November 9, 2024 • 16 mins
Matty Matheson is best known to TV fans as loveable handyman Neil Fak on hit series The Bear - but he's got plenty of real-world experience in the world of food.
But before he appeared on our screens, he made a name for himself as a celebrity chef - he owns plenty of restaurants, hosts YouTube cooking tutorials, and he's written a few cookbooks of his own.
His newest book Soups, Salads, Sandwiches was released earlier this year, and it promises to give readers plenty of easy recipes that can be recreated at home.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Edb Here in New Zealand, we beast know Matty mathieson
as lovable handyman Neil Thack on Emmy Award winning show
The Bear, But Mattie is actually the only cast member
who is a celebrity chef. So for twenty years, Matty
has worked in the culinary world. He owns a bunch
of restaurants, hosts YouTube cooking shows, and is a cookbook author.
(00:32):
Matty has released his third cookbook. It's called Soups, Salads
and Sandwiches. Matti Mathison joins me. Now, morning, Mattie, good morning,
and how are you really good? Thank you, thank you
for being with us. Hey, you say that you had
trouble coming up with an idea for this third book,
So how did you settle on Soups, salads and Sandwiches.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Well, you know, I was just sitting there and I
was just like eating a salad, and you know, as
I usually do, I eat lots of salads, avid salad eater.
And then I was just like, I wish I was
eating soup and a sandwich, you know. And then I
was just like, wait, we should make a book about
just soup, sooul sandwiches. Nobody really does that, you know,
like it's always like overla, It's just like a super
solad sand like who cares, you know, but it's just
(01:14):
like no, they they deserve their flowers.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
You know, chapter on soup, you really give soup high praise.
One soup sort of even changed your life.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, I think I think soup is uh, soup is
a beautiful thing. It's it's a you know, we're all
made of soup. I think it's like if I could
eat you know, FA every day, I would eat FA
every day.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
You know, it really is. I don't know. I think
I'm just a big baby soup boy. You know.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
What is it though? Is it? Is it just good
for the soul? Can you put everything? Can you have
everything in the soup from the broth to actual you know,
you know noodles, Yeah, like noodles everything. You know, there's so.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Many things you want, you know that just a velvety,
beautiful personate maple soup that's nice. A brothy, spicy beef
noodle soup slurping and eating incredible. You know, you want
a charred broccoli cheese soup awesome. You know, like this beer.
I got a beer cheese soup with like roasted pumpernickle bread.
(02:21):
It's like drinking a fond do you know, It's incredible.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It's so true. I love the section on sandwiches because
I think most of us, you know, we grow up
going to school with these sorry mom, but pretty lousy
sandwiches and your lunch box, you know, and you just
you get over sandwiches when you're young, and then you
just kind of blow the sandwich genre apart in this book.
I don't know where I'm gonna start when it comes
to making sandwiches.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Well, they're like building buildings, you know, like there's real
architecture on building a good sandwich, A soft bun, a toast,
and you know, whole wheat, a rye, the filling, cold meat,
hot meat, sandwich like fried not.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Fried, grilled.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
There's so many things that you can do with sandwiches,
you know. I think that it's just like, you know,
you want to be able to make something that like
when you eat it, it's it's delicious, and it's there's crunch,
there's sweetness, there's sour, there's you know, I don't know.
It's like sandwiches can be incredible, you know.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
And it's a little bit like it sort of turns
into a bit of a treble guide as well, because
you know, you've got sandwiches from New York and Philly
and some of these classics that are North American sandwiches
that we're probably not hugely familiar with.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah, Like, I think that's the thing is like, you know,
I'm from Canada, so it's the same type of thing
like growing up in Canada, you know, part of the
whole commonwealth there, And I think it's just like going
to the state. I spent so much time in the States.
I'm like, these cities have these sandwiches that it's just
like we don't eat like that, we don't like you know,
and it's just like these sandwiches are so iconic and
(03:57):
so powerful and I'm just like just trying to spread
the love.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
The key to a salad. I thought this was really interesting.
I don't think I've ever read anybody talk about this
in a in a cookbook before. And you just go
on about the seasoning of a salad.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Well, yeah, people like, you know, God forbid you put
salt and pepper on it lettuce, Like it's just like
lettuce should have salt and pepper on it, you know,
Like it is like a thing that's like everything should
be seasoned until it tastes good.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Like it's like it's not like one thing determines the other,
Like like a perfectly seasoned salad, like even if it
was just lettuce greens with oil and vinegar and some
like lemon juice and some salt and pepper could be
the greatest thing of all time.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
I love the way to You include Trecia's chuna salad
in this book, and there's these photos of her with
this massive pink sort of tup wear that she's filled.
And I think all families have that one kind of
salad we go to of which we make far too
much of. And I don't know it's going to last
for lunches for a week or something, But this is
this is a real family dish of yours, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Yeah, I guarantee you there's a pink bowl right now
filled with half tuna salad in there that she's munching
on all week.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
For sure, everyone has something they love and hate about cooking.
I really hate it when I have guessed over and
they stand in the kitchen and watch me cook. That
just does my head. And what about you?
