:19:46,606 --> 00:19:48,746

The clock countdown, you're just like,

uh-oh.

 

397

00:19:49,807 --> 00:19:50,167

Uh-oh.

 

398

00:19:50,167 --> 00:19:54,909

He do not want to lose face in front of

millions of people on the TV, so you're

 

399

00:19:54,909 --> 00:19:58,351

just thinking, at least get something on

the plate.

 

400

00:19:58,351 --> 00:20:01,032

Actually, that sounds a familiar theme

here, Poo King.

 

401

00:20:01,032 --> 00:20:02,252

Sounds very...

 

402

00:20:02,373 --> 00:20:05,033

Everybody just chuck it on and hope

something goes out.

 

403

00:20:06,654 --> 00:20:11,016

What's a single piece of advice you would

give somebody who would be thinking about

 

404

00:20:11,016 --> 00:20:14,758

going into hospitality or on MasterChef?

 

405

00:20:14,758 --> 00:20:15,539

Love.

 

406

00:20:15,539 --> 00:20:21,943

You have to have passion and love because

with that you will have the stamina to go

 

407

00:20:21,943 --> 00:20:26,205

for it and try hard all the time because

it's not easy.

 

408

00:20:26,285 --> 00:20:30,707

Hospitality, MasterChef, it's not an easy

thing to go into.

 

409

00:20:30,708 --> 00:20:34,162

I mean, I know that I'm having fun doing

it, but...

 

410

00:20:34,162 --> 00:20:37,863

I do work hard to get like each dish to

come out too.

 

411

00:20:37,863 --> 00:20:43,365

Even though I didn't have the time or the

source when I was like sort of abroad.

 

412

00:20:43,365 --> 00:20:48,348

So when I go into the studio each time to

film, it was harder for me.

 

413

00:20:48,348 --> 00:20:53,710

So you have to like sort of really have

the passion and the love to be there.

 

414

00:20:53,710 --> 00:20:56,971

So both hospitality and to go into a

master chef.

 

415

00:20:56,971 --> 00:20:59,292

So follow your dream and try hard.

 

416

00:20:59,292 --> 00:21:00,473

Thank you very much.

 

417

00:21:00,473 --> 00:21:02,353

Thank you so much for joining us.

 

418

00:21:03,746 --> 00:21:05,566

Daksha, do you want to say something?

 

419

00:21:05,566 --> 00:21:07,307

Food is passion.

 

420

00:21:07,307 --> 00:21:09,927

It's not TV, it's not MasterChef.

 

421

00:21:09,927 --> 00:21:12,588

You cook with the love and everything.

 

422

00:21:12,588 --> 00:21:15,969

So I, to me, what I do now is from my

heart.

 

423

00:21:15,969 --> 00:21:19,870

And although I serve, I do my private chef

thing, I do my wedding, I do lots of

 

424

00:21:19,870 --> 00:21:20,450

stuff.

 

425

00:21:20,450 --> 00:21:25,512

But what makes me happy is when somebody

goes, oh Daksha, that was so nice.

 

426

00:21:25,512 --> 00:21:26,512

Thank you so much.

 

427

00:21:26,512 --> 00:21:28,532

You know, that's what I'm looking for.

 

428

00:21:28,532 --> 00:21:31,693

Not that I have cooked for this many

people or what I've done.

 

429

00:21:31,693 --> 00:21:32,513

To me,

 

430

00:21:33,110 --> 00:21:37,752

When you cook with your heart and love,

and that's what brings it out.

 

431

00:21:37,752 --> 00:21:38,833

MasterChef is good.

 

432

00:21:38,833 --> 00:21:40,073

I don't get me wrong.

 

433

00:21:40,074 --> 00:21:43,676

That's what actually brought me to do what

I do now.

 

434

00:21:43,676 --> 00:21:47,898

But all these cameras and TVs and it's

there.

 

435

00:21:47,898 --> 00:21:48,579

It's a show.

 

436

00:21:48,579 --> 00:21:49,239

I agree.

 

437

00:21:49,239 --> 00:21:53,761

But food comes from love and how you, and

it's in your hands.

 

438

00:21:53,762 --> 00:21:54,022

Right.

 

439

00:21:54,022 --> 00:21:57,444

And that's the fact that you're smiling as

you're saying that just says it already

 

440

00:21:57,444 --> 00:21:58,184

makes us smile.

 

441

00:21:58,184 --> 00:21:59,465

Right.

 

442

00:21:59,465 --> 00:22:00,845

That's what it's all about.

 

443

00:22:01,490 --> 00:22:04,211

But you know what, I've got a question for

you guys, which has literally just come to

 

444

00:22:04,211 --> 00:22:04,611

my head.

 

445

00:22:04,611 --> 00:22:05,751

I apologize, off script.

 

446

00:22:05,751 --> 00:22:09,412

But we're all sat here in this room

together, kind of, but we've only ever

 

447

00:22:09,412 --> 00:22:11,713

seen your recipes through the power of

television.

 

448

00:22:11,713 --> 00:22:14,454

Right now, we're talking about your

recipes through the power of broadcast.

 

449

00:22:14,454 --> 00:22:16,354

I can't smell it, I can't taste it.

 

450

00:22:16,354 --> 00:22:19,075

And we're talking about what's happened

since your future.

 

451

00:22:19,075 --> 00:22:22,836

Do not sit here and think, right, let's do

a legacy project.

 

452

00:22:23,036 --> 00:22:24,477

We've all been a master chef.

 

453

00:22:24,477 --> 00:22:27,277

Let's actually cook some food for the

public to come and buy because I'd turn

 

454

00:22:27,277 --> 00:22:27,897

up.

 

455

00:22:28,302 --> 00:22:34,984

We're not in Covid anymore, we could come

to a restaurant.

 

456

00:22:35,625 --> 00:22:36,465

Just put it out there.

