Celebrity Chef Colin Fassnidge Talks Life, TV & Tips for Career Success! The Mouthful | Ep. 6

Introducing Colin Fassnidge all right guys welcome back to the mouthful with Marcus today we've got none other than the colon fast nich a celebrity chef here in Australia who's known very well for his roles on My Kitchen Rules Better Homes and guns and I'm a celebrity get me out of here so as you'd guess the episode is jamack kids need to learn that you have to file and failing is good because the feel the feeling you get when you fail is you don't want to repeat that again what the show never showed you is on their way to their seat B smack marks in the head and then I'd go to duck and then Colin would smack me in the head all and then we had Sonia Marcus's mom up and then we were just leaning into that and he hated that big shout out to M don't do what you told the only reason I did well is cuz I questioned everything just because someone says that's the way it has to be done I go no I'm going to do it the other way and that's that so make sure to follow the page and enjoy thanks guys testing testing testing Colin has just sat down from his lunch at fugazi you never know when the podcast is going to start uh we're already rolling you see could have tricked me into something he how do you know that it's rolling what if I cuz it's red we got red it's recording okay never mind maybe we should just start with the sweet little cute little introduction I've written for you it's go Mar all right guys today we are sitting down with Colin fnic a renowned chef and business owner here in Australia known well for his roles on My Kitchen Rules and Better Homes and Gardens from his early days in Ireland to thriving in Australian Colin has built a career marked by a dedication to nose to tail cooking and a flare for trailblazing in what was once a pretty traditional cooking industry you liking this so far I like that that's good it's actually killing you to say yeah Colin's not so bad after all guys beyond the TV screen he's navigated the complexities of the chef world the struggles of the business world and most of all building a family which is why this episode is going to be jam-packed full of value for you guys uh we're going to chat about his journey the challenges he's faced and the lessons he's learned along the way so Colin sweet baby Jesus welcome to the podcast marush it's good to be back see you should let everyone in cuz Marcus when we filmed last year cuz obviously his name is Marcus but me and my used to wind him up and call him marush and that really annoyed him so we did it every day not once in a whole series not once in a whole season of Television was I called my actual name speaking of Colin I actually brought you a gift this is for you speaking of inside jokes tell them tell them what you see what's in there it says Barber Jack the Barber dides this explode or something so guys for a bit of context on this one uh on the first the first night I met him I was like oh my God this guy is not just a celebrity he's a real person really nice hair Colin what hair product do you use the next time I saw him the next night he gave me a wrapped hair wax container that was already half used so um thought I'd repay the favor thank you but that was quite nice of me I thought I gave you my last one it was quite sweet and I used it for the rest of the uh yeah for the rest of the season got kicked out correct yeah yeah we're going to get into that I want to talk to you about your origin story but at the same time Colin I don't want to repeat things that you've already had answers to yep so if you don't mind me summarizing your life for 30 seconds essentially what I know about you is you started in Ireland right you originated there you came from a family of good Cooks you had a mom that you loved obviously um was a good cook taught you how to cook uh you decided to try your hand at Chef work you moved your way up you came to Australia for a holiday decided to stay Colin's Culinary Beginnings made a name for yourself with your nose to tow cooking then dabbled in TV sucked at it a bit got it got good at it and then now you're here that's pretty good I see that's good true a lot of [ __ ] that's good I've been researching you the reason I state that is because obviously I want the people who don't know you which I'm sure a lot of people who are watching do know you that's not there very few apart from your Tik tocker mates who need to follow me and get my rank oh Colin I love during some of my research I've Loved listening to you saying oh it's so good when I get a million hits man it's amazing oh I've I've said that cuz I want the people who don't know you to know that what you're saying today is going to be worth their time right in in the sense of like you've had a very rich life uh very full of experiences and things like that which is why we're going to try and break it down extracts some value first question I wanted to ask is at what point did you realize cooking would actually be a career choice I know a lot at the start you mentioned that during the time you became a chef or wanted to become 12 yeah it wasn't sexy and it wasn't cool it was it was it was seen as a as a um it was like gone down the mines if you put it like that it was seen as if you weren't very clever or you weren't very good at school that that was a job you would do that was a chef job so you're obviously passionate about it like you said from 12 at what point did you think [ __ ] I can I can do this as I never wanted to be an accountant obviously I never was going to be that I my brain wasn't wasn't mixed for like they made me do mechanical drawing mathematics all that my brain doesn't work like that like I don't know if it's a bit dyslexic or whatever but my brain is not fit for that so I was more artistic and they made me do mechanical which is not really good for someone like me because that's that's your passion so imagine not being able to do your passion for 5 years uh but I always knew I wanted to do it and on the weekends I worked in restaurants and washed pots and pans and and I loved the lifestyle and then the minute I left school and I went to proper College like K in college I was like this is for me man you just knew instantly I I knew I knew in school that's what I wanted to do I that would be a rockstar so sort of conquered that kind of done both yeah there it is the classic but uh I I knew when I got to college I was like Bush This Is Life cooking imagine cooking all I'm like cooking all day like this is what I love and then came the rud Awakening of the chef uh industry the the chef way of life back then I'm sure there's still contention about it now the next question I have is can you describe the environment of being trained as a chef back then I know you've answered this before but I want to hear well there's the environment of being trained as a chef and then there's the environment of been trained as a Michel and starf which is next Lev this is like your Formula One so you watch your drive to survive imagine that cooking uh I've always worked in M Star Kitchen so that's sort of I I knew but it there's different levels of pain like when I worked for torant that was a one star that was in Dublin so I did two and a half years there and that was I was the bottom of the pile I got my ass kicked but it wasn't that bad because there was only a few of us can you set the scene I've heard you talk about it almost like an Army regiment and it is that's call a brigade so that's why it's called a brigade and I've