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Oh, good. You're here. Come on. This is the center of performance. Whenever there's a top performance in New
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Zealand, it all comes from here. That's Lisa Carrington. She's been doing that
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for days. That's the boys who got the hole in one in to Finn. How's the performance going?
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>> Top tier. >> Nice. This is our generate room. In here, you'll find our top performers
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first. >> Simon go, welcome to my podcast and thank you for the book. Tom, it's pretty
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awesome to be here. Is it you um you came in before and you said something like um I know what your your game plan
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is or something. >> Yeah. Well, I know you make everybody cry. I've been listening to your
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podcast, mate. Come on. >> Are you um I don't make everyone cry. Are you are you an emotional guy in this
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stage? >> Well, I'm not telling you that until the end. You'll find out.
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Um, it's great to have you here today. Have we met before? I don't know if
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we've met before. >> I don't know, but you know, I've obviously seen seen you um and listened
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to your podcast. When you get invited on, you think you better do a bit of research on the guy who's going to dive
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into you, so yeah, I think I know a little bit about you. >> Yeah. Well, this is going to be this is
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going to be a lot of fun. How how does the um the phrase celebrity chef sit with you?
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>> No, I don't really like it. I mean, it gets used, but it's Yeah. There's no way around it. But no,
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I'm not a big fan of it. You know, what does it mean? You know, just you lucked
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out and got on TV and some people don't never want to be on TV, right? But, you
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know, I got asked and ended up doing it and here I am. You know, >> it it's funny, isn't it? Because I
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suppose when people hear the name Simon G, their reaction will be, oh, the Master Chef guy, or oh, the the Brisco
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guy. Um, but it's like that's both those things are very very small strands of
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your entire career. >> Yeah, for sure. I mean, you know, Master Chef, I was a judge on there for 5
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years, but out of that came other TV programs. I did Chef on a Mission and Descent from Disaster, a documentary,
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and it opened up some amazing doors and then into documentaries on health. um where I was as as it turned I thought I
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was going to be the host but it turned out I was the guinea pig but you know so then you know you end up on TV and then
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you sort of you go somewhere like you know it's been on BBC Asia or Amazon and
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people go oh you're that guy that you know you're the celebrity chef >> so what does day-to-day life look like
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for you these days you're not you're not in the day-to-day running of restaurants
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are you >> not out of that normal hours Yeah, within reason. I mean, I still do
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cooking classes. I've got a deli in St. John's and then a smaller one out in
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Tanini in Oakuckland. So, it's kind of like walking into a really cool kitchen
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that's a shop. So, through my restaurants years ago, I lived in Italy, came back to New Zealand, couldn't find
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these things that I wanted and started bringing them in. You soon realize you can't just bring one wheel of cheese or,
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you know, you got to bring a bunch. So by default I ended up in that business. So now I'm doing cooking classes in
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there for those that want to do it. Corporates, you know, you get the the CEO handstretching a pizza with his
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forklift driver and or just people public who want to come and learn how to cook Sri Lankan or master how to cook a
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steak, you know, and that that's my game. So, it's kind of my restaurant fix
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cuz, you know, I miss the restaurants, you know, you know, lived and breathed them all my life since I left school.
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And I do miss that. It's good fun. But the the deli is that sort of, you know,
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it's like only do 10 people. So, it's like 10 people coming for dinner. >> They can bring their own wine.
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>> I cook. They come around and get in if they feel like getting their hands
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dirty. And it it's really good. And then I'm trying to do all of these things as
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quickly as possible like you are in a restaurant. You're sort of conducting an
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orchestra with all these meals going out. So it's full on and it's great fun.
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And it's that's my restaurant fix. >> You love the theater of it, don't you?
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>> I do. >> You like the drama of it. >> I I It's like I remember when I first
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thought I want to work in a restaurant. I want to own a restaurant. is when I was in a restaurant as a young kid and I
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saw the head chef and it was kind of like he was conducting this orchestra that culminated in these amazing plates
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of food and I'm like that's a bit of me. You know, you got a team around you that
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all work together in harmony and you got to be that guy conducting that orchestra. And I I do like that. I I
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love it and I love, you know, the service. You know, they say the service time in a restaurant is where it all
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happens. You know, your early bookings are late, your late bookings are early, everybody wants to eat at once, and it's
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all go and and it's just great fun. >> Yeah. >> What What do you miss most and least
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about the dayto-day of running a restaurant? >> Well, what do I the probably the hours?
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I mean, I'm a dad. I'm a single dad, so I've got a 12year-old daughter and you
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know that restaurants and being a dad is pretty hard work. I mean, I I literally
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used to back in the day, uh, you know, I'd get my daughter off to preschool,
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race into work, do lunch service, come home, pick her up, get dinner organized, tuck her into bed, pay a nanny, go back
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to work, and one night I was driving home and the road, I live out South Oakland on a lifestyle property. I'm
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driving home and yet again, road works, motorway detour, an extra 20 minutes. And next morning I drove into work and I
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said to my business partner, "Merry Christmas. Here's half a restaurant."
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And it's the best thing I ever did. Best thing I ever did cuz I want to be remembered as a dad.
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>> Not and you know I'm an older dad. You know I didn't have my daughter until I
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was a bit older than most. >> 4950. >> Yep. >> Did you think that ship had sailed for
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you? >> Yes, I did. Yeah, I did. And then when she popped out, it was like somebody
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just reached out, flicked the switch and everything was different for me, you know, like now looking after her was the
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service that I loved in a restaurant. There was something better, you know, >> this beautiful little girl who became,
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you know, my world. And, you know, do I want to be remembered as that guy that was always at work at night? I want to
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be I want her to remember me as a dad, not that chef guy. >> I think one of the perks about being um
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a dad um during middle age is you have a greater appreciation of time and how limited it is and how it's not not
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renewable. So you realize that these moments that you lose with Hazel, that's
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her name, mate. You're not going to get them back. >> No, it crystallizes just how important
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that time is. coming back and you know even she's just turned 12 and you can
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see the changes and I go oh I used to get big hugs and all of those things you know and they're sort of it's not so
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cool now dropping off at school you don't give dad a kiss goodbye you know it's like somebody might see I got some
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photos of her here I'm guessing this is the cuddle the cuddle phase it is yeah
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you do have some photos well done yeah so it's yeah it must be quite sad as a
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dad when it gets to that stage where you know you're no longer They're like a
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hero. They're everything. >> Yeah. Although this weekend that's just
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gone by, she said to me, "Dad, I'd like to learn how to fly a glider." Cuz I fly
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gliders and airplanes. >> Well, that was like music to my ears because I don't want to be that dad
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who's going, "Come on, let's go and I'll take you gliding. I'll take you flying
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in an airplane, tip you upside down." >> And when she turns around and says to
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me, "I'd like to have a go at that." I mean, that that put a smile on my face.
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I mean, 12 years old and she's going, "Can I learn how to fly a glider?" And
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I'm like, "Hell yeah." You know, what what an achievement that would be slowly
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to catch that monkey and when she's old enough to be able to fly solo on her
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own. >> So, the fact that she's interested in something that I love >> might be we'll see how we go, right?
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>> Yeah. You see, your your love of flying, that's something you got from your dad.
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>> Yeah. >> Um and I know you had a a particularly close relationship with him. Um I've
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seen some Facebook posts and Yeah. Yeah, >> you just wrote some wonderful posts when
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he passed last year. How how are you the same and how are you different as a parent to your dad?
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>> Well, my dad's dad died when he was 7 years old. So, I believe I had an
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awesome dad. I mean, you know, he spent a lot of time with me growing up. He was
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an airline pilot, originally an Air Force pilot, but it later became an aim pilot. So, and did the long distance to,
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you know, the states and all over the place. So, he was away a lot of the time, but when he came back, he sure as
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hell made up for it. If I'd been a dad when I was younger, I think I would have
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been pretty hopeless at it. But given it happened to me at a bit older, you know,
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I'm going all out to do a good job. >> Why were you being hopeless at it? Just
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too selfish? >> Yeah, too busy. I lived in the restaurants, so my my world was
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restaurants, you know. I just love them. So, I was there all day, every day. And
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you know I loved it and yeah I don't think I would have been very good at it.
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Yes. So um if we go back to the beginning so young Simon Gold it was like a a career path roads. Um it was
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either going to be cooking or flying. Why why did cooking went out? I remember talking to my dad about it. He said you
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know if you go down the flying route you're always going to be subject to needing a medical. But if you do what
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you love most as a hobby and maybe second most as a career, you can do both. So I I really did love
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cooking more. I love the idea of being a pilot, but sitting on a flight deck for 12 hours
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doing nothing didn't really appeal to me. It was just a takeoff and landing bit, and I like going upside down. So, I
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thought I'm going to, you know, I'm going to fly as a hobby and get into
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cooking as a career. I'd probably be somewhat better off if I'd gone the
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flying track, but >> Oh, really? Financially speaking, >> really? >> I think probably. Yeah. You know, chefs
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don't get paid a lot of money. That's why you've got really got to own your
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own place and then really dig deep into it and work out how you can make money out of it. You know, it's not an easy
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industry to make money. That's for sure. Huh. Well, that's an astonishing thing
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to hear because in terms of New Zealand, like you you don't get much bigger than
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Simon Gol in terms of name recognition, I don't think in that industry. >> I mean, I've done okay, but it was the
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fact that we needed to have a bunch of restaurants to get economy of scale, >> which is, you know, the restaurants I
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love most were, you know, my first restaurant and probably my second restaurant that where that only had one
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restaurant, but in the end we had nine that I was looking after. So, you know, you you touch a lot of people, but you
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don't really you're sort of putting out fires all the time. You know, we were in
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Queenstown, Wellington, Tao, and Oakland. So, I was traveling a lot and you're just going in to sort of put the
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fires out and rescue things and not cooking as much. So, I loved it and it, you know, it did served me well. But um
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you know I was very lucky and I had my first restaurant when I was 22. But now to buy a restaurant for these young
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people. It's a hell of a lot harder. >> You know it's you know borrowing money
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is harder. >> You know the cost to fit out a restaurant's just massive now.
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>> Yeah. Yeah. I I was quite shocked when I found that out. So you started at 16 um
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with um Tony Estel at his um legendary Panel restaurant Antoine. I actually had um Tony on the podcast about a year ago,
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towards the end of last year. >> He's the godfather. >> Yeah. How um how was that? Did he throw
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anything at you? Did he did he make you bleed or cry? He talked himself up as a as as a bad man in the kitchen.
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>> Yeah, he's pretty tough. I think it would be fair to say he makes Gordon
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Ramsay look like a I remember the well I went for an interview there >> and all he wanted really to know is who
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my parents voted for. And so once I got that out of the way and I clearly had the right answer, I was
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offered an apprenticeship with Tony and I'll never forget the first day I turned
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up. He said, "Well, that you know, you really got to be good at washing dishes.
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So, I'm sending you down the road to Louis Bar, which was in down the bottom
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of Parnau Road above the Exchange Tavern. And when I hear after 6 weeks that you're the best kitchen hand in the
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world, you can come back." So, that was a bit of a let down cuz I thought I was
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going to be cooking and conducting the orchestra on day one, but no. Off to wash dishes. And in actual fact, it was
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the best thing that ever happened to me cuz they are the most important person in a kitchen. And if you can't do a good
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job of that and be prepared to jump in and help, then it's pretty hard to have
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that orchestra firing on all cylinders. So I did that and then finally it came time that I was allowed into the
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kitchen. One of the chefs said to me, "Now when Tony comes in, you say good
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morning chef." I'm like, "Yep, I can manage that." So eventually Tony turned
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up and I'm been set this task and it was actually cutting some fish up for something and he walks in and I say,
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"Good morning, chef." All excited. It's my first day. And he comes up and he
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gets about that far away from me and that's about an inch and says, "What?
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What's so good about it?" Well, that absolute You imagine I'm 16 years
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old. I'm just out of school. That just terrified me. I'd been totally set up.
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He didn't like being called chef at all. He he was Tony or Louie. And um he was a
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hard taskmaster, but he was a perfectionist. And you know, it was really a privilege to
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work for him. There were times that there were tears. I remember one day I cut a piece of I fillet for a steak tar
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dish and I was in the back kitchen where we did the duck and the soulets and the
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vegetables and passed things through to the front kitchen where Tony was and I cut this piece of eye full put it on
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this little silver tray and I passed it through to the front kitchen thinking job done well done Simon. Next thing you
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know I out the corner of my eye I realized that this thing was airborne and it was heading my direction. Well, I
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took about three steps back and caught it underarm. Good cricketing skills. And next thing I know, he's coming around
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from the front kitchen round to the back kitchen, grabs it off me, and throws it
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at me again. I definitely didn't catch it on the second attempt. The moral of
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the story is don't cut the steak the wrong size. Yeah, he was just a perfectionist in every angle. But, you
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know, he was like dad and his wife Beth, uh, ex hairdresser, she was mom. >> She she used to cut all our hair.