 

457

00:22:36,465 --> 00:22:40,587

Like a buttery market for you.

 

458

00:22:40,587 --> 00:22:43,428

And also please do that.

 

459

00:22:43,428 --> 00:22:43,928

We only want 10 cents.

 

460

00:22:43,928 --> 00:22:44,549

My house is fine.

 

461

00:22:44,549 --> 00:22:45,309

Tasty.

 

462

00:22:53,370 --> 00:22:57,091

We're all set to dive deep into your

stories, into your experiences of

 

463

00:22:57,091 --> 00:22:59,972

grilling, roasting and simmering under the

spotlight.

 

464

00:22:59,972 --> 00:23:01,732

Ready to spill the beans?

 

465

00:23:01,732 --> 00:23:03,693

Let's get cooking!

 

466

00:23:04,833 --> 00:23:09,375

There has been a lot in the press recently

about all school children having access to

 

467

00:23:09,375 --> 00:23:10,415

the arts.

 

468

00:23:10,435 --> 00:23:13,396

Whether that be music, drama or visual

arts.

 

469

00:23:13,396 --> 00:23:16,517

Do you think that culinary arts should be

increased in that as well?

 

470

00:23:16,517 --> 00:23:17,757

Yeah, big time.

 

471

00:23:17,977 --> 00:23:18,737

Big time.

 

472

00:23:18,737 --> 00:23:19,577

I know.

 

473

00:23:19,710 --> 00:23:23,851

just from my girlfriend's own learning,

he's actually just kids in general,

 

474

00:23:23,851 --> 00:23:27,812

they're still navigating what they're

doing, they're exploring everything.

 

475

00:23:27,932 --> 00:23:32,293

And with my nephews and with my little

kids in the family, when they get in the

 

476

00:23:32,293 --> 00:23:36,314

kitchen and I hug with them, I can see

them engaging in a very different way.

 

477

00:23:36,474 --> 00:23:39,215

And they get really zoned into it and they

focus.

 

478

00:23:39,215 --> 00:23:45,097

And I think with food, you can see the

results of your labor and you consume it.

 

479

00:23:45,277 --> 00:23:48,097

So there is so many different elements of

 

480

00:23:48,342 --> 00:23:51,102

pleasure in that and satisfaction.

 

481

00:23:51,343 --> 00:23:55,344

You're putting in the work, you're seeing

something go from like flounder to bread.

 

482

00:23:55,344 --> 00:23:56,545

It's like alchemy.

 

483

00:23:56,545 --> 00:24:03,808

And then to eat it and then have someone

else eat it and then seeing like me eating

 

484

00:24:03,808 --> 00:24:05,849

my nephew's dishes.

 

485

00:24:05,849 --> 00:24:09,530

They're so proud that there should be a

lot of emphasis on that because I think as

 

486

00:24:09,530 --> 00:24:11,491

they get older, there's a memory.

 

487

00:24:11,491 --> 00:24:15,232

You can go, I actually really liked that.

 

488

00:24:15,233 --> 00:24:17,113

I was never an academic.

 

489

00:24:17,794 --> 00:24:20,235

terrible at maths, I don't see things.

 

490

00:24:20,435 --> 00:24:21,596

I see things visually.

 

491

00:24:21,596 --> 00:24:21,956

Yes.

 

492

00:24:21,956 --> 00:24:27,679

So being coerced into all different forms

of this, like you've got to do this, or

 

493

00:24:27,679 --> 00:24:31,040

you should get into IT and you should be

in design or maths.

 

494

00:24:31,521 --> 00:24:35,603

It kind of was just a new move with me

because I ended up going back to the

 

495

00:24:35,603 --> 00:24:39,445

memories of when I was younger and

foraging and getting around a table and

 

496

00:24:39,445 --> 00:24:40,466

helping my mum cook.

 

497

00:24:40,466 --> 00:24:44,568

And, you know, that process was what I

ended up going back to.

 

498

00:24:44,568 --> 00:24:46,309

So I kind of went for it.

 

499

00:24:46,389 --> 00:24:47,869

And they are Asian like.

 

500

00:24:48,967 --> 00:24:51,151

Sorry, not to do question two.

 

501

00:24:51,151 --> 00:24:53,114

What was it?

 

502

00:24:53,114 --> 00:24:54,336

The sound again.

 

503

00:24:56,942 --> 00:24:59,203

I've actually got a question really for

the room.

 

504

00:24:59,404 --> 00:25:03,327

We've touched on, just as we've spoken

today, about how the MasterChef experience

 

505

00:25:03,327 --> 00:25:04,768

is actually quite intense.

 

506

00:25:04,948 --> 00:25:07,870

In kitchen work, in a professional

setting, it is intense anyway, it can be

 

507

00:25:07,870 --> 00:25:08,251

like that.

 

508

00:25:08,251 --> 00:25:12,554

So, going through that really for the

first time, did you feel fully supported

 

509

00:25:12,554 --> 00:25:16,598

through that process or did you feel that

there was something you could have learned

 

510

00:25:16,598 --> 00:25:19,360

before which would have helped you?

 

511

00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:24,444

I don't think anything prepares you for

that.

 

512

00:25:24,444 --> 00:25:24,884

I'm cursed out.

 

513

00:25:24,884 --> 00:25:25,045

I'm not.

 

514

00:25:25,045 --> 00:25:26,685

Yeah, you know, MasterChef, you know, you

can't...

 

515

00:25:26,970 --> 00:25:33,315

You don't know exactly because you're in

there, you can't prepare yourself because

 

516

00:25:33,315 --> 00:25:40,121

you don't know exactly what format, what

they're gonna throw at you, like the

 

517

00:25:40,121 --> 00:25:42,263

mystery box.

 

518

00:25:42,263 --> 00:25:45,826

They give you a mystery box and then you

open it and you turn around and say, what

 

519

00:25:45,826 --> 00:25:45,926

the?