said that before and people in the Army have gone it's nothing like the Army I said M that's just the wording right I'm not whatever um but when I went to work for Raymond Blanc there was 40 chefs in the kitchen and there was physical violence mental abuse they they didn't care what they did to you because there was always a stream of people coming through oh yeah you were just you become non this like you know you become useful but until then you're just like you know those soldiers descend over the hill to get shot you're the first way yeah thr and you go you're gone and then the day I started in L man War nine guys started and I was the only one left after two weeks Last Man Standing damn okay so obviously you're saying it was hard you had to work your way up earn your stripes that's not stuff that people don't already know but I it's had a big impact on your life you are what you are now because of it the question I've got here is how's it impacted you as a person that that training well I would say I wasn't a very good cook um I I have a good friend who's Justin North who's the reason I got ended up over here and he was a much better cook than me I had passion but I wasn't as good as him so I had to work twice as hard to get to where he was but he he some people had it naturally and then once I conquered that then it became natural to me but I was not the start wasn't as good do you think that your hard work and resilience over that time where it was a tough you know Brigade situation you can apply that work ethic to anything now which is probably why you've excelled in other I think you have to fail a lot to get to get anywhere CU I I actually did a podcast for a Catholic School the other the day and one of the questions was if you couldn't fail at anything and what would it be and I was I said that is just a stupid question because and it's for kids this podcast I was like kids need to learn that you have to file and failing is good because the feel the feeling you get when you fail is you don't want to repeat that again so if everyone just keeps giving it and you're a winner all the time that's great mate like you know but you need to fail to know what it's like and you don't want to go back there correct correct that's how you grow um I have the question do you have any extreme stories from your training days I've heard something along the lines of you throwing a microwave at someone that's after you graduated that was in my own kitchen it was just a very high stress environment I carried on the training the way I was trained I wasn't a very nice person I hadn't had kids yet so everything was about food it was just tunnel vision and I had this Italian guy tell me to [ __ ] off one day and I [ __ ] lost him man like I'm not proud of it I I did pick up a microwave I missed him and he ran away but he was like he shouldn't like it was just a mounty Chef you don't get mouy if you're a chef but I I shouldn't have done it and I did it and I now everyone it was in another podcast it doesn't matter um but it was out of pure [ __ ] anger and tired I was working 16 hours a day every day my my M was on the floor that was like you know everything was on the line and then you've got someone who just wants to throw a spanner in the wheel make it hard and so nowadays you can't do that which is good because now my daughter can work in a kitchen and my daughter works in Hospitality now and you feel comfortable with that yeah um that sort of Segways me into the next question about the way the IND industry has changed and you sort of alled me here what are the main changes between today's Chef culture and the one that you came up in well there's two it's a double Ed sword this one there's two problems with it right the way I I was I was brought up is the only way I knew um and I learned everything I know right so it wasn't just cooking it was actually was mostly was cleaning cleaning and hygiene was you work in a MIG St kitchen it's like a um Sur replaces sparkling so you spend most of your day cleaning then you're prepping ingredients and then like Butchery like breaking down hole that's where I learn about breaking down whole animals cows sheep prepping all your fish the fish doesn't come in in a bag no uh but then again to do that the amount of hours it takes to do that that was the problem so the hours turned into 16 hours like you might learn a trade but by the end of it you're like you're you're [ __ ] your body's [ __ ] it sort of it sort of reminds me of the stories my n tells me about how like she's done all of the hard work and cuz she's an immigrant right she had a very big life full of sacrifice she did all of that for us but doesn't want that to repeat the same way but also it's what made her who she is but I don't think it's a sacrifice that was me learning my trade yeah but at the same time let's say you're you say don't be mouthy right don't be mouthy when you're learning to be a chef I'm working on that because you will get you will still get a clip around the ear man I'm telling you that now you say don't be mouthy right but and and the whole value behind that is to let's say learn respect correct right but then let's say the throwing of microwaves and change you can't do that but you learn when if if someone throw microwave at me I probably wouldn't be mouy that's what I'm saying yeah you wouldn't be mouthy but I'd be in jail cu the world has changed like for the good and the bad because now so the chefs can only do 38 hours a week but that's service is is 5 hours a day or six hours a day so when do you learn to prep the uh the fish the meat cuz now it comes in in a box and everything's prepped so you've sort of lost a little an of how to like cuz I'm a food nerd like I love food right I love prepping food I love finding food and now the kids in today are just learning service so the me comes in in a box portion the fish is already in portions which is good right some that but you still need you're a chef it's about feeling the the fish the knife G through the bone that's what it's about that's well for me that was I'm me for the full package but the way they it came across those days it was on for young and old and that's the way we were we didn't know any different now we know there's another world out there so there's good there's bad there's things you keep there's things you get rid of but what I'm hearing from training I think training is what you need and I'm worried about where the future's going because I don't know who's who's training kids to fill their fish and and break down who's taking the time out of their their life to do that yeah yeah yeah cuz a lot of people along the way you've got a different head chef in every kitchen you've ever worked in and you take a little piece of that person and sort of build it into you like and a lot of the people who I have fun memories about have taken time out of their life to teach me skills are you saying the the trajectory now for the average Chef is a lot of that is skipped because you're going straight from let's say cooking school or Chef school do want to be Sue Chef straight into a restaurant for example yeah or they've got the tweezers and they want to be uh on TV which pays a lot better uh but Teamwork is #1 like we just didn't end up on TV I I can cook the [ __ ] out of M people in this country and and it's my passion it's not something I just waffle my way into well I waffle my way into TV well cooking I didn't you're Al honestly you got I've got this list of questions here and your touch it's good very good and