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>> Um, she'd pick the bits up at the end of the night after we'd been yelled at,
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screamed at, or told off and bring us all back together. you know, Christmas Day, we were always open for lunch, but
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we all stayed behind and there were presents and, >> you know, it was an incredible family
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environment and he was an incredible mentor and to this day a a great friend. So, I'm so grateful for that start cuz I
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was working in the best place in town, >> you know. >> Yeah, we had a um it was a wonderful
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podcast actually. He um he's a tough nut to crack. Um, but I think we got there
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towards the end when he was talking about the passing of his wife Beth and how he still sometimes wanders around
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the house and talks to photos of her. It was really sad. >> Yeah. >> Um,
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>> she was a beautiful lady. Beautiful. >> She passed away and then he shut the
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restaurant like shortly after that. It was And that restaurant was like their child. It was his It was his life. Eh.
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>> Yep. He'd be there all day every day. I mean, I worked there for 3 years and I
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could count on one hand the services that Tony wasn't there. And Beth was in
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there every morning cleaning the restaurant, doing the flowers, going home, coming back in the evening,
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sitting down at the table with a glass of port at the end of the night, doing the cash up, and we'd go and sit with
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her. I mean, just incredible people. on the opportunities that came out of that.
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You know, I remember one day Tony came out to the kitchen and we're just cleaning up and when Elton John was in
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town, he always wanted he din there pretty much every night and he said, "Do
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you want to come and meet Elton John?" And the next thing you know, I'm sitting
00:17:02
next to Elton John in the restaurant chatting to him about gliding. he was really interested in gliding and um you
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know next thing you know it's 3:00 in the morning and then that week I went to
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the concert and I'm telling all my mates I was sitting having a drink with Elton
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John the other night and they're like yeah you're right but you know I really
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was and you know Tony was very good at all sorts of things like so what are you doing with your money you know all your
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friends are out in the weekends but you have to work every night so you're saving your money.
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Give it to me. I'll invest it for you. So he he invested Bryley shares for me.
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He bought Taylor's 77 port. By the time I finished my apprentichip, I had a bunch of Brley shares and it was all
00:17:49
this Taylor's 77 port. And let me tell you, that was a good investment. I mean,
00:17:53
I think I used to pay about $37 a bottle for this Taylor's 77 port, the best port
00:17:59
of the century. And when I opened my first restaurant, I was selling it in a little glass for $25 a glass. So it was
00:18:06
a and be worth a little bit more now. I've got about two bottles left, I think.
00:18:11
>> Wow. Um yeah, that sort of style, the Tony style. I feel like you couldn't get
00:18:15
away with it now in in 2025. It would be called bullying or >> workplace harassment or something. But
00:18:21
did did you did you take that into your shifting style? Like were you tough on your staff? I remember always thinking,
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I'll never be like that. I'll always be the nice guy. Well, when you first open
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your first restaurant and there's no money and you're working every hour
00:18:38
under the sun, you run out of patience to go over and listen, dear. That's not
00:18:43
how you do it. You don't have time. You're in the middle of service. It's
00:18:46
all rock and roll. So, yeah, I probably picked up a few of Tony's traits. You got to do what you got to do, I
00:18:56
guess. I actually I I yeah, we'll jump around a bit here, but um this was I believe when you're in Euro, which was
00:19:02
um a fine dining restaurant on um on um Oakland's Harour. Um if if if a customer
00:19:08
complained about a meal, you'd get the chef from the kitchen and bring them over to the table and make them
00:19:11
apologize. >> Well, they got to learn, right? You know, it's one team, but we got to own a
00:19:19
mistake. You know, like if we stuff up, you got to own it and try and fix it. Because once they walk out the door and
00:19:27
they tell all their mates how bad it was, if it was bad, you have that opportunity. If they declare this issue
00:19:35
in the restaurant, go out and I'll tell you what, if a chef comes out and says,
00:19:38
"I'm the one who made it. I'm really sorry about that. What can we do to fix
00:19:43
this?" and hopefully they've already got a solution. They walk out the door and
00:19:47
tell that story and that's a hell of a lot better story than the steak was overcooked or whatever it was. Right.
00:19:54
>> That's smart. So, owning your own restaurant at 22, did you were you able to do that with um
00:19:59
the money that you made through the investments that you talked about before? >> Yeah. So, when I finished my
00:20:03
apprentichip, I went to England to work and started in London and then moved out
00:20:10
of London. and I worked at a a restaurant called Leath which was you know top top restaurant in London at the
00:20:16
time and then went and did a head chef's job when I should never have done it. Uh
00:20:22
I remember in the interview they said to me um have you have you catered any weddings?
00:20:27
And I said yep. I've never been to a wedding let alone cater one. Had I done
00:20:32
buffets? Yeah. Well, we'd done a buffet at tech when I went to tech, but I'd
00:20:36
never really done a buffet and I bluffed my way into this job and I got the job anyway. And then I worked in a castle,
00:20:43
Thornbury Castle, which was incredible. But what you did back then is you bought
00:20:48
a car back to New Zealand if you had some money. So, fortunately, the Bryley shares thanks to, you know, Tony AOL had
00:20:55
gone up and I had enough money to bring a Porsche 911 back to New Zealand thinking I was pretty cool by the way.
00:21:02
And that was sold and that got me the money to get into the restaurant with a bit of help from my mom and dad.
00:21:10
>> It's an absurd thought now. E like from the position of where you are now in the
00:21:13
stage in life like a man in his early 60s like a 22-y old opening a restaurant. It's just it's crazy, right?
00:21:19
>> Yeah. Unthinkable. I probably in hindsight should have worked in more places. So I had to sort of do a lot of
00:21:25
self-learning after >> after that cuz I'd only really worked in four restaurants
00:21:32
and you know there was a lot of learning along the way. I used to go and whenever
00:21:38
I could get away I would go to the culinary institute of America and do week courses or go and work in other
00:21:45
restaurants around the world to keep learning. But once you got a restaurant, you're in and you know that's where your
00:21:52
head's got to be. >> Was that a success? >> Was. Yeah, it was a good good
00:21:57
restaurant. Took it was a little old house built in 1851 out in the Howit Colonial Village at a gravel road to it,
00:22:04
but it was a cool restaurant >> and it took a while to get noticed. It was a real struggle to start off with.
00:22:12
And then somebody said I should start entering cooking competitions and that would help me get my name out there. So
00:22:18
I did that and fortunately I managed to win them the competitions and suddenly we started to get a bit of a name for
00:22:25
ourselves and then people came out and >> you know some really cool interesting
00:22:30
customers who were great at spreading the word and then we became sort of the the hottest. It was back in the day of
00:22:37
fine dining restaurants. We were a fine dining restaurant and yeah it was a it was a good success. Yeah. M. So that was
00:22:44
like 394 years ago. When you when you when you look back and think about that version of Simon Gol, how how are you
00:22:50
the same and how are you different to that kid? >> I don't think I've changed. You know,
00:22:56
I'm not scared of taking a risk, but now I'm somewhat more nervous cuz I don't have a
00:23:03
you know, your time's limited. >> Time is limited and you >> Yeah. I don't need to lose anymore. I've
00:23:10
done my fair share of losing over the years with different things I've punted
00:23:14
on and have not worked. >> Um, you've mentioned some of the overseas experiences you've had. I've
00:23:21
got a card here called Bits and Pieces um, which sort of focuses on this. These are just some random sort of things. So,
00:23:26
you worked as a um, a private chef for one of the world's wealthiest people.
00:23:29
Can can you can you talk about that or is that an NDA scenario? I >> I can talk about it to a certain extent.
00:23:36
>> Who was it? Can you say who it was or no? Yeah. He's the second wealthiest
00:23:39
person in the world at the time. >> He was. Yeah. And when I first I I wanted to work on a super yacht. So I
00:23:45
applied to an agency in Fort Lauderdale and before you knew it, I was doing a phone interview with the chief
00:23:52
stewardess from this big boat and a lot of questions and this went on for a couple of weeks until finally they, you
00:23:59
know, submitted some sample menus and things and they said, "We're down to the
00:24:03
final seven chefs. we'd like you to fly to San Francisco and cook a lunch and a
00:24:08
dinner for the owner. I still had no idea who the person was. So, I thought, why not got to go and do that? They
00:24:18
actually said to me, you'll need to pay for your own ticket, but we'll refund
00:24:21
you when you get there. And I thought, what have I got to lose? Let's go and do
00:24:24
it. So, I went and did it. And I was given a list of all the foods that he definitely didn't like. And I thought,
00:24:32
wow, you know, these other sick chefs, what are they going to do? I thought, oh, they'll probably use truffles this
00:24:38
and fagra that, and you know, they'll try and show off with all the expensive
00:24:43
stuff. So, I looked at his list and thought, well, he doesn't like broccoli.
00:24:46
I can make a really good broccoli pesto and all these different things. So, I decided to go completely the other angle
00:24:52
and use some of the things he didn't like, keep it quite kiwi and not super super flash. I knew he loved Japanese
00:25:02
food. So that that was part of the brief. And I fortunately had employed a Japanese chef in my restaurant, Golong
00:25:09
Key down on the vioideuct for me to learn about cooking Japanese food. She did all the staff meals. So I had a bit
00:25:16
of a clue about Japanese food. So I did this lunch and dinner. Anyway, I got the
00:25:21
job and it turned out to be a guy called Larry Ellison from Oracle. >> Oh wow. And Larry,
00:25:29
you didn't know about Larry in New Zealand at that time. And anyway, I came back to New Zealand and I rang a friend
00:25:36
of mine, Robbie Naymith, who had sailed for, you know, the Sydney Hobart with Larry and I said, "What's this guy
00:25:43
like?" And he says, "Great. Just don't cook him a bad meal." You know, and he
00:25:47
said, "Just treat him like one of the boys." And um yeah, so I went back and I
00:25:52
remember the first day I went back and the the captain picked me up from the airport and said, "Right, well, you
00:25:58
better get shopping because he's hopping on with a journalist tonight. We're
00:26:01
doing a bay cruise, picking up from the San Francisco yacht club, Bay Cruise. He
00:26:06
wants like a six course dinner and then 11:00 she's hopping off. The family's
00:26:10
hopping on and we're going sailing for 3 days. And by the way, you know, you
00:26:14
know, you're cooking for all the crew as well." So it was just me in this this
00:26:19
tiny galley and I cooked the you know got got busy in a big hurry and at the end of the um the evening the chief
00:26:28
steward said you know Larry would like to meet you properly and I thought this would be interesting. She said he
00:26:33
doesn't normally ask for the chef to go out. Okay. So anyway I get out there and
00:26:38
he said how are you? And I remember exactly what I said. I said well I'm I've just flown halfway around
00:26:43
the world and cooked you dinner. And I could see the look on the chief stewist is like, "That's it. You're
00:26:49
done. That was the shortest job in history." Anyway, Larry says, "Pull up a
00:26:54
seat." And within 5 minutes, we're talking about airplanes cuz he loves
00:26:59
flying airplanes. He has a whole bunch of airplanes. Yeah, I could talk to you all day about that. But yeah, this is
00:27:04
one of the best jobs I've ever had in my life. It was incredible. >> What What year was this? I feel like in
00:27:08
he's a big deal now. like um he he's on the phone each week to Russell Coots
00:27:12
with Sale GP stuff, but I feel like in New Zealand um we sort of first became aware of Larry and Oracle during the
00:27:18
America's Cup. >> Yeah. So it was about 2001, but he wasn't in the America's Cup at that
00:27:24
stage. >> Um so >> Wow. >> Yeah. >> Good dude. Much to do with him.
00:27:31
>> Awesome guy. Yeah, you got to see him cuz I ended up cooking at his house and
00:27:35
on the boat. So, that was a a pretty cool gig. Uh, it was amazing. I remember one day I'm cooking at the house and he
00:27:43
comes into the kitchen halfway through lunch and says, "You're going flying
00:27:47
this afternoon." I'm like, "Who's cooking your dinner?" He said, "Ah,
00:27:50
we'll worry about that later." And uh, so I turn up out at the airport and the
00:27:57
pilot's there and he opens the hanger doors and you could I was in my chef's
00:28:00
jacket and you could see, "Oh god, I got to take the cook for a fly." And this is
00:28:05
quite funny really. So he opens up and there's all these cool airplanes in there. And he says, you know, what do
00:28:10
you want to go for a fly in? And there was there was a jet fighter, there was a um a pit special, there was a Palatus
00:28:19
PC7, which is a turbine rocket ship that military air forces around the world used to train their pilots. And I said,
00:28:28
"Oh, I've flown I used to own a pit special cuz I'd had one previously."
00:28:35
And I said, "But I'd like to go in that." You could see him sort of, "Okay,
00:28:38
well, you fly. If you can fly a pit special, then you must be reasonable because that's a high performance
00:28:43
aerobatic airplane." So he briefed me on, you know, getting rid of the canopy
00:28:47
and said, "You can sit in the front." And anyway, we go for a fly and talks me about it all. I'd never flown a
00:28:55
turbine airplane before, so this thing was a rocket ship. Anyway, I'm sitting
00:28:59
in the front and take off. Have to stay low cuz it's very close to San Francisco
00:29:03
airport. fly out to this place called Half Moon Bay to do some arerobatics. Cuz obviously I'm an arerobatic pilot,
00:29:10
having owned a pit special. And he said, "Oh, show me some arerobatics." So I was
00:29:13
just sort of getting a feel for it. Um flying it around and this guy in the back was getting a little impatient
00:29:21
and he said, "Do you want me to do some arerobatics?" And I'm like, "Okay." So
00:29:26
anyway, I thought, "Bugger you." So, I pointed the thing at the ground, got
00:29:30
some speed up, pulled up vertically, did a vertical roll on the way up, stall turn over the top. He never told me
00:29:36
you're not supposed to do stall turns in a turbine, and then a vertical roll on
00:29:40
the way down, and all I can hear from the back seat is, "FUCK." We became very good friends. Larry comes
00:29:48
into the kitchen that evening, big smile on his face, saying, "I hear you're
00:29:52
quite good at arerobatics." And he said, "You can have an hour a week in it. go fly it an hour a week.