 

520

00:25:45,926 --> 00:25:50,069

What would you do with that?

 

521

00:25:50,069 --> 00:25:50,169

Yeah?

 

522

00:25:50,169 --> 00:25:54,213

So you open it, turn around, that's where

your brain starts ticking.

 

523

00:25:54,213 --> 00:25:55,418

No recipes.

 

524

00:25:55,418 --> 00:26:00,001

nothing, you just have to invent something

from your head straight away from what you

 

525

00:26:00,001 --> 00:26:00,862

go in front of you.

 

526

00:26:00,862 --> 00:26:04,885

You know, you've got your flower, your

basics underneath your cupboard, but what

 

527

00:26:04,885 --> 00:26:08,128

the main protein and the rest of it,

you've got to create it.

 

528

00:26:08,308 --> 00:26:11,731

And it's amazing how things turn in your

head.

 

529

00:26:11,731 --> 00:26:13,352

Oh, I could do this, I could do this, I

could do this.

 

530

00:26:13,352 --> 00:26:15,574

And about five, six things come through

your head.

 

531

00:26:15,614 --> 00:26:20,818

But then you've got the interference of

John and Greg, and then you've got the

 

532

00:26:20,818 --> 00:26:22,840

interference from the cameras.

 

533

00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:23,760

And that's

 

534

00:26:24,934 --> 00:26:27,275

makes things harder.

 

535

00:26:27,596 --> 00:26:30,117

Your brain is telling you, yeah, I can do

this.

 

536

00:26:30,117 --> 00:26:36,222

But then all this interference that's

around you makes it harder.

 

537

00:26:36,222 --> 00:26:43,247

So when you're on the set, things become

harder for you, not because you don't know

 

538

00:26:43,247 --> 00:26:46,809

how to do it, it becomes harder for you

with the surroundings.

 

539

00:26:47,650 --> 00:26:49,311

That's what makes it harder.

 

540

00:26:49,612 --> 00:26:52,074

I think every human

 

541

00:26:52,074 --> 00:26:55,976

In my, this is my opinion, every human

knows how to cook.

 

542

00:26:56,096 --> 00:27:02,020

It's just, they're not starving.

 

543

00:27:02,020 --> 00:27:03,460

It's because it's been done for them.

 

544

00:27:03,460 --> 00:27:05,402

Oh, right.

 

545

00:27:05,402 --> 00:27:06,482

It's been done for them.

 

546

00:27:06,482 --> 00:27:09,384

Just to give you an example, my husband,

right?

 

547

00:27:09,384 --> 00:27:11,625

I've been cooking for, for this long.

 

548

00:27:11,746 --> 00:27:14,867

Beans on toast, he still burns my toast.

 

549

00:27:14,867 --> 00:27:18,442

But it's not about him not cooking.

 

550

00:27:18,442 --> 00:27:20,183

is to love that the way he makes it.

 

551

00:27:20,183 --> 00:27:22,925

I'll salute it because to me, he's made it

with love.

 

552

00:27:22,925 --> 00:27:26,869

Whatever it is, maybe a little bit crusty,

a bit burnt, but hey, it's caramelized, I

 

553

00:27:26,869 --> 00:27:27,769

call it.

 

554

00:27:28,610 --> 00:27:30,812

I wouldn't call it burnt, I would call it

caramelized.

 

555

00:27:30,812 --> 00:27:33,194

It wasn't barbecued, we wouldn't even

complain about it.

 

556

00:27:33,194 --> 00:27:34,555

There you go, there you go.

 

557

00:27:34,555 --> 00:27:38,779

So yeah, so to me, we don't learn to go on

MasterChef.

 

558

00:27:38,779 --> 00:27:43,543

It's the media, the question, should the

young people go into hospitality?

 

559

00:27:43,583 --> 00:27:46,565

Yes, they should, but also it's the

family.

 

560

00:27:46,794 --> 00:27:49,254

Like for example, I come from an Asian

family.

 

561

00:27:49,575 --> 00:27:55,137

All Asian parents would want their child

to be in the hospitality, because it's not

 

562

00:27:55,137 --> 00:27:59,319

what they, it's doctors, dentists,

surgeons.

 

563

00:27:59,319 --> 00:28:00,459

That's what they're all about.

 

564

00:28:00,459 --> 00:28:06,802

All of that is what has been forced by the

parents onto the sibling, onto the child.

 

565

00:28:07,162 --> 00:28:10,544

But when the child goes to school, they

want to do something different.

 

566

00:28:10,544 --> 00:28:13,325

So they're forced into doing something

that they don't want to do.

 

567

00:28:13,325 --> 00:28:15,158

This is the old school, my style.

 

568

00:28:15,158 --> 00:28:19,001

But the generation now, they're doing what

they want to do.

 

569

00:28:19,001 --> 00:28:21,322

And they go home and say, I want to do

this.

 

570

00:28:21,363 --> 00:28:25,126

And now parents have to listen because

it's the next generation.

 

571

00:28:25,426 --> 00:28:27,048

My generation was different.

 

572

00:28:27,048 --> 00:28:29,090

My kids' generation was different.

 

573

00:28:29,090 --> 00:28:31,191

But the next generation is going to be

doing it.

 

574

00:28:31,191 --> 00:28:35,815

So hospitality is something that is worth

it because to me, if you've got the

 

575

00:28:35,815 --> 00:28:38,657

passion for cooking, I think you should go

into cooking.

 

576

00:28:40,246 --> 00:28:41,206

What about you, Mike?

 

577

00:28:41,206 --> 00:28:42,426

What are your thoughts?

 

578

00:28:42,426 --> 00:28:47,688

To follow on from back to there, I think

getting young people engaged with cooking

 

579

00:28:47,688 --> 00:28:49,188

is so important.