that my next question is based on your experiences what advice would you give to the chefs starting in their careers you sort of said learn the prep side I would I would learn everything and I I would go to a place where a head chef values you and takes time to teach you skills and is passionate about you carrying on his passion that's what I'm passionate about is is passing it on to the next person so you can pass it on and sort of keep it alive it's like like the whole Italian story or whatever like the ners and they pass it on and that's what [ __ ] [ __ ] not the story behind that is on the show and we have it at the minute my Nana this my [ __ ] n that right not every n can cook my grandmother couldn't you know couldn't cook so but you know you you the Italians have this romantic thing going on at this my non is a badass though but like there is n like one of my favorite shows ever on TV is the ners with Jamie Oliver I I think that's one of the best shows I've watched what is it ners reviewing it's no it's just ners making their dish and he just sits and watches but it's not really him cooking it's just an honesty and I was like some of the dishes I was like damn all right well this sort of leads me into the question of okay like you said you can cook the [ __ ] out of anyone here in this country right most people most people most as as as can most of my my I would say Chef mates and friends who I Lia with like we're at a a level of you know what I mean what what is the thing that sets you apart cuz I would put you in the top 1% for the average Chef here in Australia what sets you apart cuz you've clearly mastered the cooking side but you've you've brought a Charisma with you you've brought a media side too you've taken risks which we're going to get into I want to talk about a lot what set you apart perhaps just in the in the service line I was I was always going to fight my corner uh cooking I I knew I was good I didn't I didn't think I was that good and then when I sort of made my way up the ranks to get two hats in a in a uh in a pub which was unheard of in Australia the first ever person to get two hats in a pub and the pressure of trying to deal with that because everyone's on your back cuz you're in a pub and you've got two hats everyone's out it's all poppy syndrome's huge and then you sort of build a casing around yourself like so that's ego as well and then cuz I'm Mar like we love I can chat like and I can hold my own and talk [ __ ] with anyone and I think H cuz I am quite funny sometimes I am like I do I do have a laugh with most people and I think that sort of mingled with the TV thing but not at the start they wanted the angry guy are you saying that but like cuz what I want to talk to about later in the podcast is the difference between a business owner and a good Chef right cuz they're two very different things which you've kind of mastered both are you saying that your your colon is what helped you be a 1% Chef or is it something to do with your cooking no it it's the team around you you can be a great chef and broke uh my wife's in our business and we I had Joe S and Andrew my other two business partners in the forign hand who who knew where every cent was going like every not talking about dollar every cent and what we were spending our our wages our food costs we every we had a meeting every Monday we knew we had the charts and by having those Partners you're saying Colin could focus on finally being col which is creative I'm the driver in the car I was going to say Ricardo but he's not doing very well I'm whoever's doing I'm V staing right but you know when they pull in the pit the wheels that's your team yeah you've got someone in the office it does the accounts you've got your front of house you're like that's a whole other ball game that's even more important in the kitchen most of the time is the front of house and your waiters and your managers so you you've How Chef’s Thrive them like you don't think it's all about the shift the day the chef starts thinking it's all about him we all know they're idiot like you know what I mean and then they're not around anymore it's it's build the team out to let you focus on the stuff you're actually put it's called hospitality and hospitality is a team correct all right well what the next thing I want to talk about in terms of yes you've made it clear you've done the work as a chef you found ways to innovate and build out your team and make this work for you I want to talk to you about timing right I'm not saying that you've uh built everything you've built out of luck that's not where this is going right none of it's luck none of it luck you've you've definitely done the Reps but where I want to go with this is when it comes to excelling any excelling at anything I've written this here you're either the first or you're the best or you're both now no doubt there are a lot of great chefs out there you know them you respect them you've seen them but a lot of them won't ever make it to the stage that you've made it to and a lot of that is to do personally I don't think it's all of it is timing you took risks during times where the path wasn't laid out for you and what I mean by that is a lot of chefs they they might be thinking like you said before damn the TV does really pay good I want to be a TV chef that's awesome the reason you have the opportunities you do is cuz you were thinking about this 15 20 years ago well I wasn't thinking about it I was just Rogue like in good and a bad way and by the way not every Chef wants to do what I do like a lot of people look down on it as well as as you've so he's not in the chef line which is fine I used to be like that but now I'm 50 and I've got two teenagers and I'm like [ __ ] tired man like you know like today's a 14-hour day for me like I'm after this I'm going into a 14-hour day guys uh My Kitchen Rules the next season is being filmed as we speak in an hour the cooks are literally cooking right I I did this last year so I know the time frames they're in the kitchen right now and he's off to judge them later sorry to interrupt um I had an attitude like M Young Chefs did an ego and an attitude and I was pretty outspoken and didn't really think of the consequences and I would fight with people or or say whatever and now I realize there are consequences and currently and I have gone back and apologized to people that I've I've said [ __ ] about just because I thought I could because what shits me now on social media all these little Warriors uncountable people with no with no name just an egg and Blazer 154 can tell you how [ __ ] you are but he has no followers and no name and I'm like you're an idiot bro yeah but I do go to town on some of them but I mean I was like a bit gungho and bit rude as a lot of us were but what I mean to say is like okay don't let's take I hit the papers for some of it and that's how I got known right but it could have went the other way you know what I mean my question then is let me reframe the question cuz maybe TV wasn't the right way to approach it what I mean to say is there's a difference between a chef who just becomes the best chef and stays in that Chef Lane and someone who Trailblazers and builds a different business like I I know that you've done uh let's say you're doing podcasts with schools or you're teaching people to cook in master classes there are so many different avenues that you've applied your skill to that doesn't just come down to you being a good Chef it comes down to no no business argument it's not business argument