00:29:58
And that was great. That was like, you know, million multi-million dollar airplane that I was having a play in
00:30:05
with um courtesy of Larry. He was amazing guy. I mean, he loved food. The only thing that he ever decided what he
00:30:12
was having was breakfast. Real food. He loved Japanese food. Uh I I really enjoyed it. you know, we'd go
00:30:21
to somewhere like uh Alaska or um you know, all these crazy places, Mexico, and so the first thing I'd do is get
00:30:28
into a hotel and try and learn the local cuisine and overnight, which is pretty hard to do. Then Larry would turn up and
00:30:35
I'd do my version of it. So, yeah, awesome, awesome guy to work for. You probably only ever cook him one bad
00:30:42
meal. I guess he's a hard taskmaster. You know, we you hear about him with the
00:30:46
sailing and things, you know, he doesn't like losing. He likes winning. And I
00:30:50
remember one day we were in Bora Bora and it was going to be a challenge between the guests and the crew were
00:30:56
these outrigger races and you know this young crew of all these fat guys except for the chef right super fit guys. I
00:31:05
thought well cream Larry and his old boys. Well not with Larry mate. He had it all worked out. They creamed us. You
00:31:13
know Larry and his old mates just nailed us. >> So yeah he's in his 70s now. He still
00:31:19
looks amazing though, eh? >> It's incredible. When you've got opportunities to do things like that,
00:31:24
why would you want to bother like owning your own business, owning your own thing, your own restaurant?
00:31:27
>> Well, your life's on hold when you're, you know, floating around on a boat and
00:31:31
you, you know, one day you're on the boat, the next day you're at his house.
00:31:34
I mean, terrible. >> It's cool at the time. I mean, it's amazing, >> but it's, you know, it's fullon hard
00:31:41
work that, you know, there's very little time off. I loved it and but your life's
00:31:47
on hold and I wanted to get back and get my own restaurant again. >> So, I've got a bunch of names here. Um,
00:31:55
according to the internet, these are celebrities you've cooked for. So, we'll
00:31:58
we'll get these names out there and we'll see if there's a story behind them
00:32:01
or not. Um, Bill Clinton, >> don't know if I can tell, can I tell you? Time's passed. But Bill Bill
00:32:10
Clinton was coming to the boat and we were um supposed to be he was going to be on board and got a list of all the
00:32:19
things that he liked as well. So I was definitely not going to do what he didn't like. Anyway, uh he never turned
00:32:26
up. It didn't turn up. So that was a that's as short as that story goes.
00:32:33
Well, >> that was a dead end. Okay. Um MJ Michael Jackson. >> No, haven't cooked for Michael Jackson.
00:32:39
Bono. >> Bono? Not that I can recall. No. >> Tiger Woods. >> No.
00:32:45
>> Tom Cruz. >> No. >> Really? >> No. Sorry. >> The internet has got this very wrong.
00:32:49
>> Really? Have you been using chat GPT? >> You may have been chat GPT. I tried
00:32:54
numerous sources. You never know what you're going to get. Is there any names
00:32:57
that you can drop? >> Oh, there's loads of names. I can't even really talk before from Antoons. Was a
00:33:03
great story. >> Elton John's pretty cool. Um, I worked for Simon Fuller. Well, didn't work for
00:33:09
him. I had sold my restaurant on the VA when we won the America's Cup and was
00:33:14
asked to cook on a super yacht in the Bay of Islands for 5 days. And this guy got on, didn't know who he was. And then
00:33:21
somebody said to me, you know, he manages the Spice Girls. And anyway, he was the same age as me. We got on really
00:33:28
well that did this 5 days cooking. And then he said, I'm having a tax year out
00:33:31
from the UK. do you want to come and have a holiday in the UK in Italy? He's
00:33:35
going to Italy for a year. Would I like to go and have a holiday? And I was like, yep, that was pretty quick. So I
00:33:41
went over there. So that was a pretty cool experience, you know. You know, he managed the Spice Girls, Annie Lennox,
00:33:48
Steve McManam, the famous soccer player, Liverpool soccer player. So that that opened some doors. And you know, Simon
00:33:56
Fuller just the greatest guy ever. You know, you sort of hear of all these pop idols and things and managers. You hear
00:34:04
about drugs. You know, Simon couldn't be further from that. >> You know, this absolute gentleman. You
00:34:09
never see him in the media. That's probably why Chat GPT isn't linked me to
00:34:13
him. But that was an incredible year where I, you know, there was a chef in every villa that we stayed at for the
00:34:21
year who I would just learn from and go shopping with and point at things cuz my
00:34:26
Italian was no good. and you know come home, watch them cook it and that was just an incredible year. And there were
00:34:32
some pretty cool people that came and stayed with us through that year which I thoroughly enjoyed.
00:34:40
>> Oh, like well known people. >> What's your next question? Like
00:34:47
>> I'm not a name dropper, you know. I thought I did pretty good with El and
00:34:51
John. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And the Larry Ellison stuff was good. What is it? Is it just
00:34:55
um Yeah. Is is it like an unspoken code that you just don't talk about these
00:35:01
things or >> Well, also I've forgotten. I mean, we had the guy who was Captain Kirk into my
00:35:06
last restaurant. Oh, William Shatner. >> Yeah. William Shatner. I just forget
00:35:10
their names. You know, we've had lots of people over the years. You know, when we
00:35:14
were at Antoine's, there was royalty that came in. I'll never forget doing um
00:35:20
Sir Michael Fay's wedding on Mercury Island with Tony Estol. Wow. >> Sorry, not his wedding. He did his
00:35:26
wedding at his home, but we did his a big birthday party for all them him over there and it was like a whole Mash
00:35:32
theme. >> Uh just like on MASH, you know, the TV program. So, you know, I've been very
00:35:38
lucky over the years to cook for some amazing people. But for me, everybody's
00:35:43
amazing that comes in. You know, my job is to put a smile on their face, put my heart on a plate, and let them dissect
00:35:49
it. and hopefully they walk out going, "That was pretty bloody awesome."
00:35:55
>> Um, I suppose on the the uh the other end of that spectrum, um, an amazing
00:35:58
experience, but nothing glamorous about it at all. Um, I think this was just for
00:36:02
a TV show. You spent time on um like a gas rig, Maui, which is like 56ks off the coast of Tatanaki. Um, yeah. Yeah.
00:36:12
What's that like? Well, the most terrifying thing was doing the training in the helicopter in the pool for it.
00:36:19
You know, if you went down in the helicopter going out, you have to do all these things before they let you on the
00:36:24
gap gas platform. I've never had anxiety like it in my life. And if I think back,
00:36:32
you know, I just I'd built myself up to this massive terror about being strapped
00:36:37
into this helicopter that went into the water, then was tipped upside down, and you had to escape. You had to stay in
00:36:43
the seat for x amount of seconds and escape. So that was bloody terrifying at the time, but when I look back on, what
00:36:52
was I so bloody worried about? You know, >> and then we went out to the gas
00:36:56
platform. It was for a TV series called Chef on a Mission. So I did I was, you know, fantastic um on Bendigo High
00:37:04
Country Sheep Station on one of the episodes. I was the last person to interview Shrek, you know, the sheep.
00:37:11
>> Sheep. >> Yeah. Before he passed away. Um, but you know that that was exciting out on the
00:37:19
Maui gas platform because I had to cook for all these guys and they didn't think
00:37:26
much of a celebrity chef. Let me tell you, you know, they're hard asses, these
00:37:30
boys that work out on these gas platforms. So, it was no big deal that a celebrity chef had come along. That's
00:37:37
why I hate that word celebrity chef. So, they were a tough audience. So, I had to
00:37:42
get out there and do things on the gas platform. The weather was atrocious and we were down there and I was doing this
00:37:49
welding underneath the gas platform and I assisted with painting on deck and then had to get into the kitchen and
00:37:55
cook and they had an assistant for me. Well, he got so sick he was next to useless he was didn't even come out of
00:38:03
his room. So, uh yeah, and we went out. Another one I did was out on a telly's fishing
00:38:11
troller. Same sort of audience. tough to please. Did a girl's boarding school.
00:38:17
They were easier to please. Went to police college. Did all the things you do at police college. Had to do the
00:38:23
swimming in the pool. Swim down, get the brick and get in and fight with the batons and go out on on the patrol in a
00:38:32
police car. I remember the guy on the first night. He said to me, "Oh, it's a
00:38:35
Tuesday night. Be pretty quiet with the minutes. We had the siren going. We're
00:38:39
off to Pora. This guy wanted to kill us with a golf club he had at the garage. He was on drugs and Yeah, that was that
00:38:47
was that was a fun thing to do. You've lived so many lives, eh? >> Yeah, I've been I've been lucky.
00:38:54
>> You've done a lot. >> Yeah. Yeah, I have been lucky with Yeah.
00:38:57
>> So, Euro on Oakland's waterfront. Um, very very successful restaurant. So, um,
00:39:03
what's the story with that? So, a good mate of mine, Leo Mallaloy, it's his
00:39:07
restaurant. >> Leo's restaurant. Yeah. So he he opens it and he hires you as the as the chef.
00:39:12
Yes, >> it's important. He he pumped a lot of money into it, like over a million bucks
00:39:15
at the time, which is a huge amount. So you need a good chef. >> Um, was that the first time you met him?
00:39:22
>> That was the first time I met him. Yes. He he asked me if I'd like to go and
00:39:26
open this restaurant with him and, you know, do a year's contract. >> What did you know about him?
00:39:33
>> Not Not much at all. Nothing at all. and I didn't want to do the job. I'd sort of
00:39:39
had a restaurant down in the vioaduct and I was like, "No, I'm not really
00:39:42
interested." I kind of thought it was like reheating the soule. I've been
00:39:45
there and done the waterfront. And he kept pestering me and pestering me and finally invited me to a lunch and I
00:39:51
turned up to this lunch and just Leo and all these hot birds. And I'm okay, you
00:39:57
know, this is not too bad. You know, he was seemed quite a character. And I never forget cuz I'd only recently come
00:40:03
back from being overseas and I'm sitting next to this girl. I said, "What do you do?" And she says, "It was
00:40:10
April her." And it was the dumbest thing to say cuz she, you know, she was famous.
00:40:15
>> Yes. Sports presenter, former net baller. >> Yeah. Yeah. Like quite somewhat more
00:40:20
famous than I'd ever be. And so that was all a bit of humor. But anyway, he kept
00:40:25
offering more and more until finally I said, "Yes, this is too good to be true
00:40:28
really." And the great the thing that really appealed to me is that he said,
00:40:33
"Look, let's do all this wood cooking." So I went off to Texas to find the best
00:40:40
wood grilling, cooking, rotisseries that you could. And that was pretty exciting.
00:40:45
And the toilets at Euro were the big talk of the town. You know, Leo is has a great vision. He's very good. You know,
00:40:55
he's crazy as well. He's absolutely nuts. Yeah, he's bonkers, but he is a
00:41:00
very clever guy. >> I, you know, high respect for him and, >> you know, he could dial it down
00:41:08
sometimes. But I enjoyed my year there with Leo. It was good. >> Yes, we we've been mates for over three
00:41:16
decades. I I got to know him just in Palmer North when he just opened his first place, The Fat Lady's Arms. So,
00:41:21
and we've been friends ever since then. He's one of those friends I I often have
00:41:25
to justify my relationship with him to people. >> Yeah. >> But he's one of the most loyal people
00:41:30
you could ever meet. >> He is. And a lot of people say to me, "What was he like to work for?" And I
00:41:34
remember early on we were shortly about just about to open. And he threw his toys out of the cop big time. And I
00:41:42
said, "Well, go find another chef." And I started walking off down the down the
00:41:46
warf. And Leo will hate hearing this story if he listens to this, but he came running after me. And I never had a
00:41:52
problem with Leo from that day onwards. He, you know, the >> the benchmark was set and I loved what I
00:41:59
did for Leo. And you know, he is creative. He gave me a Donna Haybook and said, "This is the sort of food I want."
00:42:06
I'm like, "Okay, I could, you know, he's he's the guy paying the bills, right?"
00:42:10
>> And you know, after years, I ended up being a shareholder in Euro. And after
00:42:15
Leo sold it and, you know, that's a whole another story. and was involved with Euro for years.
00:42:22
>> Yeah. According to the internet, uh turnover at Euro was like $6 to7 million
00:42:26
a year at its peak. >> Yep. >> Would that be right? >> Yeah, that would be right.