 

580

00:28:49,188 --> 00:28:53,830

And I think a big reason for that is

because of lockdown and when a lot of

 

581

00:28:53,830 --> 00:28:55,270

chefs kind of...

 

582

00:28:55,410 --> 00:28:58,491

I mean, there's a restaurant close to me

where they lost all of their chefs.

 

583

00:28:58,491 --> 00:29:02,232

One started doing his garden and realized

that he loved it and it was easier than

 

584

00:29:02,232 --> 00:29:02,792

being a chef.

 

585

00:29:02,792 --> 00:29:03,893

So he went and did that.

 

586

00:29:03,893 --> 00:29:06,686

Other person, a delivery driver.

 

587

00:29:06,686 --> 00:29:09,007

and just kind of opted for the easier

life.

 

588

00:29:09,007 --> 00:29:13,910

And I think there's this kind of

preconception still about maybe 20 odd

 

589

00:29:13,910 --> 00:29:19,094

years ago when it was all very like

military style in kitchens and there's

 

590

00:29:19,094 --> 00:29:22,476

lots of swearing going on and really

unsocial hours.

 

591

00:29:22,476 --> 00:29:27,079

And I think we have a responsibility as

employers to move away from that and to

 

592

00:29:27,079 --> 00:29:29,641

show people that actually it doesn't need

to be like that.

 

593

00:29:29,641 --> 00:29:35,785

The toxic kitchens don't need to be the

case and the hours don't need to be long.

 

594

00:29:36,522 --> 00:29:41,983

then I think it becomes more appealing and

children will be, and young adults will be

 

595

00:29:41,983 --> 00:29:47,365

more willing to start exploring it and to

use that creativity and to touch upon the

 

596

00:29:47,365 --> 00:29:51,266

creativity that like Miles was talking

about just now.

 

597

00:29:51,266 --> 00:29:55,847

I used to be a musician when I left school

so for about three years I played in a

 

598

00:29:55,847 --> 00:29:59,748

band and I think at some point it just

dawned on me that I wasn't actually that

 

599

00:29:59,748 --> 00:30:00,628

good at it.

 

600

00:30:00,628 --> 00:30:03,449

But the creativity was there.

 

601

00:30:04,962 --> 00:30:09,005

And I think it just, at some point, it

stopped playing music, it kind of

 

602

00:30:09,005 --> 00:30:10,687

coincided with starting cooking.

 

603

00:30:10,687 --> 00:30:13,569

I think that creativity just sort of

passed over.

 

604

00:30:13,730 --> 00:30:19,875

I think it's so important to have access

to culinary arts in schools, but just arts

 

605

00:30:19,875 --> 00:30:21,657

in general would be a great start.

 

606

00:30:21,657 --> 00:30:23,298

It'd be a really good start.

 

607

00:30:23,498 --> 00:30:27,338

I think if you have that in mind, you can

always transfer it.

 

608

00:30:27,338 --> 00:30:29,099

you can always transfer to other things.

 

609

00:30:29,099 --> 00:30:34,544

So just any kind of investment in creative

arts would be a massive boost to begin

 

610

00:30:34,544 --> 00:30:35,324

with.

 

611

00:30:35,725 --> 00:30:39,487

You were saying that, I mean, I work with

schools a lot.

 

612

00:30:39,548 --> 00:30:45,092

And when I go in the kitchen, I mean, me

and Sarah's worked together at one of the

 

613

00:30:45,092 --> 00:30:46,574

street foods that we did.

 

614

00:30:46,574 --> 00:30:47,294

It was amazing.

 

615

00:30:47,294 --> 00:30:53,379

And it's amazing how interesting they get

and creative at once they had to create

 

616

00:30:53,379 --> 00:30:55,001

their own packaging as well.

 

617

00:30:55,001 --> 00:30:56,441

And you should have seen the...

 

618

00:30:56,590 --> 00:31:00,813

the packaging they came out with is

amazing, you know, and the love they put

 

619

00:31:00,813 --> 00:31:01,574

into it.

 

620

00:31:01,574 --> 00:31:03,455

So the passion is there.

 

621

00:31:03,455 --> 00:31:07,678

So, you know, this is where the schools

need to kind of push it a little bit and

 

622

00:31:07,678 --> 00:31:09,940

bring their creativity out, I think.

 

623

00:31:09,940 --> 00:31:11,721

I think it's boundless thinking.

 

624

00:31:11,842 --> 00:31:14,263

Being creative is a way of thinking.

 

625

00:31:14,344 --> 00:31:15,225

It's boundless.

 

626

00:31:15,225 --> 00:31:16,085

It's not binary.

 

627

00:31:16,085 --> 00:31:17,506

There isn't like right or wrong.

 

628

00:31:17,506 --> 00:31:18,187

It's not a test.

 

629

00:31:18,187 --> 00:31:19,048

There's no time limit.

 

630

00:31:19,048 --> 00:31:21,249

It's innocent stuff.

 

631

00:31:21,430 --> 00:31:22,170

What can you do?

 

632

00:31:22,170 --> 00:31:25,913

Whether it's music, whether it's drawing,

painting, cooking, especially

 

633

00:31:26,582 --> 00:31:29,064

There's a science, but it can do so much.

 

634

00:31:29,064 --> 00:31:32,507

And that, I think, is a relief for kids

where they're in, you know, getting to

 

635

00:31:32,507 --> 00:31:36,991

school at this time, wake up at this time,

you've got this time and then suddenly

 

636

00:31:36,991 --> 00:31:39,412

you're given all this stuff and it just

got crazy.

 

637

00:31:39,893 --> 00:31:40,193

Yeah.

 

638

00:31:40,193 --> 00:31:41,855

Bye.

 

639

00:31:41,855 --> 00:31:44,877

I think that was the spot to be fair.

 

640

00:31:44,877 --> 00:31:45,758

Yeah.