it's about where do you want your life to go and what do you want to pack into your into your I seen this video Once where this guy puts in stones into a glass like he can't get any more in then he puts sand in then he puts and I was like that is you know some people just want to cook that's fine and there is people who are like some days I just want to be that guy just cooking and I don't have to worry about everything else and then other days I'm standing in the middle of Mongolia minus 42 cutting up around there and going like where my life has taken me like I'm I'm not I wouldn't say a chef anymore I'm a food media which is not just MK which is like food Diaries which is we going around the world after this again which is the show that every Chef wants to do sitting in the village eating scorpions or something with someone or you know what I mean nonetheless you're still doing the same thing you're still sharing food the whole reason stories Colin when MK reached out to me the only reason I said yes cuz I still kind of do my own thing right I've always done my own thing when it comes to the f I said you know what mkr is just a bigger way that I can spread my love of food I don't care what the Avenue is I don't need to be in a restaurant I don't need to be on social media I'll just spread the thing which is what you do and we you did all right we liked you on it cuz you like as much as the grief we gave you but there's people like we do sometimes to be hon I can't stand and they'll know they well we can't say who they were but anyway uh but I've got to give everyone a fair go but like we like people who are in there to try you know what I mean and actually give it a crack yeah whereas people are there for the 15 minutes I'm like no no and you can always tell too everyone can tell we're not going to name names I don't want to get into that part of it but you can see the people who were serious from last season that are still into food and still doing this and you can see the people who are that's life some people just think it's a vehicle but it's as I will let everyone know it's not an easy vehicle it's it's a lot of hours it's on the road you're away from your family it's like oh you're on T it's not rock and roll man it's like we we flew in here at 12 I've just had something to eat with Manu with an hour this and then I'm I'm on I'm working all night and then I leave at 9:00 in the morning yeah it is it is I've used the words growling but growling doesn't always have to be a negative thing it's just a long stint of work but then don't you know don't cry about it I don't cry about it sign correct correct U okay I might book end that little section there but I kind of wanted to get into the idea and maybe something that you could give to the chefs out there who are comfortable in their skill what role is taking risks played in your success like you've definitely gone off of the normal track you have yeah uh well you got to be very careful there's risks and there's calculated risks and the way the economy is at the minute restaurants is uh it's it's not the best business to be in at the minute because no one's got any cash the house prices are like you're not going to be able to buy a house not at this stage you probably will actually you probably have a lot of cash um no comment yeah but the way it's G it's it's not a good time at the minute for families and food that's why sort of my no to tell Social Media stuff goes off because you're cooking cheaper CS of meat and whatever whatever because people want to see that correct what would I say to Young Chefs just because it's a huge industry of if if if if it's not your passion and you don't love it it can actually end up killing it it's one of the highest drugs suicide alcohol depression which is the any job can be depression but I mean it's one of those industries that it's grueling you work late at night and then after night that's the problem with chefing is that when you finish at night and service is a buzz if you if you're passionate about it they still want that buzz so they go out late at night then you start drinking then you deci the rest then it turns into a cycle of when you don't stop and then you're exhausted keeps going and then but if you don't love that job and you hate that job then they're drinking because they hate that job and it's one of those jobs that can chew you up and spit you out that leads me to my next question which is what sort of helped you get through the tougher days how did you not throw on the tow cuz you did the Reps and and you did the Reps past the 38 hours that's Gratitude’s Role in Maintaining Success required now oh yeah oh there was days I wanted to there was uh days where like you just got bollock where you were like [ __ ] man I'm not coming back tomorrow um but I couldn't afford to to leave like especially in England that that was Hardcore say I think I did it CU I was stubborn because I'd had relatives who said I would never do it and I just proved them wrong cuz I'm a very stubborn [ __ ] person so the motivation Came From Within it was never like a oh but I do no that was in the early days but now days I've got good friends like I've had a few friends who who who have have actually committed suicide and a few friends who've tried and and Friends whove spoke about it and we're not afraid to talk about it so I think we're pretty close Community now and what's been the general consensus of learning to help the future friends from stopping that from happening I think especially when you have kids like I like Irish parents your mother talked to you but your dads were like the Irish dads like they did whatever but they were hardcore I think once I had kids I said uh I'll be more like an Irish mother than an Irish father so you you'd be able to talk to your kids and so start the conversation is what you're saying yeah and that's a very hard thing if you've never been taught that to suddenly do it like you feel a bit like how of your budes I want to get into that later in the sense of your character development as Colin has probably doubled in speed and velocity uh and and size since having kids like it would have been a whole new oh yeah best thing I ever did yeah well my wife did yeah I was I was a part in there but not everything that little section of mkr last year when you cried everyone was like oh he's so sweet that bad boy cried you know you can laugh at it but I was actually talking to man cuz then jock had died M and we were sort of putting everything in perspective of if we died what would we said about you right so we had these chats and me and man like this not all joking we do have chats and we have a lot of time to chat and we were like what would your kids say about you if you died and I'm like M would be quite positive like they would say he's an idiot and cringe and would you know what M we ate every night our house was full you know what I mean and while and even though yes he's on the road at times he makes sure when he's home he's giving us as much 100% And then when the two girls said about the story of their dad and I was like you know you missed out so much like CU he died quite young well they were quite young and I was like they've missed out on so much I'm what a waste you know what I mean cuz I try pack in as much for my kids cuz even if they want to I don't want it that leads me too I need to stop saying that leads me too I'm always trying to like jump into the next car like leads me a journey say seg seg way I'm learning the whole hosting thing one day I'll