00:42:29
that's a lot of money for food and drink, isn't it? >> Yeah. Was a successful restaurant. It
00:42:33
was busy. I remember um uh what's the cup? The racing cup. Melbourne Cup. You know, that was just a
00:42:42
huge day. The revenue on that day just was nuts. I hated Melbourne Cup because it was just full on and it was everybody
00:42:50
showing off to everybody and they weren't really there for the food, you know.
00:42:55
>> Mhm. >> And um you're at Euro. Did that overlap with Master Chef? Were you the Master
00:43:00
Chef guy when you were still at Euro? >> Yes. Yes, I was still involved with
00:43:05
Euro. So, we had a bunch of restaurants then. >> Mh. >> And yeah, I was asked to do Master Chef.
00:43:11
In fact, they asked me to audition for it, but I was going overseas to do a I think a guest chef spot in a hotel in
00:43:19
Asia and I couldn't do the interview and I came back and then they rang me and
00:43:25
said, "Oh, we've they'd been in and filmed something before that and it never went anywhere."
00:43:32
So, they had some footage and they watched that and that was my audition to become judge on Master Chief. And I'd
00:43:38
never heard of Master Chief. I didn't know what it was or anything about it.
00:43:41
And that was my first TV gig apart from Good Morning Television which didn't
00:43:47
start very well actually. Um I had a bit of a disaster on that. They asked me to
00:43:52
go and cook on Do you want to hear the story? >> Oh yeah. Yeah. >> Everybody likes I love a disaster. Yeah.
00:43:57
Yeah. >> I was asked to go and cook on Good Morning Television. You had to fly to
00:44:01
Wellington and take your food and they'd have all the pots and pans in a kitchen
00:44:04
there. So off I go turn up with my polytorian box. Never been on TV before in my life
00:44:12
and it's live. So you do one segment and then everything cooks and then they come
00:44:16
back and you finish it off in the second segment. And I was doing a whole roast chicken dish. And they had this pot
00:44:24
there and I was sealing the whole chicken cuz I wanted to get a little bit of caramelization mayard effect on the
00:44:30
outside of this bird before I cooked it. And I'm sautéing it round in this pan
00:44:35
and I'm listening to this. It wasn't a pan. And it was sort of a shallow pot.
00:44:40
And suddenly I realized it was making all these noises. And I realized that this is one of these ones that you don't
00:44:45
actually put on a gas hob. It's just for going in the oven. And it was creaking. I thought, my worst
00:44:52
nightmare is about to happen. This is going to crack or something. So I quickly reached down, grabbed another
00:44:58
pot, put the other pot up there, picked this pot with the whole chicken in with both hands, lifted it up, tipped it
00:45:06
upside down. and the chicken fell into the pot and the new pot and this bad pot just exploded and went absolutely
00:45:15
everywhere and it's live TV. So, I just carried on as if it was all intentional.
00:45:19
Nothing had happened. And as soon as we went to the break, the the producer came
00:45:25
downstairs and said, "THAT WAS GOLD TELEVISION. GOLD TELEVISION. Do you want
00:45:29
to come back next week?" That's how I got into doing Good Morning TV. Threw a complete stuff up. Oh,
00:45:36
that's why I suppose live TV. What happens? Is it is it online anywhere? Is it still on YouTube or
00:45:41
>> I've got no idea. It should be, right? It's a good blooper moment.
00:45:44
>> Yes. So then Master Chief came along um and you were a judge for the first five
00:45:47
seasons in that time. Um helping create the careers of Nadia Lim and Chelsea Winter who both phenomenally successful.
00:45:56
>> Yeah, it was uh it was a cool experience. It was a lot of cold food to eat.
00:46:02
>> I you know I really enjoyed it. I didn't know what to expect really. Just sort
00:46:08
of, you know, turned up for the first day and sort of got briefed and away we went and it seemed to go pretty well the
00:46:15
first season and they asked me back for the second season and so it went on for 5 years and I really enjoy. I love what
00:46:22
it did for kids in New Zealand. You know, the number of kids when you'd go out and they got inspired about food and
00:46:30
I think >> you know that we need that. We need Kiwis cooking. We don't do enough
00:46:34
cooking. We're very good at buying jars and packets and things that are just
00:46:39
full of e- numbers and preservatives and rubbish in them. But we actually want to
00:46:44
do some cooking. You know, you get young kids. I I never forget out of Master Chef, lots of other things happened for
00:46:52
me. you know, suddenly the speaking circuit opened up or >> I was cooking in Wellington at a
00:46:59
Westfield shopping center and I used to challenge people out of the audience to come and make an omelet against me. And
00:47:06
the idea was that they would normally win, right? And it would be fun. And I never forget this one kid comes up and
00:47:14
he was probably 13 years old and he cooked an omelette against me and won. So I gave him a cake mixer as the prize.
00:47:24
So he, you know, his mom went off with his box that was almost as big as him. I was back there a couple of years later
00:47:32
and he came up to me and said, "Do you remember me?" And I said, "Oh, not
00:47:36
really, but remind me." And he opened this book up and in this book he had a
00:47:39
photo of everything he'd cooked using this cake mix and written a recipe. And
00:47:44
his mom said to me that, "You know, we've brought him here today because
00:47:48
you're his hero." his dad died and you're his hero. And to cut a long story
00:47:55
short, all these years later, I I've sort of become like a dad for him. He ended up working in one of my
00:48:01
restaurants. He went off the rails. We sort of talked about it and we stay in touch all the time. And in fact, we he's
00:48:10
now living in Sydney. I was over in Sydney. I took him out for dinner. And if that's what Master Chef brings
00:48:17
along that, you know, that's been so rewarding for me. And, you know, I get on Father's Day, he sends me this these
00:48:24
texts that make you cry. You know, it's just amazing. And, you know, now he's in
00:48:28
his late 20s and, you know, got this great girl and, you know, he's going places
00:48:35
>> and not cooking either, by the way. He's not cooking, but you know, he did that
00:48:39
for a period of time. But, you know, >> what what do you think was special about
00:48:43
him? What was the link that that meant you kept in touch, you know, cuz see there's there's people in your life that
00:48:47
you have some sort of contact with and you know often you just sort of drift apart.
00:48:52
>> Why is this one different? >> I think in restaurants you do end up
00:48:56
mentoring people a lot more >> because you need somebody good. So you want to help them get as good as
00:49:02
possible and you want them to take over at some stage so you don't have to be
00:49:05
there. So, you're always looking for that person who's got that extra 5%
00:49:11
magic, that little spark. And he just had that. I remember when um I got out of all the restaurants with this group
00:49:19
called the Nourish Group, and we had a restaurant in Wellington called Prafter, and we were doing a big finale dinner
00:49:24
down there cuz it was my last time. And I made James, this young fellow, the head chef on the night. you know, when
00:49:32
you see good in somebody, you know, I've got a lot of chefs that have worked for
00:49:35
me that are now, you know, top chefs, you know, one of the the head chef at Paris Butter used to work for me.
00:49:42
Michael Meredith used to work for me years ago. You know, they've, you know,
00:49:46
they've way surpassed me. But, you know, you you help them on their journey,
00:49:50
whatever it is, whether it's telling them off or inspiring them, whatever it
00:49:55
is. Like Tony Esto told me off. That was at the time bloody horrible, but a good
00:50:00
thing. when you look back on it. >> So that's an example of one amazing
00:50:05
thing that came out of Master Chef. Um but yeah, how was the overall experience? So it started in 2010, so
00:50:10
you would have been in your mid-40s at the time. Um and this is when free to wear TV was a massive thing in New
00:50:15
Zealand. The ratings on this show were phenomenal. What what's it like like being sort of, you know, entering middle
00:50:20
age and becoming like a household name? Did you did you cope okay with the fame and the recognition?
00:50:25
>> Well, you don't have a choice really. I mean, you know, you start and you don't
00:50:29
think you'll become well known, but then, you know, you do and people are like come up to you and chat to you like
00:50:35
they know you and you sort of think, "Do I know them?" And then they'll walk off
00:50:39
and then they'll suddenly remember how they know you. They don't actually know
00:50:43
you. They know you from television. They'll come around and go, "Oh, sorry.
00:50:46
I realize who you are now." And you know that sort of grew and grew and you know
00:50:52
lots of signing and you know now it's sort of dropped off a bit really which
00:50:57
has been good because I kind of wanted that like I've stay I've hidden away for
00:51:02
the last I don't know how many years really since Hazel came along cuz I want
00:51:08
to be a dad and I didn't need that limelight. I remember my ex-wife did, you know, hated that whole limelight
00:51:16
thing, you know. I mean, whenever we'd go somewhere, you know, I somebody would
00:51:20
come up and want to talk to me. And I'd go, well, this is my wife and introduce
00:51:24
her and then just normally just hand her the phone and say, "Could you take a
00:51:28
photo of us?" >> And that went down like a cup of cold sick. And I remember one night it really
00:51:35
didn't work out very well because the limit had been hit. So, you know, with Hazel, my daughter, I don't want
00:51:42
her, you know, it's bad enough even now, but she's now growing up a bit and, you
00:51:47
know, I'm starting to do podcasts again and looking at, you know, another run.
00:51:54
Uh, you know, to just tee things off is is my plan. >> Yeah. Well, it's great to have you in
00:52:01
here. Gez, we've been going for 15 minutes. We haven't even talked about,
00:52:03
you know, the the it's out of the kitchen stuff really. Yes. Yeah. So, you just mentioned your ex-wife. So, that's
00:52:09
You've only been married the one time. >> Yeah. >> So, that's um Hazel's mom.
00:52:12
>> Yeah. >> Um and if my facts are correct, um she used to be a customer at Euro. You'd see
00:52:18
her. You quite liked her. You gave her free puddings. >> That's true. I did. Yeah. I tried very
00:52:23
hard to smoo her. >> Yes, I did. >> Yeah. Um Yeah, that's something you and
00:52:32
I have got in common. We're um we both had um an unsuccessful marriage. Um Yeah. How how do you reflect on that?
00:52:38
It's sucks, eh? >> It sucks. And at the time it really sucks. I mean, when when it all sort of
00:52:44
falls apart around you >> and you know it and people don't realize that haven't been through it. People
00:52:52
that have been through it get it and they're supportive and understanding. >> And those that haven't, oh, we can be
00:52:58
friends with you and your ex-wife. And I'm like, really? >> Yeah. The dynamics are hard. And no one
00:53:04
goes into these things thinking it's going to fail. Yeah, >> you know, you go into it and it's till
00:53:08
death do us part. So, anything less than that feels like a fail. >> Oh, I definitely failed in that regard.
00:53:14
And uh did you how sorry? >> Well, you know, prioritizing work. >> My eyes got the better of me. Okay.
00:53:23
>> Um >> and you know, >> it's a big admission. >> Yeah, my eyes got the better of me. And
00:53:31
we had a lot of great times, don't get me wrong, >> but I think, you know, I was a celebrity
00:53:38
and girls like celebrities, but then they realized that actually you're just
00:53:43
a normal bloke underneath it all. And I think that's probably where it went down
00:53:48
the track. But, you know, Hazel has got an awesome mom and you know, I have absolutely no regrets and um you know,
00:53:58
that's how it ends up. >> Were you unfaithful or just a big flirt? >> No, I don't think I was a big flirt or I
00:54:04
definitely wasn't unfaithful. >> No. >> No. >> Yeah. It's tough. These these things are
00:54:10
complicated. Life's complicated. Hey, I find as I get older, you realize there's
00:54:13
there's less black and white and way more gray than what anyone thinks. It's
00:54:17
tough. Yeah, it's tough, but you know, there's a lot of people that go through
00:54:21
it and >> what needs to when there's children involved, you've got to be diplomatic
00:54:27
and really good at it, right? So, and the interesting thing is, you know, now Hazel's grown up, she has no
00:54:33
recollection of ever her mom and dad being together. So, it's just normal to
00:54:38
go from one house, so she spends a week with her mom and a week with me. >> And, you know, she's got the best of
00:54:44
both worlds. She's got a great mom and she's got a great dad and get two lots
00:54:49
of everything, right? So, she's probably a little too spoiled, but there you go.
00:54:53
>> And how's how's your relationship with the ex these days? >> Good.
00:54:56
>> Yeah. >> Good. Cool. As long as I kill with kindness. >> Well, you learn what it takes.
00:55:02
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. So, Hazel. Yeah. Um, you became a dad at about 50. She's now intermediate
00:55:08
age. Um, do you get roped into lots of school things? >> Like I like because of your celebrity
00:55:15
status. Not I'm not doing like just being a dad on a school camp as a >> you know occasionally. Yeah. I've been
00:55:22
in to talk about you know on their careers day you know talk about what it's like to be in a restaurant. So
00:55:31
>> um >> yeah that's that's sort of about it. Um, there's been talk of me going in to do
00:55:37
some cooking classes in this school that she's got when they've got this kitchen
00:55:42
that's better than any kitchen I've ever worked in. So, I probably should go and
00:55:46
do it at some stage >> and have a bit of fun with them. >> What So, yeah. What What does your day
00:55:51
look like with her now when she's with you? Are you there for the the school
00:55:54
drop off in the morning? You there for breakfast and there in the afternoon again?