 

641

00:31:50,050 --> 00:31:52,751

Well, then, Daksha was saying that we

actually went into schools together, but

 

642

00:31:52,751 --> 00:31:53,772

Tim was part of that as well.

 

643

00:31:53,772 --> 00:31:57,994

It was a question who had more fun with

it, us or was it the two of you?

 

644

00:31:57,994 --> 00:31:58,714

It's amazing, I tell you.

 

645

00:31:58,714 --> 00:32:03,677

I was looking forward to going because to

see those faces, I mean, it was

 

646

00:32:03,677 --> 00:32:04,898

incredible.

 

647

00:32:04,898 --> 00:32:08,940

I mean, the interest, they literally

grouped up and they talked about it.

 

648

00:32:08,940 --> 00:32:13,462

And any questions, they used to say, Miss,

call me Daksha, it's all right.

 

649

00:32:13,462 --> 00:32:14,463

No one calls me Miss.

 

650

00:32:14,463 --> 00:32:16,164

It's call me Daksha, you know.

 

651

00:32:16,164 --> 00:32:17,584

It's so amazing.

 

652

00:32:17,584 --> 00:32:19,865

But I loved every bit of it.

 

653

00:32:22,154 --> 00:32:25,375

So Miles, actually you said in an

interview with the BBC when you were doing

 

654

00:32:25,375 --> 00:32:28,436

Well Sir Chef that you really want to

inspire people to be more resourceful with

 

655

00:32:28,436 --> 00:32:29,237

food.

 

656

00:32:29,237 --> 00:32:31,918

And I know you're passionate about fresh

ingredients.

 

657

00:32:31,918 --> 00:32:34,319

You just talked about how you like to do

foraging.

 

658

00:32:34,319 --> 00:32:38,181

Now given that we've recently been told

that we are speakwalking into a global

 

659

00:32:38,181 --> 00:32:40,142

health disaster with processed food.

 

660

00:32:40,142 --> 00:32:41,423

What would be your solution to that?

 

661

00:32:41,423 --> 00:32:45,064

So imagine that I gave you all the power

to make that change, do whatever you want.

 

662

00:32:45,064 --> 00:32:46,105

What would you do?

 

663

00:32:46,105 --> 00:32:48,105

Give everyone a course in medicine.

 

664

00:32:48,278 --> 00:32:51,120

and pickling and longer shelf life too.

 

665

00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:59,346

It's less wastage because you can do so

much power of curing, aging, drying.

 

666

00:32:59,346 --> 00:33:03,969

And that's been like my focus since I've

come up with the show is to that as Mark

 

667

00:33:03,969 --> 00:33:08,512

of them, that loaner guy, I'm sure Mike's

probably got that.

 

668

00:33:09,273 --> 00:33:10,074

It's just incredible.

 

669

00:33:10,074 --> 00:33:15,497

It shows you how many different ways you

can.

 

670

00:33:15,606 --> 00:33:22,710

get flavorful vials, textures, alcohols,

acids, you know, savory, all of these

 

671

00:33:22,710 --> 00:33:25,932

things, which are really quite affordable

to buy.

 

672

00:33:25,932 --> 00:33:27,993

Everyone can buy it, but it's healthy.

 

673

00:33:27,993 --> 00:33:31,395

They're natural biomes and yeasts grow

locally.

 

674

00:33:31,395 --> 00:33:36,058

So you can, you know, ferment something in

one place and it'll be different to the

 

675

00:33:36,058 --> 00:33:37,338

ferment you would get somewhere else.

 

676

00:33:37,338 --> 00:33:43,001

But it's all done in a local quantity of

good water, you know, the air.

 

677

00:33:43,382 --> 00:33:45,982

the amount of salt being used in the right

salts.

 

678

00:33:46,442 --> 00:33:49,723

Things that everyone can afford and add to

the dish to get laid up.

 

679

00:33:49,723 --> 00:33:54,985

Because you can make stocks like that,

misos, kojis, and this is endless.

 

680

00:33:54,985 --> 00:33:57,005

And all it requires is time.

 

681

00:33:57,005 --> 00:34:01,807

I think protest food, the problem is we

want things we want to immediately.

 

682

00:34:01,807 --> 00:34:03,507

We don't want to put the time in for it.

 

683

00:34:03,507 --> 00:34:04,787

Right.

 

684

00:34:04,787 --> 00:34:08,108

If you have a lot of these things on the

go at the same time, like I love walking

 

685

00:34:08,108 --> 00:34:12,249

into my kitchen, having a play around and

then looking up at this.

 

686

00:34:12,249 --> 00:34:13,149

I got like

 

687

00:34:13,470 --> 00:34:14,890

Jaws ahead.

 

688

00:34:15,591 --> 00:34:18,852

Jaws on jaws on jaws of things that have

just been there for like two or three

 

689

00:34:18,852 --> 00:34:19,152

years.

 

690

00:34:19,152 --> 00:34:21,373

The vinegar's up in there two or three

years ago.

 

691

00:34:21,513 --> 00:34:28,016

One of my favorites is I made a ginger

beer and I left it fermenting too long and

 

692

00:34:28,016 --> 00:34:29,837

it started to turn acidic.

 

693

00:34:29,837 --> 00:34:31,917

You know, things were all exploding.

 

694

00:34:33,958 --> 00:34:34,058

Yeah.

 

695

00:34:34,058 --> 00:34:37,220

You have not had an exploding bottle you

haven't done for many years.

 

696

00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:42,002

And I got to the point where I was so much

here, it was like

 

697

00:34:42,002 --> 00:34:45,344

like nine liters of it, I just couldn't be

arsed.

 

698

00:34:45,344 --> 00:34:48,767

Then I found out, I looked at the science

behind it and then they had the alcohol

 

699

00:34:48,767 --> 00:34:50,248

tensor acid.