get better at this this was a question for later in the podcast but your reason why Colin has that changed uh can you tell us what your reason why is cuz at the end of the day we talk about you being in the 1% obviously having made it is one thing but for humans like us you'll go to the day you die you you love what you do do so much you do this to your debt it doesn't really matter about money or financial gain or what I mean to say is I'm sure your kids are a part of that what really pushes you during the times where you're like you know what [ __ ] I've been gone for 40 [ __ ] years I've been gone for 40 years I'm good I'm I'm sorted why are you still why you still pushing because uh number one I think I've got a little bit of impostor syndrome because I was just started as a chef like just some BL cooking in the bike somewhere and then the other thing is what why do I do it um because I I like I I I'm very grateful and I know exactly where I am in life and a lot of people I know are like [ __ ] we'd love to be you and I'm like it's not all swings and roundabouts mate you know it's not all roses not all the Glitters Is there's a lot but I mean I'm very look I do a job I I I love like it's grinding but I like the next one I travel the world and then I'll do something else and then me and man are doing a show in New Zealand where we're going around the Caravan together just arguing like it's but we're doing different things and we get to choose different jobs all the time whereas i' I and I appreciate where I am whereas a lot of other people on TV shows H hosts think the [ __ ] don't stink are you and then they're they're gone are you saying that because of your gratitude you're willing to put the extra miles in even if you think you might not need to 100% keep going I I I earn it like when we rock up to a set all that Crews being there before me they're like they're there hours before me the host is a small Cog in the wheel but we get all the Gratitude and all the you know the praise dude the crew on mkr are like soldiers but that's most TV shows it's it's not about and if you turn up with attitude and even to the runners would like to the lowest whoever is getting you coffee and you're rude to them M that's that's the height that's how you're brought up man if you're rude to the crew and stuff like that it's exactly like in a kitchen correct you it's I have no time for that and that's how people are not presenters on shows anymore because people being divas and drama queens they they don't have time for it that's why I'm glad I went on with my mom cuz she kept me in check during the time needo so there were times where I mean we we made some good friends a lot with the staff the people working and a lot of that came to our advantage in the long run but it just really came down to not being a dick like if you're a dick they have no time for you because they what people forget is these people are doing a job and the uh contestants start to think the [ __ ] don't stink and start speaking to the crew and clicking fingers I've seen that happen an me my biggest stress though Colin looking back like the only times you would have caught me being not rude to people but like struggling to keep my call was just I think to myself okay be nice these people are being paid they're doing a job but at least they know where they're going tomorrow I don't know where I'm going cuz but then it's like it's like what you said earlier Marcus you signed up for this you signed up for being that was so I got to say you make the deal with the devil mate that's Colin I've never I don't remember half of mkr was so stressed and we did well and we were a positive team and we were liked by the country I don't remember it like I was so stressed we're we're on mkr is it tonight or tomorrow in New Zealand and we did two series there last year so that's different at Oz and then we came back to O and they were talking about contestants to me and I was like oh [ __ ] I don't remember man I like we've that much stuff going on in that many cities and countries I'm like you have to refresh me who who that was yeah it's just and the the yeah hectic which leads me to my mkr line of questioning this is an interesting one and a little bit less valuable to the audience and more for me to stroke my own ego last season what was your first impression of me Colin if you can remember I liked you but I said I can be a cat with a mouse here what does that mean it's like I can play with you oh yeah and we did what the cameras didn't see is so whenever we used to give him a little slap every now and then so the the TV would never have shown you so obviously there's the cool moment in the mkr episodes where Colin and man walk in there's the rock star music they're awesome and then it cuts to a shot of them sitting down what the show never showed you is on their way to their seat bpop smack Marcus in the head and then I'd go to duck and then Colin would bpop smack me in the head all and then we had Sonia Marcus's mom chatting us up and then we were just lean into that and he hated that and I would say I would always say to Mom big shout out to Mom y mom if you're watching this yeah I would always say to Mom Mom remember we're here for a competition they are humans just like us and if you want to do anything like them you need to take this seriously they're just humans we got to play the game win this competition do what she wanted a bit of calling a man new dessert tell you that now point of the matter is that anytime see how is your question backfiring Colin and Manu could have farted and Mom would have been happy about it and I was just trying to stay focused on the comp but yeah anyway uh next question about me Colin and then we're going to move on from what you remember Mom and I came third rer and PR one uh Nick and Christian came second what could I have done to improve uh how Mom and I went in that show I know our our trajectory was we did much better when we worked as a team but the food what were we missing Colin PR West was it I think maybe it was a bit of I don't know I don't know really what you you were doing look good I think a couple of meltdowns in the um like I think yeah you didn't always have a plan B you had a plan a and when plan a went to [ __ ] you went to [ __ ] remember like you're squiding past you going to have a little cry and then I helped you and then uh which probably wasn't on camera but uh uh you just got to calm people down I it's a long day and it's you know it's like you have a bad service but the bad service there is you get kicked off correct and I wouldn't say you needed to diversify your food because ran PR did what they did and they won uh I don't know no you make a good point because the Redemption round proves what you're saying when we knew to not stress the heck out we did all right in the second round it's the look at the draw man it's it's it's good you can be good on one something you make all the time and then the next day it because the stress it goes wrong and then you don't have a plan Plan B usually works out better than plan from a based on what we can and can't say Colin from a production perspective one thing I remember is on that night of the past of disaster where I'm freaking out about my pastor I remember the next day I checked your Instagram and I looked at your Instagram story also if you guys don't follow Colin on Instagram and Tik Tok he's told me that I need to give him a shout out so this is it shout out C I need to get a million to be c c f c fich c f a s s n i d g e on