I'm here on set of MasterChef Junior with this man, Gordon Ramsay.

How are you? Good to see you, mate.

Good to see you. I I rarely wear a blazer, but I knew I'd have to step it up when I came to visit you.

I don't pay for these clothes.

No, you don't. They go back to the wardrobe and then

Yeah. It's It's a good budget. Fox take them back.

It's a good budget. Fox do take it back.

But it's a It's a good budget because the show's done so so well. Do you know Oliver? MasterChef Junior has been a a big eye opener, I think, really. Right. Because it's been one of the most family sort of uh most watched programs Right. of the year. So this year we come back to season two. Right. Season one was a big success.

Season one was huge. Yeah. We loved. Yeah. Big Al. Yeah. Alexander. Yeah.

He actually comes back across season two and sort of helps motivate uh these youngsters. But eight to thirteen year olds. Right. Do you have children?

I don't. I don't. None have come forward yet. No. But maybe after watching this, they might. No. Who knows? Who knows?

I'm your daddy. This is what Hollywood does. Come on, kids. Give me a call. It's me. You recognize me.

You're dad. Yes. Um but no, all jokes aside, for me, it's, you know, a lot easier having children of my own. And you know what it's like. Uh there's no script to having kids, and it's a moving target that needs to be adjusted every month. Right.

Yeah, I think it's a lot more dangerous out there for them with the sort of whole social media thing, and so they need to focus on real stuff. Right. So cooking is just that because it gets them occupied, concentrating. And even though you never pursue it as a chef. Just learning to cook for yourself. Right. It's crucial. Right.

Well, it it it amazes me the talent that's out there at such a young age when you watch this show. I mean, for you, you obviously didn't start cooking. You were older than that.

Yeah, no, I mean, obviously Football first. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. We were involved uh at schoolboy level at County and then went on from there. Sadly, that came to a very sudden halt with uh ligaments. Uh two on the same knee. Um and then I was down and out at eighteen. You pick yourself up. Um and then I went into this college course for a HND management course to travel the world as a hotel manager. Now I can't for the love of me expect myself being a five-star hotel general manager. I don't think we'd have many residents staying in-house.

I I I don't want to, but I can agree with you there. Many people would stay. Or at least come back.

Well, it's that kind of Britishness. Straight to the point. Right. Exactly. Which I think is healthy. Exactly. But these kids at the age of eight to thirteen, having this experience in the kitchen, it's mind-blowing.

Yeah.

Also, you know, some kids go and play softball. Right. Basketball, baseball. Some kids go for soccer lessons. Right. Volleyball. Uh these kids are interested in having cooking lessons. Right. And they want to cook three, four nights a week. It's brilliant. Some of them, you know, have the responsibility of their parents, uh having two jobs, um and cooking seven nights a week for the family. But for me, they're the real deal, and that's the most important thing. Right.

And it's a very different uh show for you, you Graham and Joe in the way of MasterChef because it's a lot more supportive, isn't it?

Yeah. Less criticism. Obviously, the kids are involved, so We get to mentor them a little bit more. Right. Um for me, it's about making them look good and also being there to pick them up. Uh we are brutally honest. Um yeah, there are tantrums and tears. There is high pressure involved. But, you know, we look at it almost like a sort of soccer coach. Right. Uh and we just want the best out of them. But we're there to make them look good, and we're there to help. So I think that's the big difference.

And you're currently shooting season two and three. Yes. I want to ask you about surprises. You've briefly told me about some of the stuff that's been under this table we're sitting at.

Yeah. This is the MasterChef pantry. So it is one of the most gorgeous pantries anywhere in the world. Even though I haven't got a pantry this glamorous. I'm sure it's not far off. But

Uh well, maybe, yeah. Yeah. We have one less fridge. Um a few less spices. They need four fridges. Just no. Unnecessary.

No, exactly that. Um so we started off with exotic meats, and there's about these proteins and how popular they are, especially down south. Right. So we had this two hundred fifty pound snapping turtle. And then we had a local six and a half foot rattlesnake. And then the young

But what worries me is you said local.

