We’ve been thinking about whether this was something worth doing. Talking about our experience of being on a TV cooking show. And if so, how to do it.
In the end we decided to do it in way that reflected us. To just quietly put it up on our website for anyone who wished to read it. So that’s what we’ve done.
There really is too much to cover in just one blog. So, we’re going to answer the most common questions we get, as best we can.
The first response we usually get isn’t a question, but a comment. And it goes something like this; “I don’t usually watch those sort of shows” or “I didn’t actually watch it”. Maybe it’s a kiwi thing, maybe people want to tall poppy us or downplay our achievement. Or maybe it’s true and they really don’t watch that sort of thing. Truth be told, we usually don’t watch these sorts of shows either! So there is certainly no offense taken on our part. Having said that….it’s still on TVNZ On Demand if you change your mind!
Ok the FAQ’s. In no particular order….
HOW REAL IS IT?
Very real. We went into the show wondering the same thing. But when they announced a challenge, someone was eliminated, or there was a mid-challenge twist, we really did find out about it at the time. As an example of how real it was, every morning we all had to pack our bags and be ready to go home just in case it was us who was eliminated. Those who were eliminated jumped into a van, were whisked away for an exit interview, and were gone. For the most part we never saw them again until well after the show finished. Everything was very final and very real.
DID EVERYONE REALLY GET ALONG WELL, OR WAS THERE DRAMA?
Everyone really did get along well. Everyone on the show was awesome. It actually made it very hard because on one hand we were there to compete, but also the other contestants were such amazing people and great barbecuers. I know this might appear a PC, non-committal answer., but it’s the truth. We did, and still do, all get along well.
DID YOU KNOW SAM AND JEREMY WERE COMING BACK?
No!! What a twist!! That scared us because we watched them on season one and they were very good. It was sad to see them go, but a relief. We respect those guys a lot.
DID YOU THINK YOU WOULD WIN WHEN YOU WENT ON THE SHOW?
No not at all. Our only goal was to make it passed the first elimination. Everything else from then on was a bonus.
WHAT COMPETITORS DID YOU FIND THE TOUGHEST?
That’s a hard one, everyone was so good. But if you make us pick, we have to go with Ash and Zak. Those two are amazing. The competition was real but so was the respect and friendship. Here’s a little inside scoop….we played scrabble with Zak and Ash in the evenings. Zak is very good, and Ash has colourful word choices. Not sure if they are all in the Websters English lol.
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO FILM?
The whole show was filmed in June 2023 and took about 12 days from when we dropped off our gear, until the day we packed it up and went home. Each episode was filmed over one or two days as well as a day of promotional photos and interviews. The days were long, around 7am – 8pm on average. It was very mentally exhausting, and it was a relief when it was all done and dusted!!
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE AND LEAST FAVOURITE CHALLENGES?
The Texas Barbecue and Live Fire Challenges we’re highlights. Even though we lost the Texas Barbecue Challenge, it was such a fun cook, and we had a blast cooking with Rich and Shani. Our least favourite was the seafood, because it’s not something we do a lot of and we lost the best part of our creamed Paua before time was up.
DO PEOPLE RECOGNISE YOU IN THE STREET?
Haha yeah sometimes. It’s a funny thing, we see people whisper and point but very rarely come up and say hi. A kiwi trait maybe. We’d of course love it if people came up and said hi! We don’t bite….we promise!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THE PRIZE MONEY?
We always said if we won, we’d take the family on a holiday to the States. We’ve booked flights and are heading into Texas in December for three weeks. And yes, we will be consuming high levels of barbecue!!
HOW HAS THE SHOW IMPACTED YOUR LIVES?
That needs to be split into two areas. How it’s affected us personally, and how it affected us professionally. Both deserve a blog of their own, but to put into a very short, simple answer….
Personally, it has affected us in profound ways, but not in the ways in which we thought it would.
We are four months on from the finale airing as we write this, and we are only now really learning to accept what the experience has meant to us, and for us.
Winning was not as enjoyable as we had thought or hoped it would be. Well not initially anyway, but that’s a story for another day.
Don’t get us wrong. We are extremely proud of having won and regret nothing. We had an awesome and fun time and would do it again in a heartbeat. What we’re saying is that winning bought with it many feelings we did not expect.
Professionally it’s not made us millionaires or made us famous, but that was never what it was about.
It has however, put us in a position where we can turn our passion into a full-time job, and for us that is success. Doing what we love, and know we are good, at for a living.
We are now starting to see what winning a TV show can do for us, and we will be forever grateful to Cooks on Fire for the opportunities it has given us.