in I look at your Instagram story column remember it's the next day I'm exhausted I'm stressed I'm almost traumatized by how stressed I was I look at your story and you're sitting in my bedroom reviewing kettle chips that's what you're doing while I'm stressing my balls off you got it wrong they're wearing kettle chips they were Red Rock da and it was my brand and me and Manu were uh trying out my new brand of chips in your and we went through your drawers as well in your bedroom great what did you find we found the sock under your bed so the point I'm getting out there is obviously like you said it's um your drama it's not my drama I'm like the school teacher you're all in the in the schoolyard right that's what it is every year I turn up I'm a school teacher Johnny might be poking you in the eye The Reality of Reality TV that's not my problem mate you you just turn up for English and that's all I care about correct fair fair fair okay how did you feel about the last season of mkr overall uh and I've written here why do you think last season broke so many records that was a record-breaking season I don't think last season was one of the best because um I I was doing Kitchen Nightmares before that and they said um can you come back and do mko and I said I don't really I'm not really sure I want to do it I'd rather just do nightmares because there had been a few years before where it was all about there was a lot it it was turning into maths and they knew it was turning into maths and then there was some horrible stuff went on and my wife wouldn't let my kids watch it so when I signed up to do it I said if me and man knew were going to do it like we were 49 then so we're coming up to 50 we got to have fun we got to make it fun and I got to make it show that my kids can watch so I think last year we turned that corner and we brought back to what it what it was years ago when it first started and it was all about families and stories and [ __ ] even I cried [ __ ] hell uh but it was just great food and like there there's always going to be a bit of that bit of this but we turned it around like there was nights we'd be like M we're not in the mood for this you know it's about the food and I think it it turned back into what it was and after Co people that want nasty as much as people watch that [ __ ] showell married the first sight like that is just a Cess pool of but we my what we did was we turned it back to nice mostly nice and and fun and people watching TV going I like I cooked that I like that there there was a level of authenticity especially from the teams that were being themselves there between you and me Colin and this isn't to poke the bear or anything like that some of the contestants would argue that you know they might not have liked their betrayal and I've had these conversation with them and I've come up with a response that I feel I believe in right obviously like you saw mom and I did great in that show right the the audience liked us we were the sweet mother and son and I remember the first time I was watching I was looking at me being obviously like whatever was edited or put out there was what I gave them right so there's nothing unreal about it but I remember watching that first half of the season I was like oh [ __ ] I'm the bumbling little kid idiot that calling a Manu just want to smack and da d d and I thought to myself holy crap I understand how this story works if if I'm so obviously the long story was Mom and I were redeemed we finally worked as a team and we did well right what I came to terms with was however the show needs to edit each character even if you you'd have times where you've been edited in a way that you weren't expeced in the early days yeah but then I but my point is right yeah whatever the show needs to do to tell a better story to get people emotionally engaged I'm okay with if it spreads the message of food because I sit there some nights and someone will say something and I'm like that's the ad mate you said it you fell into the track you said something stupid and the problem is which is I'm going to tell you is all now it's there is editing of course there's edit they have to edit a show they got to compress it everyone starts drinking piss and wine and then they drop their guard and then you look at us and we're not drinking piss and wine at the table we might have a whiskey out the back somewhere or later but we are 100% in the game we that's our job we're paid to turn up correct you guys you guys are like we it's Christmas dinner and everyone starts getting pissed say stuff but that's and I say to them mate yeah you have a drink but it's a long process and the next day is long and then the next day is long and then they just get a bit over it and then they're getting tired they're getting pissed every night then they start getting caddy and then they forget where they are because they come become so familiar every time you look around someone's grabbing a bottle of wine and you're like well you're just an idiot mate I'm glad my mom was there yeah it's like having Christmas dinner every day like not everyone gets along at Christmas dinner correct can't add it in if you didn't say it my point of the matter is I'm willing to the Redemption was worth more because of me and Mom's arguing that's good to do with your mom correct dealing with public opinion especially in an age of unaccountable feedback which you've talked about I will say I've done social media my whole life I've had a lot of followers for a very long time and I was pretty Bulletproof on the most part for being introduced to the TV side of things oh yeah I will say Colin and I was new to this you're not I've been I've been attacked on YouTube I've been attacked on Instagram I've been attacked on uh um Tik Tok Facebook from TV I don't know if this is something that you can relate to the comments from TV people are far more like Suess oh it was how do you deal with that how did you get through in the well you see the problem is with TV is there should be sort of a handbook they give you even as a host or a contestant that says and it was the it was only early days when I was starting but it was like you don't really like if you're [ __ ] halfway depressed if if you like imagine 2 million people watch the show which they used to and a million are sending you hate if you're [ __ ] anyway the Press you'll yourself and that's what a lot of people have done you know um I've had [ __ ] I your wife I'll burned in your house your kids over a [ __ ] chocolate fondant and yeah I've gone to the police and they said oh nothing we can do mate there's no laws and I said I well if I find the person who said it I will go to jail someone is my kid man like none of parents in Australia would in the world and the cops are like oh did you just threaten physical violence I said man if someone is going to your kid and I'm like this is because I'm on a cooking show but no one let me into that world and I think I sort of tell the contestant I might have told you all last year be careful what you read online because there's people out there with just a number and you can't find them I recently found someone who said some some [ __ ] about me and I found the I actually put it in LinkedIn and I found his name because he didn't have was private and he worked for a media company and I sent the media company what he said and accountability he was straight on to me his phone he rang me like he sent his number and was you apologize yeah oh I'm sorry I'm like you're not sorry mate it's just cuz I called you