 

700

00:34:50,249 --> 00:34:53,051

Then I made this massive batch of vinegar.

 

701

00:34:53,051 --> 00:34:54,952

So I've got like ginger beer vinegar.

 

702

00:34:54,952 --> 00:34:55,873

And I use that.

 

703

00:34:55,873 --> 00:34:56,714

Wow.

 

704

00:34:56,714 --> 00:34:57,755

It's so versatile.

 

705

00:34:57,755 --> 00:34:58,415

Amazing.

 

706

00:34:58,415 --> 00:34:59,496

Yeah, it's amazing.

 

707

00:34:59,496 --> 00:35:00,817

Pickles, typhoons.

 

708

00:35:00,817 --> 00:35:05,401

You know, I mean, you're saying, fresh

food and pickling and stuff.

 

709

00:35:05,401 --> 00:35:06,822

I agree with veganism.

 

710

00:35:06,822 --> 00:35:08,584

Don't get me wrong, I agree with it.

 

711

00:35:08,584 --> 00:35:11,030

But if you become a vegan, there are...

 

712

00:35:11,030 --> 00:35:13,931

vegetables galore out there to eat.

 

713

00:35:13,931 --> 00:35:16,793

Why does processed food have to be done?

 

714

00:35:16,793 --> 00:35:20,314

The vegan sausages, vegan this, vegan

that.

 

715

00:35:20,515 --> 00:35:28,419

If you have given up meat, why do you

crave for a vegan sausage or a vegan?

 

716

00:35:28,419 --> 00:35:29,520

It's processed.

 

717

00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:32,781

So to me, processed food is going up.

 

718

00:35:32,781 --> 00:35:35,343

If you think about it in supermarkets,

right?

 

719

00:35:35,343 --> 00:35:38,925

You see aisles of processed food that

people think, oh, I'm vegan.

 

720

00:35:38,925 --> 00:35:40,865

Now I can eat that.

 

721

00:35:40,950 --> 00:35:43,592

but they're eating the processed food.

 

722

00:35:43,592 --> 00:35:48,316

So to me, it's very much mis- yeah, which

is wrong.

 

723

00:35:48,316 --> 00:35:54,501

To me, in an Asian or in any family,

vegetables, galore, lentils, you got

 

724

00:35:54,501 --> 00:36:01,807

pulse, all kinds of, you can eat happily

fresh vegetables and make really nice

 

725

00:36:01,807 --> 00:36:02,528

dishes.

 

726

00:36:02,528 --> 00:36:04,669

You don't have to go to plant-based.

 

727

00:36:04,689 --> 00:36:08,112

This is my opinion and I've never agreed

with it and I don't think I will ever will

 

728

00:36:08,112 --> 00:36:08,993

agree with it.

 

729

00:36:08,993 --> 00:36:09,726

To me,

 

730

00:36:09,726 --> 00:36:10,986

Vegan, yes, I agree with it.

 

731

00:36:10,986 --> 00:36:13,808

Yes, no need to dairy products, no

problems.

 

732

00:36:13,808 --> 00:36:22,074

But going to the process side of it, I

agree with you, fermenting things, making

 

733

00:36:22,074 --> 00:36:25,717

vinegar out of it or, you know, kimchi for

example.

 

734

00:36:25,717 --> 00:36:27,018

You know, kimchi.

 

735

00:36:27,018 --> 00:36:29,299

I mean, it's amazing kimchi.

 

736

00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:33,923

It's really, really very easy to make.

 

737

00:36:33,923 --> 00:36:37,722

So Mike, before you were doing MasterChef,

you were working in hospitality.

 

738

00:36:37,722 --> 00:36:41,423

In a large well-known chain, you would

have seen, and I know the sort of food

 

739

00:36:41,423 --> 00:36:45,184

that you get there, is what we would call

big food, which is a lot of processed

 

740

00:36:45,184 --> 00:36:45,684

food.

 

741

00:36:45,684 --> 00:36:47,364

There is some fresh there as well.

 

742

00:36:47,364 --> 00:36:50,085

So what is your take on this?

 

743

00:36:50,085 --> 00:36:54,366

Because I kind of feel now we've had this

conversation, I want to be someone who

 

744

00:36:54,366 --> 00:36:55,746

describes a diet as freshism.

 

745

00:36:55,746 --> 00:36:57,107

Because I'm sure we have a thing that's

fresh, right?

 

746

00:36:57,107 --> 00:36:58,947

I like that.

 

747

00:36:59,968 --> 00:37:03,849

Yeah, but Mike, how do you feel about

processed food now that you've been a

 

748

00:37:03,849 --> 00:37:04,829

MasterChef?

 

749

00:37:07,774 --> 00:37:13,277

that processed food doesn't have to be the

norm in every household.

 

750

00:37:13,277 --> 00:37:15,098

And there are a number of reasons for

that.

 

751

00:37:15,098 --> 00:37:18,460

I was working for the large chain.

 

752

00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:20,461

I started working for the head office.

 

753

00:37:20,461 --> 00:37:25,564

I was a little bit more detached from the

food in the shops and I was traveling

 

754

00:37:25,564 --> 00:37:26,845

around the country.

 

755

00:37:26,905 --> 00:37:31,188

I think rather than looking for the big

chains, I started to look for independent

 

756

00:37:31,188 --> 00:37:34,449

companies when I was going to different

cities.

 

757

00:37:34,454 --> 00:37:37,875

So I would spend a little bit of time just

doing a bit of research to find out where

 

758

00:37:37,875 --> 00:37:40,016

I might be able to get some better quality

food.

 

759

00:37:40,016 --> 00:37:46,719

And that's what it comes down to for me is

I think if you go to independent places,

 

760

00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:50,821

the food is always sourced from

independent suppliers and it's just better

 

761

00:37:50,821 --> 00:37:51,901

in quality.