00:55:57
>> Yep. Yep. I'm up in the morning and we're getting ready for school, school
00:56:01
drop off and then pick up and everything else that comes along with it. Gymnastics classes and all those sort of
00:56:08
things, which is which is great. I love it. >> I absolutely just love it. And I think I
00:56:15
mentioned earlier, you know, she said to me that she'd like to learn how to fly a
00:56:18
glider. Don't know whether she's told her mom that yet, but you know, that's that's pretty exciting.
00:56:25
And a lot of people go, "Oh, you 12's way too young." But we'll just get her
00:56:28
up in the air and see I've taken her power flying and um first time I took her, you know, I said, "Oh, go and fly
00:56:36
over your mom's house and we're going around and around and around and she
00:56:40
couldn't see her mom who was standing out in the middle of the road." And
00:56:44
finally she saw her and I thought, "Right, we've gone around and around a
00:56:47
lot here." And we went off and then she said, "Dad, can we do a roll?" So I did
00:56:52
a roll and then I looked at her and she was white and I thought, "I need to get
00:56:56
this thing on the ground." in a big hurry. My dad had said to me, "Whatever
00:56:59
you do, don't do any aerobatics on the first flight with her and I didn't
00:57:02
listen to that." But we've since been flying and she's an ace now. Loosens off
00:57:06
a strap, flies it round, loves going upside down. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, your dad, Brian Gol.
00:57:12
>> Yeah. >> Um that's where the love of flying come from, which seems like it's a been going
00:57:15
to be passed down to another generation. Um and you lost your dad in June last year.
00:57:21
>> Yeah. >> 2024. So, who was Brian Gold? He was the most awesome dad in the
00:57:28
world. And I was lucky that uh what he did for a living ended up being my passion. And when I wanted to learn how
00:57:37
to fly, I remember him saying, and I guess I'm sort of deviating onto the flying thing. But uh you know, he said,
00:57:43
"If you want to learn how to fly, get yourself out to the gliding club and learn how to fly a glider, and that will
00:57:49
make you a better pilot." And he had really nothing to do with my flying and
00:57:52
was not really interested. It was kind of like do it on your own. And eventually once I became a glider pilot,
00:58:00
he came out and started getting involved. And then eventually I said to him, you know, "Dad, you're you're
00:58:06
really good at this. How about you teach me how to fly powered airplanes?" Which
00:58:09
he did. And then he sent me solo in a Harvard, which is an ex Air Force Harvard,
00:58:20
>> 49 years after head >> flowning it in the Air Force in the same Harvard.
00:58:26
>> And that was a pretty cool dad son >> experience to do. And then with my love
00:58:33
of flying, I bought an airplane called a Mustang with three other guys and brought it to New Zealand and super high
00:58:43
performance, fastest piston engine airplane in New Zealand like a real weapon. And that's when I said to dad,
00:58:51
could you test fly it for us? Which he did. And then he taught us all how to fly it. And then eventually, so he did
00:58:57
all the air shows in it originally going around and displaying it at, you know, Wanuker Air Show and all the big air
00:59:03
shows. And then he taught me how to do that. But those trips away together, flying and poor weather conditions,
00:59:12
great weather conditions. It was just the ultimate fatherson thing to do. >> And I'm so grateful for him. And you
00:59:23
know, he worked in the the import business that we started to supply my restaurants. He ran that after he
00:59:30
retired. Uh he worked until the day he had a stroke actually. And yeah, the the most incredible father, supportive,
00:59:40
>> so grateful. >> Yeah. I've got a photo here. I don't know what the plane is in the
00:59:43
background, but it's a photo of you and him. >> That's the Harvard that he sent me solo
00:59:48
in. Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah, it seems like it was a really special relationship and um
00:59:52
ultimately it was motor neuron disease. >> Yeah. >> That that got him. What does that look
00:59:56
like in real terms? >> What is mo neuron disease? >> Horrendous. >> Yeah.
00:59:59
>> Yeah. Horrendous. >> Is that where your body just stops? >> Yeah. Everything stops working. So in
01:00:05
the end, unfortunately, you know, he was uh bedridden and couldn't do it. But you
01:00:12
know, my dad being his dad when he found out that he had motor neuron disease and
01:00:17
heard the outcome cuz eventually you you know, you can't swallow, you can't you
01:00:21
can do nothing. It's a horrendous way to die and he took advantage of the assisted death
01:00:32
and that takes some balls, right? >> And so he was straight on to that and
01:00:39
yeah, that was And you know with thank you to our leader David Seymour, not leader but you know who brought that
01:00:51
in because >> you know that would have been it was bad enough to watch what it was and I
01:00:57
remember when dad said you know it was scheduled for 6 weeks away and things started to decline. He just looked at me
01:01:02
and said make the call. >> Um how did that look? The reason I asked this, I I had a lady on the podcast last
01:01:10
year called Tracy Hickman and um she we did the podcast. She she chose to go the
01:01:14
same way. She had um >> I heard her. He just did it on the beach, right? >> Yeah. Incredible. Yeah. Went went to the
01:01:19
beach, had a Bluetooth speaker, had some friends there, and um everything went exactly the way that she planned it,
01:01:26
which is perfect cuz she was a planner. >> Um Yeah. How was it for your dad? So I
01:01:31
sort of imagined that when someone did this it was going to be in like a I don't know like a cold sort of cold sort
01:01:36
of doctor's surgery or something. >> It was hospice in Manora and they do the
01:01:41
work of angels. They are incredible. Hence I try and help them with fundraising when I where I can.
01:01:48
>> Uh the people there were just angels. That's the only way you can say
01:01:53
it. >> They were incredible. Uh we were all around him. The night before I went and got a bottle of wine,
01:02:02
put a straw in the glass and uh is that when your your sister was there? She was singing Ava Maria.
01:02:13
Is that a different occasion? That's the silence where you get me right. >> I think that's good though. It shows the
01:02:33
impact. Yeah. must have been so proud of you. Well, he was an amazing singer. He
01:02:43
actually did a record and he sang opera and was you know he was a great golfer both uh you know he played off of you
01:02:55
know I think he was a one handicap uh one or two uh his brother was a great golfer who became captain of Saint
01:03:03
Andrews he loved golf and he was a great singer and my sister ended up singing as
01:03:09
well and she's a great singer so yes there was that song sung and it's pretty hard to talk about.
01:03:17
>> Well, it's still quite recent. It's like a year and a bit. >> Yeah.
01:03:21
>> But you kind of hope it's um It's always hard to talk about, I guess, cuz it
01:03:25
means he's still Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. It'll always be hard to talk
01:03:28
about it. And um it'll always get me probably. >> Um >> When do you miss him most?
01:03:36
>> Oh, all the time. like, you know, I often think about him and um you know, life life has a limit. We're
01:03:44
all going to die, right? So, you just got to get on with it. But I've got so
01:03:47
many incredible memories and stories and, you know, just just good things that are, you know, he wouldn't want me
01:03:56
sitting here bloody crying. He'd want me, you know, he he would hate me talking about him, you know. Yeah. He's
01:04:03
the most humble guy. Um, you know, I've had so many people who he taught how to
01:04:08
fly the 747 400 for in New Zealand. He was a training captain who said, "You know
01:04:14
what? Your old man didn't know about flying those things. Wasn't worth knowing."
01:04:18
>> And um, you know, I think I had a have a legend of a father in the aviation
01:04:23
industry. You know, super highly respected >> and you know, they were a team, my mom and him. You
01:04:32
know, I've got an incredible mother who's tells me everything every day and
01:04:36
she's normally bloody right. >> Yeah. Is she still around or is she >> She's she's still around kicking and she
01:04:44
tells me she's passed a used by date, but she's, you know, they have, you
01:04:49
know, both my sister and I and even Hazel is the granddaughter of, you know, we've been very lucky. And that's why
01:04:57
family is so important to me. We have a very tight-knit family >> and you know that's what family's about.
01:05:04
Sitting at a dinner table breaking bread and >> being on one another's side even when
01:05:09
you've done something wrong, you know. >> Yeah. Um you were your mom and dad
01:05:14
married till the end. >> Yep. >> Yeah. 66 years. >> Right. Yeah. They were
01:05:20
>> together a long time. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> How's she coping?
01:05:24
>> She she's done pretty well, I think. um you know she was a full-time carer in
01:05:29
the end. So when suddenly that role disappears it's pretty hard. Unfortunately my mom has a uh a disorder
01:05:37
called neuropathy which is where your legs suddenly don't work and things. So
01:05:45
she's got a little tough road ahead of her at the moment. But um >> she's driving and still telling me what
01:05:52
I should and shouldn't do. So things are good. Is she right? That's the goddamn problem, isn't it?
01:06:00
>> Yeah. This is um It's wonderful though, like losing your first parent at the age
01:06:04
of 60. >> Yeah. >> Like it's how things are supposed to go. >> Yeah. Exactly.
01:06:09
>> It's not It's not easy. >> Yeah. Well, my dad was 90, right? And
01:06:13
you know, he was flying airplanes until he was 79 at air shows. I remember he'd
01:06:18
taxi in >> to and the crowd line would be there and all the crowd would go up to see the
01:06:23
airplane. and you pull his helmet off and everybody go, "Oh my god, he's a
01:06:27
freaking granddad. Look at how old he is." And he just been flying past at 350
01:06:33
knots, pulling up and doing loops and rolls and things, you know. >> And where's it? Um where's your knife
01:06:39
with his with his wings on? >> Yeah, that's cool. Yeah. Wow. So, yeah,
01:06:45
I said to dad before he passed away that I wanted something special that could go
01:06:51
in the handle of a knife and he gave me his Air Force wings. And uh a Oakland guy called Willie and his wife Angela
01:07:02
make these beautiful knives called Kiwi Blade knives. And so they did this project. So the handle is in the same
01:07:10
color as his Air Force uniform and the wings are in the handle. So it's an everyday knife that will last for
01:07:17
centuries that one day I'll hand down to my daughter. So you know we have all
01:07:22
these things that we get from our grandparents or parents that just end up in a drawer. Might be cufflinks or Air
01:07:29
Force wings or whatever it is and they disappear and you never look at them. And I just wondered,
01:07:35
you know, >> is that something you think about? you think about him when you use that knife?
01:07:41
>> Yeah, every time I look at the >> wings, I think, >> wow, that's pretty cool. Unfortunately,
01:07:46
you never got to see it, >> but uh >> Yeah. What does your mom think of it?
01:07:54
>> Beautiful >> was her words. I mean, >> yeah. >> Yeah. Everybody who sees it goes, "Wow,
01:07:59
what a cool idea." And you know, I use it every day. It's not one of those
01:08:03
knives that you bring out for show. It's just >> it's an everyday knife. and I call it my
01:08:09
wingman, you know. >> So, >> that's cool. Thank you. I know this this
01:08:15
stuff's um not easy to share, but I do appreciate you sharing it today. >> Pleasure.
01:08:20
>> It's really cool. >> Yeah. Well, it cements it all back, isn't it? You care. And
01:08:25
>> um you know, I've had a very lucky life. A lot of amazing opportunities have come
01:08:30
my way >> and you know, I'm grateful for all of it. But it ain't over yet, right? Fat
01:08:35
lady hasn't sung. No way. You're Yeah, I mean, you're in great shape. I said this
01:08:39
when you arrived. I said, "Shit, you're looking good." And uh you accuse me of
01:08:42
making a fat joke. I can't remember exactly what you said, but yeah. Um yeah, let's talk about the
01:08:49
health for a little bit. So, am I right in saying your your mom um was diabetic as well?
01:08:55
>> No, but it ran in the family. >> Okay. >> Diabetes. And uh you know, I
01:09:00
progressively got bigger and bigger >> just as a result of your lifestyle and
01:09:05
job. >> Yeah. just, you know, eat, grazing all day, you know, tasting food all day in
01:09:10
the restaurants and then getting home at late at night. Probably had couple too many drinks, opening the fridge door and
01:09:17
going better eat something. >> Never really sitting down often for a meal and then getting up and doing it
01:09:25
all again. And um you know, it wasn't you know, she said, "You need to be careful. you need
01:09:32
to lose some weight cuz diabetes runs in the family. And of course, I just ignored it until one day um I'd done
01:09:39
some blood tests for an insurance thing I wanted to get and they said, "We can't
01:09:44
ensure you because you've got type 2 diabetes. You better go and see your doctor." Well, no, they didn't say type
01:09:49
2 diabetes. They said, "You've got high blood glucose levels." So, I went along
01:09:53
to the doctor. Sure enough, and then they start prescribing you medication, but I was still into the restaurants and
01:10:02
you know, I pretty much ignored it because they give you these tablets, right, to take
01:10:09
and you know, did Master Chef, you know, and embarrassed to talk about it >> because you eat your way to diabetes yet
01:10:17
it is genetic and you're predisposed to it. But you know and type 1 diabetes is
01:10:24
very different right? So that's completely different thing to type 2 diabetes. So you know basically I was
01:10:30
overweight unfit and had eaten my way to type two diabetes. So I was highly embarrassed about that. So I didn't tell
01:10:38
anybody. You know my family knew but you know nobody you know it wasn't something
01:10:43
I wanted to talk about. In hindsight should you have been embarrassed about it >> in hindsight? No. Cuz I guess I'm
01:10:49
talking about it right now. I like and it wasn't until I actually changed doctors to a guy Tom Doo who I went all
01:10:58
through school with who was a doctor and he said you know what you should change
01:11:02
and come to me as a doctor and he said and when you make your first booking do it just um right before lunch
01:11:10
so I thought we're planning on going out for a lunch right so you know sure enough I I booked this doctor's
01:11:16
appointment and I'll never forget being in the surgery and it is Hazel was almost one
01:11:24
>> and he said to me, "Do you want to walk down the aisle with your daughter?"