out but I was like my wife was like wow you're like a dog with a bom I was going to say I'm surprised that Colin fnic of all people who is a very busy person as we've seen today has the time to [ __ ] around around like that yeah but and I showed my daughter everything I did and how I found him and I went to his boss who was in Inspire it was about inspiring in media and all this and I'm like does this inspire you that's all I said and sent his comments and I sh my daughter and I said every bully can be taken down yeah correct like like and you keep yeah but it's more about my daughters sitting in their bedrooms cuz in it's happened before where Bullying happens and you don't know about it cuz it's behind a closed door I'm like you come tell me and you can take down every bully you don't have to sit alone like a lot of children who try and figure it out themselves and solution end like killing themselves because some [ __ ] grubs at the other end who does has no I had to really help my mom and she she was on the mostly receiving end of good stuff but for the little bit of part she strugg 10 10 good bits and one bad one you you think about the bad one and you go to bed at night and you're like oh am I that person but it passes so quickly too you'll find in between Seasons the comments go right back down and it's only the the see f bors that love you that are well no no cuz once mkr finishes then I do food diar yeah I'm relevant 100% of the time I Do Better Homes and G and then I do New Zealand so it's sort of consistent I watched you the other night you cooked up a you cooked up a fish it's the first time I've watched TV since MK fish stuck to the barbecue yeah I saw that and it's real life nice to tell I want to talk to you about that maybe we'll move on from mkr and then we'll finish this with life stuff nose detail I want to touch on just because I think it's a really important cooking skill for one especially in the world we live in today with Australia do you want to talk to us about why you became such an advocate what it means to you and what message you're trying to send with it all right I would I wouldn't say we were poor we weren't poor but we we lived in an area that was was definitely not a well-to-do area it's actually looked down upon in duin now in tala uh look down upon us in like socioeconomic yeah yeah uh and it's it's sort of where a lot of most people in Oreland I know who do well come from these areas to like like M from cromin Barry K from in in it's Dublin went to my school uh because you're told you you you're you're never going to be anything and you're in an area that people look down upon I don't worry I moved to another area when I was seven called Castle KN which is actually a high beautiful area and that's another connotation oh you're living there so I went from there to there cuz my own man worked his ass off and just [ __ ] worked and paid bills and and bought us a house H and the foodwise was so we didn't have a lot of money so we ate a lot of secondary Cults like liver and and braz and stews and so that's where my love of it came so cuz you you'd learn to like let's say I've eaten a lot of aesque stuff cuz my n was an immigrant she but I grew up with it so but you enjoyed it yeah it's like you see uh you know kids in Japan just eating raw fish and that's what you're brought up with so there was nothing wrong with me it's it's later on it became sort of a dirty word and people were just yeah eating fillet steaks and and they wouldn't eat anything else and then I was a big fan of Fergus Henderson from St John he's a hero man and his his book is proper now as the tail and that's sort of my P I said how can I Stand Out do what I love but be different to every other [ __ ] who's just cooking fet steak like I don't want to cook a fillet steak I have no interest in eating a fillet steak cuz it's just mush if guys are new to cooking and don't know exactly what we're talking about based on my limit I'm not a chef but based on my cooking understanding nose to tail is essentially making the most of whatever your ingredients are it could be an animal so using their bones using their not the thing like obviously when you eat a chicken you think thighs breast wings uh and drumsticks Colin's way of cooking is how can we make the most and honor this chicken to the point where every single bit of it is used uh not just forain sustainability but also for adventure and further flavor am I on the money there yeah how can you show your cooking prowess with cuts that other people wouldn't use and also if you've ever killed an animal which I've gone to farms and and actually held a pig down and killed it you it's a big you just taken a life you want to make the most of that [ __ ] thing it's a different and it's a great for chefs to go to abbatar abbatar abbatar abbatar like where they kill animals oh right what do you call it I don't know slaugh house yeah abbatar abto I've been to farms and spent the night with c in a farm it was a good project actually and then the next day the cows go on the truck they train them to get on the trucks like for weeks so don't stress him out they bring him they [ __ ] spray water on them they go through a door see a l bolt in the head so part of your no to tow is out of respect for the animal then because if you're going to kill it you may as well yes but and when you see the animal get shot in the head and then the Colin’s Cooking & Life Tips guy cut it in half that's a horrible job as well guy cut it in half and all the bits you're like wow so why would you shoot that animal in the head and then throw it in the bin like that's you know what I mean otherwise just eat vegetables and not just that let's talk about the economic side which is why I'm glad that you're spreading the message because it's only getting worse when it comes to cost of goods and that's why nobody wants to cook and if you're goal is to get people cooking it's how can I do it affordably I don't need to do Instagram cooking videos do you know what I mean it actually I'm not like you you know what I mean that's your job bro I've got six jobs that pay that pay Instagram is me but you're doing it why I do it because I know how hard it like I get people stop me in the street and go you cook this dish that cost $2 and I fed my family and I'm like that's why T good too yeah but I'm like that's why I'm here right now as a 50 with two two kids I'm like that's why I'm here it's not about I don't care about the gamma TV like I'm a b 10:00 every night and I did a dish with lamb necks roasted on the bone my butcher saw there I'm next the next day he's like hold can you give me a bit of a heads up and he goes because the thing cost them $6 and they fed the family and it's just about spreading knowledge and that's what I about said it's about that one Chef who taught you that one bit of knowledge so that's my sort of thing now is to pass on I don't need to sit at my kitchen table and talk about whatever but if I'm making dinner I'm like why not share it for people who are starting out and cooking and want to save money where do you direct them where do you want them to look what should they be focusing on buy buy cookery books like you don't have to buy El Boule and I forget about that [ __ ] bule like making food with chemicals you know you know molecular um buy like a St John's crookery book or a Nigella book or a Jamie like they've all got Nuggets of whatever uh and make a recipe and then make your own recipe out of it buy cooker books that's and and write down your own recipes