 

762

00:37:51,981 --> 00:37:55,423

And the one thing that I always come back

to when I'm talking about this is a

 

763

00:37:55,423 --> 00:37:58,604

problem that I have all of the time and

it's kale.

 

764

00:37:58,965 --> 00:38:01,125

The supermarket kale is...

 

765

00:38:01,182 --> 00:38:03,223

Awful is so bad.

 

766

00:38:03,223 --> 00:38:05,063

I don't really hate it there.

 

767

00:38:05,063 --> 00:38:06,024

It's terrible.

 

768

00:38:06,024 --> 00:38:07,164

It's chopped open.

 

769

00:38:07,164 --> 00:38:10,926

It's got loads of stalking and it's just,

yeah, it's, it's rubbish and it's in

 

770

00:38:10,926 --> 00:38:12,947

plastic packaging as well.

 

771

00:38:12,967 --> 00:38:14,888

It just does not need to be like that.

 

772

00:38:14,888 --> 00:38:19,390

And sometimes my suppliers can't always

source great kale and it.

 

773

00:38:19,390 --> 00:38:20,110

Absolutely.

 

774

00:38:20,110 --> 00:38:23,793

Chills me to have to go to the supermarket

and buy it because it's just totally

 

775

00:38:23,793 --> 00:38:24,514

different.

 

776

00:38:24,514 --> 00:38:26,636

It's completely different than it should

be.

 

777

00:38:26,636 --> 00:38:31,400

But I've, over the last few years, I've

really got into growing my own fruit and

 

778

00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:32,521

veg.

 

779

00:38:32,521 --> 00:38:36,864

I've got quite a large allotment now, but

it started off with just a few plant pots

 

780

00:38:36,864 --> 00:38:37,945

in my backyard.

 

781

00:38:37,945 --> 00:38:41,368

And I think there are a number of benefits

for that.

 

782

00:38:41,428 --> 00:38:43,990

And the first one I suppose is that it's

cheap.

 

783

00:38:43,990 --> 00:38:45,511

The seeds are really cheap.

 

784

00:38:45,792 --> 00:38:47,882

You get such a great yield.

 

785

00:38:47,882 --> 00:38:53,405

So, you know, for, I don't know, 50 pence

worth of seeds, you could be eating spring

 

786

00:38:53,405 --> 00:38:56,808

onions or whatever for- It tastes so much

better.

 

787

00:38:57,188 --> 00:39:02,152

The flavour of the tomato is so much

different than what you grow yourself.

 

788

00:39:02,152 --> 00:39:04,073

I always use a tomato as a reference.

 

789

00:39:06,355 --> 00:39:10,157

Even the coriander, I've obviously used

coriander a lot.

 

790

00:39:10,337 --> 00:39:15,121

You buy a coriander from any greengrocers

or even supermarket.

 

791

00:39:15,121 --> 00:39:16,234

It doesn't smell.

 

792

00:39:16,234 --> 00:39:18,754

like coriander, but you grow it at home.

 

793

00:39:18,754 --> 00:39:21,335

It smells so lovely.

 

794

00:39:21,335 --> 00:39:25,256

I mean, the freshness of the coriander is

amazing when you grow it yourself.

 

795

00:39:25,716 --> 00:39:26,717

It doesn't take long.

 

796

00:39:26,717 --> 00:39:28,757

A few seeds, like I said.

 

797

00:39:28,997 --> 00:39:29,478

That's it.

 

798

00:39:29,478 --> 00:39:33,719

And I think the feeling as well, like that

feeling of eating something that you've

 

799

00:39:33,719 --> 00:39:36,560

grown from a seed, you can't beat that.

 

800

00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:40,581

And I think once you experience it, it's

quite difficult to go back to buying

 

801

00:39:40,581 --> 00:39:42,421

things purely for convenience.

 

802

00:39:42,466 --> 00:39:44,666

And I realized that not everybody has the

space.

 

803

00:39:44,666 --> 00:39:47,808

And I guess up here in the North of

England, like I'm lucky in that respect

 

804

00:39:47,808 --> 00:39:51,009

because I do have a bit of space to plant

some seeds and whatnot.

 

805

00:39:51,009 --> 00:39:55,191

But yeah, I just think there are so many

benefits to growing your own fruit and veg

 

806

00:39:55,191 --> 00:39:59,313

and moving away from processed food in

general, which is, yeah, so that's kind of

 

807

00:39:59,313 --> 00:40:03,115

my journey from working for a big chain to

where I am now.

 

808

00:40:03,395 --> 00:40:06,796

If I was out and about, I just wouldn't

look to go to big chains at all, at good

 

809

00:40:06,796 --> 00:40:09,677

old now really, and I think the quality.

 

810

00:40:10,466 --> 00:40:14,448

And we are literally can see now why

everybody's been on MasterChef.

 

811

00:40:14,448 --> 00:40:19,171

Cause the passion about food is just

coming out of everybody's pot.

 

812

00:40:19,171 --> 00:40:23,853

And if you're listening to this, you can

see the smiles on the people's faces.

 

813

00:40:26,935 --> 00:40:27,836

Just talking about it.

 

814

00:40:27,836 --> 00:40:28,436

It's just great.

 

815

00:40:28,436 --> 00:40:30,577

And I'm really hungry for fresh food.

 

816

00:40:32,578 --> 00:40:36,561

For someone thinking of a career in

hospitality, or actually who is thinking

 

817

00:40:36,561 --> 00:40:41,124

of going on a reality TV show like Moss

Chef, what's the single piece of the

 

818

00:40:41,124 --> 00:40:42,685

device you would give?

 

819

00:40:42,685 --> 00:40:43,806

And we'll start with Mike.

 

820

00:40:43,806 --> 00:40:45,127

Well, I'm going to split that into two.