Well, yeah, but yeah, up in Malibu. This thing was found in Malibu, so I know. Right. Um and the young chef was standing there, so I walked around the side of the bench and I said, "What do you think of those two?" He said, "Yeah, they're okay, but I'm not sure if I want to eat them." And I just went, "Snap!" And then this thing dropped, and all of a sudden there's a seven and a half foot alligator underneath. Right. Yeah. It was It was a very strange smell for thirty seconds. God bless him. We had to take him to the bathroom, regress him, and bring him back out.

I was. Have you ever had? No, I'm going to take your word for it as well. Alligator? No. You don't look like the kind of boy who wants to go out and order an alligator and chips. Really? I don't strike you as that? No. Or a rattlesnake sandwich. Who knows what's around the corner.

No, but have you had rattlesnake?

I've never had any of them. I've never seen them on a menu. You see, always have that fear about eating it and then getting bitten by one. Right. In terms of seeking revenge. Right. Karma. Karma. Yeah, exactly. Just making sure. What's that? Oh, sorry. No, it's Sorry. Damn. Sorry. Excuse me. Gordon attack. Sorry. Excuse me. I was like, "Jeez, I wonder what that was." I saw it moving down there, and I was worried about you. Thank you. Thank you.

If you If you see anything that that size below our hips, you should be worried. Yeah. Do you swim down in Santa Monica? Do you go in the water?

I do swim a little bit. I just started surfing, funnily enough. Yeah. Yeah. Very interesting. Watch out for the great whites. I won't be surfing anymore. That's my my dream there crashed. But we We did touch base earlier on social media and stuff like that. Yes. Um and how it's all out there for these kids. Obviously, you know, food is all these menus, and, you know, tips on food is put out there. How do you find your new tips on what to eat next and stuff like that? Is it online?

That's a good question. Uh, do you know I like traveling? Um last month I was in Barcelona, looking at the latest tapas bar. Uh we got a big opening coming up in Hong Kong. Uh followed by Singapore and then Macau. So every time I go to these little places, I'm like a magpie. I go and find all the little shiny bits and then bring them back and involve them. Also, I think um

It's definitely more fun way of doing it.

Yeah, but I think our habits are changing. We want to stay healthier, we want to live longer. And um, you know, I started training for an Ironman last year. So I completely transformed my diet. So as opposed to eating three times a day, I started eating five times a day, but smaller portions. Right. Cut the dairy down. And and then, you know, I look at the desserts and think, well, it's not forbidden fruit, but it's a treat. Like we do with the kids. So there's a dessert once a week, fruit five nights a week. So, you know, I change regularly. But I think having that kind of healthy lifestyle gives you a very active Right. Yeah, performance, and that's really important for any chef.

And these young kids that are out there that aren't haven't made it onto the show. Um one piece of advice you'd give them in the cooking world.

Yeah. Um, you know, I had a lot of failure in my life growing up. Um, don't get negative. Get positive. And, you know, negative energy is wasting time. But turn that disadvantage to your advantage. Um and bounce back.

And just to wrap this up, just to mention the other judges quickly, Joe, Graham and you, who is the who is the toughest out of the three of you?

Yeah, well, Graham's gone through this amazing transformation. Right. You know, he uh he lost over, you know, a hundred pounds. He looks incredible. He's got so much more energy.

It's a great looking panel. It's a great looking panel. That's a bonus.

Joe is as miserable as ever. Uh yeah, he makes me look like a pussy cat. Right. But we're going head to head this year for the first time where we're going to do our Iron Man head to head. And uh I've got a feeling, a very strong feeling that I'm going to kick his ass.

That's That's a confident confident quote right there. Um we'll finish on that, and I hope hope you're right because otherwise it's an embarrassing thing to go in so so confident.

So confident. Stay strong. Now, if this TV stuff doesn't work out, you can always try male modeling.

Thank you. Thank you. Good luck. Thank you.