and when you cook a recipe write it down and you've got your own book in your kitchen which starts by just giving it a crack a lot of people they wor not everything like not the the the only reason restaurants work is because everything we did failed and you change the dish till it works correct all right that leads us to the final Gauntlet of this so you can get free and get to judging people in mkr we going have a shower and a half an hour sleep section section six life I'm married with two kids he happens at Christmas yeah nice life lessons and wisdom okay let's give some final tips to the people before we let them go what's the greatest piece of advice you've received over your lifetime Colin to fail break it down for me I know you kind of touched on it cuz you learned from it but someone actually said hey Colin you need to go fail or you learned by failing I I was talking to someone and I I said like I lost I think I lost the chef's hat I had one hat I lost but I got Tu H I lost one and I spoke to a very good friend of mine who's not actually here anymore he actually committed suicide and I still lost he's like who gives a [ __ ] man son comes up in the morning sun still sets like Awards will come and go you'll be back and I did come back even stronger and he left the world so that's sort of a good W so keep on keep on keep on keeping on regardless of what the verdicts of the keeping on just keep being realistic to life like [ __ ] ain't always going to go your way and you can't blame everyone and like this time next year you're in a hole could be you know you're on top of the world the next year true is there anything you wish you had done more of when you were younger or you would have spent a lot of it working I'm 2 I I spent most of my youth when I got like late teens in kitchens just in kitchens I didn't see anything and I I wouldn't change it actually CU I loved it I [ __ ] Lov working in kitchens like you're part of this it's like being part of a a football team or something and if you're on a great football team it's great get the Tas down and keep going well it's a lifestyle and then you you just live with these people you go out with these people you do everything together and that's that's Hospitality I feel like I'm right in the middle of this right now like I work s days a week it sounds like I'm saying that to be sexy like I'm some Workhorse but genuinely like the amount I work is ridiculous and my friends say it to me all the time like I'm never around I try and manage still need to keep your friends though yeah I mean what's the point of doing it all if you don't have anyone to share it with you got to balance but then you no one gives you nothing for nothing you like you got to work hard as well I meet people and they oh you [ __ ] made this and you did this and you're and that's all you have to do I'm like do you know I work my ass off for years I didn't see sunlight but what okay you you've said the words you loved it and I I love what I do right not all the time though correct what got you through the times you didn't other than your ego and proving to people like what you said earlier I think it was just that's the job mate that's it's like I'm not saying it's the same as being a soldier or whatever I'm not cuz don't send it in the hate comments cuz you get that but that people like that that's your job and you've got to turn up and there's other people relying on you it's a big thing about other people relying on you you're part of you're a chain part of linking a chain and if you go missing it upsets the whole chain speaking of things that rign you what do you wish for your kids what about what about your childhood do you wish for them to experience and what about your childhood do you wish for them to avoid I think my kids have already experienced like grap food laughs around the table like we have good times and that's all I ever want for my kids uh after school whatever they want to do I like my wife obviously is the sort of I would say the bad cup I'm the good cup she's harder on homework and like but I'm like I hated school and I would hate for my kids to have what I had in school I hated it I still have nightmares about school so you don't care what trajectory like my parents have always said when I I got a really high atar so I did quite well in school I Dr out of un need to start my business my parents only response was as long as you give it a hard crack we don't care what you do when I wanted to be a chef it was a shittest job ever and they said well if you're going to you go work for some of the best chefs then yeah you make sure you just do it properly give it 110% whatever my kids do I I once that she wants to be a vet we'll see how that goes the other one wants to go into into make making clothes or whatever I'm like you do whatever you want to do man just give a and if you fail at it do something else and we'll we'll still be here for you yeah nice finally what's your biggest life skill or life trait that you would recommend that all audiences don't just talk to the chefs here anyone who wants to achieve big things in their life you can say yeah go fail what's the thing that they should really focus on don't do what you're told like I the only reason I did well is cuz I questioned everything and I I just because someone says that's the way it has to be done I go nah I'm going to do it the other way not all the time but sometimes there's a little voice in your head guys now you can do it another way don't you don't have to go down that Motorway sometimes you can go around the back road and I've always done that like people have said the road of success is this and I would go cuz something in my head straight away tells me and usually when that kicks in I know that's the right one so listen to The Voice in your head and even if it leads you down the wrong path oh sometimes you end up in a dodgy house at 5: in the morning and it's like the sun's coming up and you're dead man you're in a world P but if if you are LED down the wrong path that doesn't mean stop doing it just learn from it and like you said if you fail then you don't want to do that again and you move on yes you've got but just take the side RADS man you don't have to get down the boring Highway that's what I would say Colin I'm happy with everything is there anything you want to say to the audience is there anything they should look forward to my kitchen I would say look look at like you know what I mean a year on Judge and ex-contestants and he Rings me and I go I've got an hour and I I give him my time but I don't have and that's and I you know it's not TV is not what you think TV is not what you think what should people look forward to in this Social Media & MKR season let's promote mkr right now let's make him some money we've just done they're making no money make me some money oh they do too yep uh it's better on this side than that side that's what I would say hey oh yep I see this side uh I would say we've had one restaurant already and [ __ ] man it's firing like not in a bad way but just I was like wow I would sit and watch this guys we might be on for a better season of MC than last year and we we broke records last year I think this is a better season already from from cuz I was like wow well we've got some My Kitchen Rules 2024 make sure to tune in see fast nich on Tik Tok he uh he sweet baby Jesus is his way to really Jesus C Fage Tik Tok and Instagram get on there now give me some give me some all right that's the podast good work man that was that was kick ass