01:11:29
>> And he said, "You know what? Cuz the rate you're going, you're not going to."
01:11:33
He said, "You're on the maximum dose of metformin for this type 2 diabetes. You
01:11:38
probably eventually go blind. You probably might even get a foot chopped off or a leg as it progresses. You won't die
01:11:48
of diabetes, but you'll die of a related effect from the type 2 diabetes and you know, you probably end up having
01:11:55
to go to the hospital, go on a diialysis machine, you know, multiple times a week
01:12:02
at which age I I sort of said, I guess lunch is off. >> Scared straight. >> Yeah. I went hopped in the car and I was
01:12:13
absolutely shell shocked and it was exactly what I need to be told. You know, it was, you know, he had some
01:12:20
pretty stiff words as I walked out the door. It was like something along the lines of, "Pull your finger
01:12:27
out." >> So, I went home and I Googled reverse diabetes. Reverse diabetes.
01:12:35
There's got to be, you know, some silver bullet out here. So then I found this
01:12:38
place in Nevada that said they could reverse diabetes. So I thought I better do a bit of research on this. So found
01:12:45
some YouTube clips and it just looked like a bunch of hippies sitting around smoking a bunch of joints. I thought,
01:12:52
well, maybe that's not the place to go. So then I continued looking and then I
01:12:58
found this place in the UK that believed they could help with tire type 2 diabetes and I found a YouTube clip of a
01:13:05
guy kind of looked just a bit like me who was singing its praises and said got him off all the medication. So I rang
01:13:12
them and said, "Hey, I'm in New Zealand. I'd like to come up." They said, "Oh, we
01:13:16
don't really deal with it anymore because you got to have a nurse and all this sort of things and doctors." And I
01:13:22
said, "Well, what would it take for you to do it?" So they came back to me and
01:13:26
said, "So long as I paid the extra." And back then I was like master chef. It was
01:13:32
I just finished the fifth season. So, you know, I I could afford it. And they said to me, "You need to come for
01:13:39
minimum four weeks, but if we need you for 8 weeks, you'll have to stay 8 weeks." I'd never taken eight weeks off
01:13:45
in my life, >> you know, eight weeks. And anyway, with some discussion with my
01:13:52
ex at the time, it was decided that I should do it. So, I went there and I'll
01:13:58
never forget arriving into London, getting some friends. I had been seen. I like had this last supper. I turn up at
01:14:05
this place the next day and it was like checking myself into I don't know what because you know it
01:14:11
was this old sort of villa sort of castley looking place and it was just the only people that were there when I
01:14:20
walked in was just people in I felt like I was checking myself into a funny farm
01:14:25
and you know the bed was terrible and then next morning and I come down and it's just raw food and juices and and
01:14:34
take me into a room and it's all these beautiful people. I'm the only big guy
01:14:37
there. It's all people that are detoxing and actresses and writers and creator,
01:14:42
all these sort of beautiful people there who are just doing the detox. >> And they said to me, "You're going to
01:14:49
have a personal trainer. You're going to be doing yoga. You're going to be doing
01:14:55
meditation." And I'm like, "You're kidding me. I mean, I'd never been to a gym in my
01:15:01
life." um you know and yoga and meditation. What a croc of I thought this is going to be ridiculous.
01:15:08
And you're going to be doing these sauners and you're going to be doing all
01:15:11
this stuff and then we're going to be in the lounge each night and we're going to
01:15:13
teach you about fats and superfoods and it's going to be all raw food. I'm like
01:15:20
awesome. Here I am. Chef's the version of hell for a chef. >> Yeah. And I remember the first day when
01:15:27
I ran on a running machine and you you won't cope with this at all. Well, I couldn't even run 2 minutes. I couldn't
01:15:33
even run 2 minutes. I went to the first um yoga and I'm down the back of the
01:15:40
class and let me tell you, Dom, the view was really good from the back of the class. So, I was starting to think,
01:15:44
"This isn't so bad." And about, you know, a fair way into the classes, the trainer was going, "Imagine
01:15:53
you're floating." And I'm like, "Oh my god, what a load of crap." Anyway, I
01:15:58
persevered with it and the long story short is that at the end of it, I was running good on that running machine and
01:16:07
this guy is going, "You're doing it for your daughter." I had tears running down
01:16:11
my face and you know, at the end of it, I was off all the medication. I lost a lot of weight just in the four
01:16:22
weeks. After four weeks, they said, "You're done. you've done great.
01:16:28
And then because I'd taken the eight weeks off, I met Hazel and my ex-wife in
01:16:33
Los Angeles. And I just went on a mission to learn more about superfoods, fats, and learn all about this. And LA
01:16:40
is just the greatest place on the planet for, you know, all these juice bars and
01:16:45
things. And it changed my life, you know. Um, I was far more aware of food. I was never eating bad food, you know. I
01:16:54
wasn't a McDonald's guy or, you know, occasionally I'd have a Georgie pie on
01:16:59
the way home, but you know, I wasn't a, you know, I didn't eat bad food. I was
01:17:02
just eating at the wrong time. So, I'd learned all about fasting. I learned about microbiome, our gut health, and,
01:17:09
you know, how it affects us, communicating via neurons to our small brain, and, you know, um, nutrition.
01:17:19
Learned all this stuff. came back to New Zealand and put a healthy menu on at Euro made the big mistake of telling
01:17:26
everybody it was healthy so nobody wanted to come and dumb mistake or and all I did was actually go right let's be
01:17:32
conscious of the carbs with everything and the fats that I was using not that I was ever using bad fats but you know I
01:17:39
was tailoring it to something that I thought everybody would love and that was a huge mistake so I had to quickly
01:17:46
reverse and put another menu on but and then you know they asked me cuz I'd lost
01:17:51
a bunch of weight at this time was asked if I would um actually go get back a step because whilst I was there I
01:18:00
remember they asked me to do a list of all my you know things that were most important to me. So obviously family was
01:18:08
at top and then there was work and all these things and I remember this woman saying to me, "Do you know what
01:18:14
>> I'd like you to do now? I'd like you to do a pie chart of how much time you
01:18:19
spent on everything." So then it was here was this pie chart and it was just
01:18:22
all this work and very little for anything else. And then she said to me, "Do you know you is there a reason why I
01:18:29
haven't put health on there or exercise?" >> I didn't put any of that on there, you
01:18:36
know. I just had never occurred to me. Most people listening to this will go, "You serious?" You know, but it had
01:18:42
never occurred to me. So that was a big eye opener. And then we talked about uh you know the master chef thing and how I
01:18:51
was eating all this cold food. Not not that the cold food is a problem but I was just eat again. You know when you'd
01:18:58
start you got so much food to taste. Is this really good for you? And that's when I decided that actually
01:19:05
Master Chef was not good for me and I came back and you know quit. Never been on TV and Zed since. So, it went down
01:19:16
like a probably a cup of cold sick. I don't know. Maybe they were ready to move on. Who knows? But, so then I was
01:19:23
asked if I would do um a documentary called Why Are We Fat and be the host on it. So, I was quite excited about that
01:19:30
because it was going to be this opportunity to travel around the world and meet the world's experts on all
01:19:36
different facets of the science behind losing weight. You know, we all know diets don't work. They work in the short
01:19:44
term. Everybody puts more weight on. Diets do not work. Science works. So, I was really excited cuz I'd started this
01:19:50
journey about, you know, superfoods, fats, and, you know, fiber and what your gut likes and doesn't like and all of
01:19:58
that sort of thing. So, I was on this mission like, "Yeah, I'll I'll do this."
01:20:03
I remember the first day I turned up to this doctor's surgery for the first filming and they said, "Could you just
01:20:08
take your shirt off and get into your undies?" And I'm like, "Hey, I'm the
01:20:11
host." Nope. I was the guinea pig and the host who would interview people and that was
01:20:22
>> it's conf confrontational. >> Yeah, it was pretty confrontational. And
01:20:26
you know, I'm like, well, I guess everybody's going to know I got diabetes
01:20:30
or had diabetes, right? Like it's, you know, I'm going with it. So, and I've
01:20:36
never looked back, you know. >> What was that like going public with it? Was there an outpouring of support at
01:20:41
the time or? >> No, I don't think anybody cared. I think it was me that was more worried about
01:20:45
it. You know, I think I'd built it up to, you know, I look back at photos of
01:20:49
me now and go, I really was grossly overweight. I was gross. I mean, I'm 32 kilos lighter than what I was then.
01:20:58
>> Wow. >> That's a lot of weight, right? >> So much weight. You must feel so much
01:21:01
better. That's so much less weight to be carrying around. >> Yeah. And you know, unlike you who runs
01:21:06
every day, you know, I've never loved that. You know, it's never been me. But
01:21:11
and that's why I've really enjoyed helping people now get better sleep. I
01:21:17
mean, sleep is massive. We don't teach people how to sleep at school. We should
01:21:20
be, >> you know, it's so important for us. And there are so many ways that we can help
01:21:26
with sleep. I'm so strict with my daughter about, you know, when she stops using her phone in at night and not
01:21:32
having the phone in the room and reduce those blue lights and the all the little
01:21:37
things we can do because when we go to sleep, we're slowly filling this gas tank up in our frontal cortex. And if we
01:21:45
don't get a good night's sleep, we wake up in the morning and the gas tank's
01:21:49
only half full. And then we're on our way home going, I just don't want to
01:21:52
talk to anybody else anymore. I'm like, I'm tired. I'm done. Yeah, I'll just get
01:21:56
takeaways or I'll open that jar of crap sauce and pour it over some pasta and
01:22:03
you know, so it w it was an incredible experience doing the whole program and what I
01:22:11
learned. And then we did another one called how we eat. So we went to Turkey and Greece and looked at the whole
01:22:17
Mediterranean diet. We hear about the Mediterranean diet, right? How good it is. But, you know, when you actually
01:22:23
hear the real truth about it, 30% less cancer than we get in New Zealand, 50% less heart disease, one ninth the amount
01:22:31
of diabetes. They live to be older, they're having fun when they're older,
01:22:36
they're drinking and partying when they're older, whereas we're all slowing
01:22:40
down and our joints don't work and all that sort of thing. The Mediterranean
01:22:44
diet's the way to go. So, we were going into universities and going to slow slow
01:22:50
um cities where they just had all the things that weren't highly processed and
01:22:55
refined. It's why you hear a lot of people go, you know, when I eat good pasta, I don't feel bloated. You know,
01:23:03
our flour here is so refined and you know, kids, you've started me in here, Dom, but you know, like
01:23:08
>> I love the passion. >> We we send our kids to school with a with white bread sandwiches. There's one
01:23:15
gram of fiber in white a slice of white bread. There is no nutrition. It's rubbish. We send them to school with a
01:23:22
little red packet of raisins. May as well fill it up with sugar. Why not put some goji berries in there? Use a
01:23:28
sourdough bread. >> You know, let's start feeding our kids better. You know, we we're the second
01:23:35
most obese nation in the world and our kids are the second most obese kids in the world. So, we got to start looking
01:23:42
at what we eat. And I'm so passionate about that now and trying to help people
01:23:47
and and you know I piss some people off at what I say. >> You know that's why I've just started
01:23:51
this podcast with Kate. We've called it the fork. Can I get that plug in for my
01:23:55
podcast? >> You know forking good podcast where we're talking about waste and you know
01:24:01
expiry dates on food and best before dates and educating on that. And my mission is to get people cooking again.
01:24:09
I don't need to be in a restaurant making this beautiful prissy plate of food. have been there, done that. I just
01:24:14
want us cooking food and you know using olive oil to cook. The old science told us, "Oh no, don't use olive oil, use
01:24:20
avocado and coconut, you know, olive oil, extra virgin olive oil is so good for us to use
01:24:28
>> for our cooking drizzled on everything. The average kiwi consumes about 200 mls
01:24:34
of extra virgin olive oil a year. In the Mediterranean, where I just told you all
01:24:37
the stats, how much healthier they are, the average person's consuming about 25
01:24:42
L. >> Wow. >> It's massive. The tomatoes that they consume versus what we do here, you
01:24:49
know, we're about 8 kilos a year. Over there, they're 40 something kilos. And
01:24:53
it's the lycopen and tomatoes that helps fight cancer. >> You know, we need to be cooking with
01:24:59
more spices, ginger, turmeric, and garlic. You know, top things that help fight cancer. So, I'm passionate about
01:25:06
that. >> Well, I can I can take or leave tomatoes here, but in Croatia a few years ago, I
01:25:12
had some tomatoes and they were real flavorsome, but you put them in your mouth and bite into them and they just
01:25:16
like an taste bud explosion >> because they vi ripened on the vine as opposed to the supermarkets here buying
01:25:23
something that is nowhere near ripe. So, last forever on the shelf >> and they've got very little flavor. We
01:25:30
all know when somebody's growing tomatoes and they ripen on the vine, they're just sweet and delicious, right?