 

821

00:40:45,127 --> 00:40:49,670

So for a career in hospitality, I would

say get out there and try as much as you

 

822

00:40:49,670 --> 00:40:50,311

possibly can.

 

823

00:40:50,311 --> 00:40:51,932

A bit like what Miles was saying earlier.

 

824

00:40:51,932 --> 00:40:55,915

So I went to work at Roots in York with

Tommy Banks, did that for free.

 

825

00:40:55,915 --> 00:40:59,437

And that experience was so, so valuable.

 

826

00:40:59,546 --> 00:41:03,227

And it completely changed to probably more

beneficial than MasterChef.

 

827

00:41:03,227 --> 00:41:04,847

It just changed me as a cook.

 

828

00:41:04,847 --> 00:41:09,428

So that's my piece of advice for a career

in hospitality for MasterChef.

 

829

00:41:09,509 --> 00:41:12,650

I would say do what you do well and stay

in your lane.

 

830

00:41:12,650 --> 00:41:16,631

And that's, that's a piece of advice that

I picked up from Alexina, who was it, he

 

831

00:41:16,631 --> 00:41:17,871

was in my year.

 

832

00:41:18,051 --> 00:41:23,153

And when I heard that, I thought that is

so right because I could specialize in

 

833

00:41:23,173 --> 00:41:25,990

whatever and then take, for example,

someone like

 

834

00:41:25,990 --> 00:41:30,092

Nick, who was our master chef this year,

who specializes in Latin food.

 

835

00:41:30,092 --> 00:41:34,334

If I tried to cross over into his lane,

I'm never going to do it as well because

 

836

00:41:34,334 --> 00:41:35,475

that's his thing.

 

837

00:41:35,475 --> 00:41:38,577

And then that means that there's one

person that's probably going to beat me in

 

838

00:41:38,577 --> 00:41:39,617

that round.

 

839

00:41:39,617 --> 00:41:41,798

So yeah, so do what you do well, I think.

 

840

00:41:41,798 --> 00:41:42,239

Brilliant.

 

841

00:41:42,239 --> 00:41:42,759

Thank you.

 

842

00:41:42,759 --> 00:41:43,219

Thank you.

 

843

00:41:43,219 --> 00:41:43,940

That's it.

 

844

00:41:43,940 --> 00:41:48,002

Passion for food has to be there.

 

845

00:41:48,562 --> 00:41:51,524

Go and try different kinds of foods.

 

846

00:41:51,524 --> 00:41:52,645

That's what I think.

 

847

00:41:52,645 --> 00:41:54,585

You know, go and taste.

 

848

00:41:54,590 --> 00:41:58,092

If your food passion is not there, it's

gonna be difficult for you to get into

 

849

00:41:58,092 --> 00:41:59,153

hospitality.

 

850

00:41:59,153 --> 00:42:05,397

Getting on reality show again, you go on

it, do your best, but don't try to follow

 

851

00:42:05,397 --> 00:42:06,217

others.

 

852

00:42:06,318 --> 00:42:10,681

My mistake was to follow others and I

failed miserably.

 

853

00:42:11,461 --> 00:42:12,622

I failed miserably.

 

854

00:42:12,622 --> 00:42:18,486

So I think do something that's in your

heart, cook the way you think and don't

 

855

00:42:18,486 --> 00:42:19,667

follow others.

 

856

00:42:19,847 --> 00:42:21,509

It's gonna take you in the right place.

 

857

00:42:21,509 --> 00:42:23,262

If you try follow other roads,

 

858

00:42:23,262 --> 00:42:24,923

Unfortunately, not two.

 

859

00:42:24,923 --> 00:42:25,463

Thank you.

 

860

00:42:25,463 --> 00:42:26,083

Miles.

 

861

00:42:26,083 --> 00:42:30,306

I think I would probably say that if you

want to go and just remember that it

 

862

00:42:30,306 --> 00:42:35,010

doesn't matter where you finish, you win

wherever you need to.

 

863

00:42:35,010 --> 00:42:35,610

Correct.

 

864

00:42:35,610 --> 00:42:41,614

Because what you learn in the process is

the whole thing is a learning process.

 

865

00:42:41,614 --> 00:42:43,535

You learn how to write your recipes

better.

 

866

00:42:43,535 --> 00:42:47,378

You will be more focused on what you

actually want to cook.

 

867

00:42:47,378 --> 00:42:50,140

You will focus on the foods you want to

build on.

 

868

00:42:50,860 --> 00:42:52,161

As every chef would do.

 

869

00:42:52,161 --> 00:42:52,650

And it.

 

870

00:42:52,650 --> 00:42:55,632

You would look at a dish and you would

want to make it better or better.

 

871

00:42:55,632 --> 00:42:59,734

And it forces you to refine the things

that you already do well.

 

872

00:42:59,975 --> 00:43:05,038

So yeah, be prepared to just be happy to

go wherever you go as far as you go.

 

873

00:43:05,038 --> 00:43:07,860

Yeah.

 

874

00:43:07,860 --> 00:43:11,083

A big thank you to all of our listeners

who made this podcast possible.

 

875

00:43:11,083 --> 00:43:14,805

We would love, love to hear your thoughts

on the concept as I said.

 

876

00:43:14,805 --> 00:43:17,307

And we would like to have more done in

this kind of style.

 

877

00:43:17,608 --> 00:43:18,968

What did you think of our guests?

 

878

00:43:18,968 --> 00:43:20,630

Who would you like to see coming on?

 

879

00:43:20,630 --> 00:43:23,656

feedback in the comments or write us on

social media.

 

880

00:43:23,656 --> 00:43:26,863

Sadly, that's all for this episode of

Talking Hospitality.

 

881

00:43:26,863 --> 00:43:29,629

Don't forget to like and subscribe

wherever you get your podcasts.

 

882

00:43:29,629 --> 00:43:31,893

Thank you for listening and stay awesome.