01:25:37
>> So, >> so I guess so when you when you went to the UK, which seems like it was a
01:25:43
circuit breaker and like a like a game changer in terms of your life. So, at that point, you had you had a lot of
01:25:49
money, but you had very little time. Why why didn't why did you go there and not
01:25:52
look at, you know, just getting some elective surgery? I went for the appointment to the guy
01:25:59
and the before I changed doctors. My last doctor keep telling me you need to lose weight
01:26:06
and he gave me a uh formula to start drinking. And I went home and looked at all the ingredients on that. And this is
01:26:14
before I really got into this. I'm going to change my life. And I looked at that's just I'm not I'm not drinking
01:26:20
that. And then he suggested that I get some surgery. And I went along there and the guy said to me, you know, do you
01:26:26
really want to do this? You're a chef and once you get this done, food will never be the same for you. And it was at
01:26:35
that exact around that time that Tom Doo, Dr. Tom Doo, my old school buddy, said, "Come and see me."
01:26:44
>> And that's when, you know, when he really read me the riot act. And I guess
01:26:50
more doctors should, but because we were mates, he could do it what he could say
01:26:55
really what he think. And I listened >> and it got my attention. So >> it was a game changer. What was the
01:27:02
question? >> I know. Yeah. Why didn't you just go the easy way and go for I don't know if it's
01:27:07
the easy way that maybe that's harsh on people that have done it, but you I mean
01:27:10
you had the money and you had very little time. Why didn't you just get surgery?
01:27:15
>> Because of that exact thing. you know, the doctor saying to me that it will
01:27:19
really affect your career with food if you do this cuz you won't be able to eat
01:27:23
much. And basically, they tie your stomach up, make it a quarter of the size, and you can't put as much in. And
01:27:29
I love food. You know, life's too short for twigs and berries. >> You know, we got to, you know, food's my
01:27:36
life. I love it. You know, wherever I go away, the next plan is where we're going
01:27:39
for dinner. >> You know, that's that is my life. I love it. >> Yeah. You are so passionate about it,
01:27:46
eh? Uh, you just your eyes light up when you when you talk about talk about food
01:27:50
and the dining experience. Um, >> yeah. Did Mike Hoskin make a fat joke about you on stage at an event?
01:27:57
>> He did. He did. Yeah. And I got to thank him for what did he say? Uh, I won, it
01:28:02
was the Ernston Young Entrepreneurs winners and I won a category and he basically introduced me as the
01:28:12
fat chef and you know I didn't like it much at the time but it it resonated with me. It was like my doctor saying it
01:28:20
you know he said it in front of hundreds of people everybody laughed and I was the fat guy you know I was. So, he
01:28:28
wasn't telling a lie. And um I, you know, I'd thank him for it if ever I saw
01:28:34
him. You know, it was a good call. It kind of made me go that's how people are
01:28:39
seeing me. Because you you look in the mirror, but you know, it's not until you've lost weight
01:28:44
>> that you look back at photos photos and go, "Wow, >> that's a big difference."
01:28:51
>> What does it mean now on for day-to-day living with diabetes? Like have have you
01:28:56
re re are you on medication or have you reversed it? >> I take some medication for my heart and
01:29:01
things like that but I eat in an 8h hour window and you know 16 I fast timerestricted eating so I've had
01:29:11
nothing to eat today. Um yeah what's the time now? I've got no clue. >> Oh my god it's almost 1:00 in the
01:29:16
afternoon. >> Yeah but I'm not missing it at all. You know it's I'm used to it. So I eat in an
01:29:20
8 hour window maximum. Um, sometimes, you know, I I say to everybody, 80% of the time we should be really good and
01:29:28
20% of the time we can be as naughty as all hell, right? But, you know, just cuz
01:29:33
I eat in an 8 hour window doesn't mean I eat twigs and berries, right? >> And I might have a nice omelette for for
01:29:40
my first meal of the day, but it might be at 2:00 in the afternoon perhaps, you know?
01:29:45
>> So, that's kind of my secret weapon. And because I'm still educating and helping
01:29:51
people with this, it's always top of mind for me. And I'm always researching,
01:29:55
looking for the new science that's out there. And you know, even starting to
01:30:01
learn more about mental health. And you know, if somebody sleeps poorly, >> they remember
01:30:11
more of the negative stuff than they do of the positive than the impartial stuff
01:30:16
>> from a conversation. All this culminates, right? You know, sugary drinks culminate in depression and all
01:30:23
of these things. White bread is the devil. You know, I'm not a greenie. You know,
01:30:29
I'm not and I'm not a twigs and berries guy. I'm not vegan. I'm not a
01:30:33
vegetarian. Everything within balance, right? >> And I I like it and I'm learning more
01:30:40
about it. >> How's your mental health been? >> Good, I think. Good, I think. I mean,
01:30:46
I'm going through a pretty interesting time with business at the moment. It's
01:30:50
tough. I mean, my core business supplied restaurants and everybody said to me when co, "Aren't you glad you didn't
01:30:56
have a restaurant?" I said, "Well, try having a business that supplies them." M
01:31:00
>> so it's been incredibly tough. So you know we're probably uh 50% down from CO.
01:31:07
So hence why now you know I have a deli and we now supply people nationally. They can go on to my website
01:31:13
coltsdally.co.nz and Zed and we deliver it to their door. And you know, I'm about I'm the guys who's finding the
01:31:20
secret weapons for your pantry that make things taste great with a little drizzle
01:31:24
of or a shake of or you know, that sort of thing and doing the cooking classes. So, yeah, it's I mean, how's my mental
01:31:32
health? I think I'm okay. I think I'm because I'm sort of reading about it all
01:31:37
the time. You you start checking yourself. I should probably come running with you. That's probably the thing I'm
01:31:42
missing, but I wouldn't be able to keep up. >> Oh, no, no, no. I'll slow down for you.
01:31:48
You gave me a copy of your book, um, No Half Measures, which, um, yeah, came out
01:31:51
in 2019. You can still buy it online now. >> You can buy it on my website,
01:31:56
doley.co.nz. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. There's, um, a quote in there that
01:31:59
I really like. People see my name on products in the supermarket and they think I'm a multi-millionaire. If only
01:32:04
they knew. Fail fast, fix fast. >> That's sort of like your mantra. What
01:32:08
does What does that mean to you? Fail fast, fix fast. Well, you got to see when it's not working and fix it. And
01:32:15
too often we keep we keep going back to the battle with the same guns and we keep losing the battle. So, we got to go
01:32:23
with new guns. And you know, I remember I did a ketchup that had no added refined sugar to it. Kids loved it. It
01:32:33
was just like, you know, your hind sort of watties type ketchup without all the rubbish in it. Everybody loved it. got
01:32:41
it into the supermarket, spent a fortune developing it and getting it there and it was a dismal failure because
01:32:49
unfortunately it costs more and you unfortunately a lot of healthy things do cost more and it was like do we just
01:32:57
keep pushing this or do we go didn't work done back the truck up >> move on what's the next thing we can try
01:33:04
and do >> what's been your biggest business win >> biggest business win Yeah.
01:33:12
>> As in winning awards or >> No, as as in successes. >> You you're you're very open talking
01:33:18
about your your your fails, but there have been like a lot more wins than fails. At least from an outsiders
01:33:22
perspective. >> Oh, it was a pretty good feeling when we got uh Euro into the top 50 in Condon
01:33:28
magazine. I I was pretty excited about that. I think Euro was a great success. I started Juvoy Steakhouse and uh with
01:33:35
the guys that I was in business with in Wellington uh sorry Oakland and Queenstown. I love Jvoy Steakhouse.
01:33:42
>> It's still going. It's iconic. >> I don't know what it's like. I haven't
01:33:44
been back. I should go back and have a look. But I haven't been there over 10
01:33:48
years. But >> why don't why don't you go back? Is it is it like an ex-girlfriend sort of?
01:33:52
>> Yeah, probably. Yeah, you sort of been there, done that. And you might they
01:33:55
might make it better than what you had it so that would just annoy me. >> No, it wouldn't. I'd be I'd be happy.
01:34:01
But no, you I don't know. It's like been there, done that. It's like trying to
01:34:05
reheat a soule, you know, they don't rise. >> Is it um odd for you when you go into a
01:34:09
restaurant like a restaurant that you've either had an association with or even a
01:34:13
restaurant that you've got no association with? Like do you do you notice everyone sort of like sits up
01:34:17
straight? Do you know what I mean? Or they're sort of on edge cuz oh it's Simon Gold. You do you do get a bit
01:34:23
of that. But I don't go into a restaurant to be that critical guy. I'm not, you know, I go to a restaurant to
01:34:29
enjoy it and just like everybody else does and I'm probably way more forgiving
01:34:34
than anybody else if something doesn't go right cuz I know what it's like on
01:34:38
the other side. >> Um, >> you got a bit of compassion. You're not
01:34:43
the master chef judge. >> Yeah. Occasionally, if I see a waiter or waitress or somebody that's serving
01:34:49
something from behind the counter and they're doing a disservice to the owner,
01:34:54
I won't be shy to say something. because the owner is not there to see it and
01:35:00
>> you know what it's like. >> I feel like I owe it to the whoever does
01:35:04
own it and I don't know is to actually say something. So I might be a little
01:35:08
harsh sometimes then but you know I'm trying to support restaurants. I've got
01:35:13
I've started doing uh what I call road hooking in the mini videos for um Instagram of a restaurant
01:35:22
I go to. And if it's not good, I don't even ever edit it and put it in. They're
01:35:26
very amateur-ish, but you know, the last one I did, it's had over 80,000 views.
01:35:32
>> I saw one on social media this morning, um a restaurant on Richmond Road.
01:35:35
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. They got a a thousand new subscribers in a weekend to their
01:35:41
Instagram page. So, if I can help in little ways like that, I love to do it, you know, to show people there's some
01:35:47
great things that we have in New Zealand. >> Um, what about your biggest or most
01:35:53
painful failure? Is that the the stock cap thing? >> Oh, the stocks. Yeah. So, uh, we
01:36:00
launched a concentrate stock and we were very excited because when we're when I
01:36:06
was on Masteref and I'm going have to be careful with this. They were sponsored
01:36:10
by Campbell and I never rated it and I don't I want can't speak on behalf of
01:36:15
other judges but I didn't rate it and I thought wonder if I could make a stock
01:36:21
that's better than that. So we came up with a stock concentrate that comes in a
01:36:25
pouch and you take it home and you just squeeze it into hot water and you can drink it like soup. No E numbers, no
01:36:33
preservatives and when it once it's open you can put it in the fridge for months.
01:36:38
sort of last and last and last cuz it's real whereas you other stocks liquid
01:36:44
stocks you left to throw away after 3 days. So we launched we were launching that 2 days before we learn launch we
01:36:52
had a cap failure. So the entire lot and this was going into every super every countdown in New Zealand. So we had to
01:36:59
throw the whole lot away and start again. So that was horrendous cost and >> like what if you had to put a figure on
01:37:07
it? couple of hundred grand. >> Oh yeah. And of course the cat people blamed the package
01:37:15
the the the tightening of it. It was overtightened and everybody blamed everybody and we ended up carrying the
01:37:22
can. So we had to pull the launch back launch again. But you know we're in most
01:37:28
supermarkets around New Zealand with our gouls stock which is beef, lamb, chicken
01:37:35
and vegetable. And people who use them absolutely love them. They're >> price similar to the competitive stocks,
01:37:44
but you can keep ours if you don't use it all for much longer. So the little
01:37:48
tiny sachets make 2 L. So biggest fail to start off with. Probably one of the most proudest things that I've done
01:37:58
that's actually in the supermarket. That is fantastic. I so wish the ketchup was
01:38:02
still there >> because you know the amount of ketchup that is consumed in New Zealand when you
01:38:08
think most ketchup bottles are almost 50% sugar. >> It was a great thing for this country
01:38:14
but we just couldn't make it work. >> Have you started making money on the
01:38:18
stock yet? Have you >> not a scent but we're still going. Well, we are today. We are today. Like a
01:38:26
little bit more loyalty out there. Please, people, if you can, please. Where do I look?
01:38:31
>> And what about the um the Brisco collaboration at How does that come about? You're everywhere in Bris.
01:38:37
>> Yeah. So, I was asked by Rod Duke if I'd like to do a range with him, and I
01:38:43
thought this sounds cool because, you know, it's something everyday New Zealanders can afford to buy cuz, you
01:38:50
know, obviously there's a lot of specials at Brisco. Most people buy on special. And when they showed me the
01:38:57
sort of products that they were going to do, I thought, "This is really great
01:39:00
quality stuff that everybody can afford." And I've been in there for years now with Bristo, you know, from
01:39:08
everything from pots and pans and knives and tea towels, aprons, plates, glasses,
01:39:16
and that's been a really fantastic collaboration with Brisco. >> Yeah. How do you feel when you go to a
01:39:23
Brisco? iconic New Zealand store and your name's on this whole range. >> I tell you when I feel really good is
01:39:29
when I go to a restaurant and I pick the plate up and it's one of mine cuz I
01:39:32
think somebody's bought some, right? Going in into the store like Hazel was saying, "Dad, you know, faces on
01:39:39
everything." But some of the some of the original packaging is still there. And
01:39:44
she said, "Dad, that's your fat face." >> Oh, that's awesome. Seems like you have
01:39:50
a really good relationship with her. real good mates. >> Yeah, I'm dad,
01:39:56
>> you know. I'm not one of these people who's asked to be mates. I'm dad there.
01:40:00
And >> she's a cool kid and she's my world. I love it a bit. And I just love seeing
01:40:06
her grow, >> fall, get up, you know, she's an absolute joy to a mother and myself and grandparents.
01:40:16
>> Yeah, that's No. No more kids for you. >> No, I've been there, done that. I mean,
01:40:22
you're younger than Barry Soap, I think. >> You would you would you ever get married
01:40:26
again or No, that that's done as well. Or >> No, no. No, that's too risky.
01:40:34
>> Yeah. >> Lost a lot of money on the last one. Can't afford to do that again.
01:40:39
>> I um I watched an interview with Russell Crow yesterday. I think he's exactly the
01:40:42
same age as you, 61. And um he was asked in this interview like uh will you get engaged or married? And he goes, "No, me
01:40:48
and my girlfriend, we're extremely happy. Why would we ruin it with a wedding?
01:40:52
>> Yeah, exactly. >> I thought it was a great line. >> Um, so the book's called No Half
01:40:56
Measures. Uh, what does that mean to you personally, that saying? >> It means to me that I'm not doing it
01:41:02
half >> I always try and excel. I remember saying to all my team in the restaurants, you know, people
01:41:13
pass a lot of restaurants to come to our restaurant. It's not like we're the only
01:41:17
ones. So they're consciously driving or walking past restaurants and if they're
01:41:22
to come to ours. So if they go into that restaurant and they're having a perfect
01:41:28
day and everything goes swimming well so they get 100% peak performance out of their experience there. How are we going
01:41:36
to differentiate ourselves? We need to find that extra 5% magic. We need to be at 105 to make people realize that it
01:41:45
was worth coming that extra distance. And if that's just when they walk in looking up and going, "Hey, how are
01:41:51
you?" >> Doesn't matter what it is. We need to find that extra 5% magic with whatever
01:41:57
we do. So to me, that's what no half measures are. Let's do it as well as we
01:42:02
can because sure enough, your competitors trying just as hard, if not harder. M I I feel like that is um has a
01:42:11
bit like the impression I've got from this this podcast. That's how you've
01:42:14
lived your life. It's like your guiding star like just doing everything to the
01:42:18
absolute best of your ability. >> Try to try to My problem is I say yes too much. I should I need to Everybody
01:42:25
tells me I need to start saying no to everything. But I love I I love the challenge of things. I I I really enjoy
01:42:32
the challenge >> and don't like it when I don't do as well as I'd like to. But
01:42:39
>> what would you say are your best and worst habits? >> Best and worst habit.
01:42:44
>> I had um I had sir sir Steve Hansen on the podcast a few months ago and he he's
01:42:49
got a theory that for most people um their greatest strength is also their greatest weakness. So I wonder if um if
01:42:54
if you like one of your best and worst habits is saying saying yes to everything. I I think that would be I
01:43:00
mean I've got something coming up this weekend where it was a charity thing.
01:43:04
What I do this cooking thing with dads and their child son or daughter and I thought that's a cool thing. And so then
01:43:14
I quickly wrote down a menu and sent it off to them. And now I'm thinking I got to work all the recipes out and get
01:43:22
it all organized. So, you know, it's a charity again. It's another thing I do
01:43:26
for nothing. But >> um yeah, I I say yes way too easily and then end up stressing out or carrying
01:43:33
the consequence to deliver on it. And of course, I want to deliver well on it, so
01:43:37
I'll you know how >> Yeah. I'll go all out. >> What are you most afraid of?
01:43:45
>> What am I most afraid of? not having enough money to relax when I'm a bit older,
01:43:57
>> you know. >> Are you on track? >> You You're not going to stop working.
01:44:00
Eh, what what are your thoughts? >> I love No, I love working, but I you know, I I love traveling and yeah, I
01:44:06
hate to go bust and you know, you're hearing this all the time now, right, with restaurants and different business.
01:44:14
It's tough and I'm not immune to it. So, you know, at the moment it's it's
01:44:19
stressful and you know, I would yeah, that would be the thing I'm most afraid
01:44:24
of is going bust. So, it's not about how much money it's, you know, just need to
01:44:28
be comfortable >> and not go bust. >> So, you know, I'm working hard on all of
01:44:33
those things at the moment. >> Four more years until the pension cuz that's not that's not going to go far
01:44:38
though, is it? A few hundred bucks a week. >> No. No. >> Um, you'll keep working until until the
01:44:43
day you drop. >> I think so. I mean, you know, I like projects. I love projects and I love,
01:44:49
you know, I'd love, you know, people say to me, will you do another restaurant?
01:44:52
And I say, never say never. You know, if some young person came up and I thought,
01:44:57
this is the right person to back in a restaurant where they're running it, but
01:45:01
I'm just a support role. I' I'd like to do that. Maybe if the right person came up, you never know. My
01:45:09
daughter might say, I want to do a restaurant. Hopefully not, actually. But >> so you're okay with her her gliding.
01:45:17
>> Yeah, I'm okay with the fine, but I don't want her to have a restaurant life
01:45:20
because it's a killer. You know, it's antisocial. It's hard work and not a big
01:45:25
enough routine. >> Well, that's good. As apparent, you got to have your boundaries. Yeah. What
01:45:28
about regrets? >> Regrets? Um, yeah, there there is a couple. Um, I remember Kevin Roberts had said to me,
01:45:39
"Want to help you into a restaurant in New York?" And I said, "No." And also
01:45:45
Simon Fuller was keen to do a restaurant in London and I said no. Because it was
01:45:51
the Kiwi in me wanting to come home. But I would have loved to have done either of those to go, "Yeah, I did that."
01:45:58
>> For a guy whose worst habit is saying yes to things, you cocked those ones up,
01:46:01
didn't you? >> Yeah. It's the two that cuz I do love New Zealand. New Zealand is home and I I
01:46:07
love it. And both of those sort of offers were at a time that I hadn't been here for a while. So
01:46:14
>> So after everything you've been through, um the restaurants, the products, the
01:46:19
fame, the failures, what is it that you're still hungry for? >> H more time to go gliding and flying
01:46:30
probably. >> Yeah. Yeah. What is it about gliding? I'm intrigued about gliding. The only
01:46:35
person I I know and I don't even know him that glides is Richie Mccor. >> Yeah, Richie is a a very good glider
01:46:42
pilot or sail planes. So, most people think a glider just goes up and flutters down, right? But the actual reality of
01:46:51
it is they're heavy high performance machines that can go massive distances.
01:46:58
So there's a great Kiwi soaring glider pilot called Terry D'Lore. They call him
01:47:03
the master of the wave. Very good friend of mine and flies a lot with Richie Mccor too. And he took off in Omar in
01:47:12
the morning and flew to the bottom of the South Island and that evening landed in Drury in South Oakland in a glider.
01:47:23
I mean that's the entire length of the South Island and almost up you know to
01:47:31
Oakland Drury landed there and then had a few days and then flew to Cape Banger and back in a glider you know they can
01:47:39
go phenomenal distance and from a competition point of view once you get skilled enough you know they have these
01:47:48
fantastic competitions how fast can you fly around the course And invariably they're faster than you could do it in a
01:47:55
little 172 Cessna. You know, they're fast, high performance. They're beautiful to look at. They're they're
01:48:01
just sleek, graceful machines. It's like strapping a pair of overalls on and
01:48:07
going flying. You can be in a thermal and look out and see a hawk flying and his head is turning like this, looking
01:48:16
at you. And if you're in a thermal that a hawk's in, you know you're in the best
01:48:21
lift. And all of a sudden the hawk will go, "Oh, he's a bit bigger than me." He
01:48:24
flaps his wings and flies off. But you know, flying in the mountains in the South Island, you know, round the face
01:48:32
of Mount Cook, you see scenery that nobody else sees. It is you against the elements and you know there are all
01:48:41
sorts of sources of lift. You don't just go up and soar off. So there are thermals, right? So in a you see a
01:48:49
little white puffy cloud. There's generally a column of rising air under that. So the sun heats the ground and if
01:48:55
you're bare feet and you're running across an ash felt road it's hot on your
01:48:59
feet. Then over the grass it's not as hot. So the air over that ashfelt road
01:49:04
is warmer so it rises and as it rises it condenses and forms a little white puffy
01:49:11
cloud. So under that white puffy cloud there's a column of rising air. So if
01:49:15
you fly under under that in your glider and then circle you go up in the lift >> and then you go off to the next one.
01:49:23
Then there's ridge lift. So you've got a big hill and you know like something
01:49:27
like the Kaimai Rangers or the Alps in the South Island and there's a westerly
01:49:32
blowing and a wind hits the hill. Well, it can't go into the ground. It's got to
01:49:36
go up. So if you fly along the face of that lift, the face of that hill, you're
01:49:42
in rising air. So you can go phenomenal speeds. You can be going like, you know,
01:49:47
180 kilometers an hour in this rising air and cover huge distances. Then there's wave lift which you see in the
01:49:55
South Island with these beautiful lenticular clouds. So the wind hits the hill and when it's a big hill like in
01:50:02
the South Island of the Alps, hits the hill, rises up and then it gets cold and it falls down again, hits the ground and
01:50:10
then it bounces even higher the next time. And that's when you can fly to incredible altitudes, higher than a a
01:50:18
jet airliner. You know, you're on oxygen up there. So there's all these different
01:50:23
forms of lift and that is such a challenge as a pilot to be up there. You against the elements. No engine,
01:50:31
>> just you flying against the elements. How fast can you go? How far can you go?
01:50:37
>> It it is just the most incredible sport that you could do. You love it, don't you? What
01:50:43
What's it like up there? Pardon my ignorance. Is it um everyone imagines super still, but is is it noisy with the
01:50:49
wind? Everybody thinks it's quiet, but it's actually reasonably noisy because
01:50:53
you're going fast. So, you're in this very sleek machine. So, you don't want
01:50:57
any tiny cracks or anything letting air in, >> otherwise it will be really noisy and
01:51:03
causes drag. So, you know, you're in this like capsule. So, but it is relatively noisy. It's not quiet.
01:51:09
>> And can your mind wander or do you are you fully engaged? And >> you can your mind can wander when you're
01:51:15
set up in a lift and just going up, but no, you're pretty That's what I love
01:51:18
about it. It's completely different to everything else you do. You go, you strap into that glider, you go flying,
01:51:24
and that's what you're doing until you're back on the ground at the bar
01:51:28
telling how telling everybody how well you did or didn't do. You've got good
01:51:32
energy, eh? Like you you really do live the um the no half measures um lifestyle. Like everything you do,
01:51:40
you're just so enthusiastic when you talk about it. It's really really captivating.
01:51:44
>> Yeah. Well, I probably can't talk about running like that, right? Well, it's not something you're into.
01:51:50
Um, do you think about legacy at all? Not really. >> Uh, not until you just mention really.
01:51:58
>> No, I just want to be a good dad. I want I want to be remembered as like he was a
01:52:03
good dad. That's all I care about. >> Yeah. When the time comes that you pass,
01:52:07
say 30 years from now. What what what three words would you like Hazel to use to describe you
01:52:15
>> as a man and as a dad? >> I love my dad. >> Yeah. Yeah. And I can tell how much you
01:52:25
love her, too. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Are you proud of yourself?
01:52:29
>> Yeah. Yeah. I think I've done pretty good. And uh you know, definitely done things I'm not
01:52:36
proud about. Don't ask me what cuz I can't really remember, but you know,
01:52:40
like I you know, nobody's perfect, right? >> Nobody's perfect. >> You know, oh no, there's a few people on
01:52:47
the internet that are >> in the comment section. >> Oh, yes. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. The
01:52:52
keyboard warrior, I call them. >> Yeah. >> Hey, this has been a wonderful
01:52:55
conversation. I'm so pleased we made this happen. Yeah. How's it for you
01:52:59
reflecting on the highs and lows. >> Yeah, it's pretty good. You you you draw
01:53:03
in the bits that you don't think about, you know, to get me to talk about. So
01:53:07
no, I've enjoyed it. It's been >> Well, it's been wonderful. I feel like
01:53:10
you're an old mate. >> Yeah, I suppose the TV connection, but it's been really enjoyable. So,
01:53:15
>> you'll have to come to my deli. Come into my deli. I've got all the secret
01:53:19
weapons for your pantry at home, and I'll turn you into a salt snob, olive oil and balsamic snob.
01:53:28
>> So, come and see me in St. John's. >> Mate, you you'd hate me. I can I can eat
01:53:31
for survival. Like, I could eat salmon and broccoli every night of the week. I can I can make your broccoli taste
01:53:37
better than anything. I get people who I don't like Brussels sprouts. I'm like,
01:53:42
I'll get you liking Brussels sprouts. You're a great New Zealander and you've done some stuff. Simon Golton,
01:53:47
thank you very much for being on the podcast. >> Pleasure. Thank you very much for having
01:53:50
me.