Speaker 3 (05:25):
I really don't like doing dishes. I'll cook all day.
I'll cook all day, I will do everything. I'll even
clean up, but like just doing the dishes just I'm like,
I don't want to do everything, you know. So I'm like,
I'm happy to cook. I will cook twenty four hours straight,
like if we're doing Thanksgiving or if we're doing Christmas
like a big thing, I'll cook everything. I'll do everything.
(05:48):
I'll do everything, But I'm like doing the dishes. I
just want to lay on the couch and like go
into a comba. You know.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I kind of thought that was global etiquette when it
came to hospitality and things like. You know, the chief
shouldn't never have to do the dishes. That is the
role for someone else, right.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Yeah, you know Trish that no I think, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
No, okay, so you doping to do a few dishes.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
No, we we like to split it up, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yeah. I really loved as well. In the intro of
the book, you talk about how it's absolutely fine that
cooking should make you uncomfortable which I think is another
really nice, sort of practical, realistic thing to say, because
I'm often I often launched do something and just go,
I have no idea how this is going to turn out,
and it's actually really nice. You just go, that's totally fine,
that it's normal. We all get like that.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Well, I think every time you cook something, it's still
for the first time, you know, like everything makes a difference,
you know, And I think especially in the home, like
you start cooking something when of your kids runs in
and does something. Then you run away and you burn
the onions or you do something, and then like something's happening,
and like every time you're doing something, But it's just
(06:58):
like cooking is a crab. It is a trade, you know,
it is a skill. So it is like, you know,
any I think good worthwhile shouldn't be easy.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
You know.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
I read that out of all the things you do,
you like to keep the books as close to who
you truly are. So what does this book say about you?
Speaker 3 (07:19):
I love my family and I love making uh, soup, salad, sandwiches,
you know, like I think it's just like I love
making you know, I love making tasty sandwiches. I love
making salads. I love making soups like I love, I
genuinely do. That's what I make most of the time.
I usually definitely make a salad every day, you like,
(07:41):
whenever we're making as a family, like we always try
to have a salad of some sort.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
You know.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
So I think I think this book is you know,
I'm not really at home making elaborate, chefy, you know, dishes.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
I'm not.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
I got three kids at home. I need to make
grilled cheeses like I want to share. I'm making tuna melts.
I'm making like food that everybody eats and make it like,
you know, like I think I don't. I think most
chefs aren't cooking what they're making at theirs. You know,
at a restaurant, you got all your chefs to help
you make it, you know. At home, it's just like
this just makes something tasty and yummy. It makes you
feel good.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
I do love all the photos in the book. Are
they from your home? I believe that you were on
a farm on Ontario and Ontario.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yeah, yeah, that's all like like we shot, you know,
we shot all the stuff, all the lifestyle stuff and
like all that. We were on the farm for about
a week and then and then we shot all the
studio stuff another week.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I love the wood fid bath.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
It's a nice thing, you know. It's a toasty little
it's a toasty little spot.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Yeah, No, that was awesome. I wonder how important it
is to you to have a place like that to go, especially,
I mean these days, you know, you're very very well known.
Is it nice to have a place like that to
come home, to be to feel grounded in?
Speaker 4 (08:55):
It's the best. There's nothing better.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Like it really is lucky, Like we found a beautiful
farm in our hometown where me and my wife are from, and.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, Like, we're.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Very lucky to have found that house and kind of
found our forever home the first time.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
You know, it really is amazing.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I love it. Just reminded me. I love the photo
of you too, when you're young like this you reenacted it.
How old were you guys? Like high school sweethearts or something?
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Yeah, we went to Prome together.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Oh gorgeous. No, I love that photo. You don't know, Hardy,
look like you've aged.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Look.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
I love the beer. It is such a great sh
being hugely popular. Can you tell us a little bit
about how you got involved because you weren't initially in
the cast. Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Uh yeah, Like I think they already cast a bunch
of people, and then I was brought on as like
a consultant and then grew into a producer and executive
producer roles, and then uh yeah, Chris was just like,
Chris is my friend, you know, Like I didn't have
to audition, Like Chris just called me.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
It was just like, we want you to play this role.
I don't think it was going to be a big role.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And then it turned into maybe, you know, it has
turned into a bigger role, and yeah, like Chris was
just like, can you act? And I was just like,
I don't know. I don't think so, but maybe. And
I was just like and that's honestly, like, I'm just
lucky that my friend called me.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
You know, did you feel uncomfortable? Was that an uncomfortable
and you're working on sick Okay, hang on, what do
I do? How do I do this?
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Dude?
Speaker 3 (10:30):
The very first, the very first, Like it's one of
those things where I was very comfortable working with the chefs,
working with the actors, working with all the departments on
making the show, Like that's like a collaborative creative thing
that I'm used to making restaurants and working with teams,
and it's amazing. But then it's like, okay, now it's
like you gotta shoot your scene. I gotta go stand
(10:50):
next to Jeremy Allen White and talk about some friggin
ball breaker arcade game. And I'm just like, ah, man.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
It was crazy.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Like you're the first time and they're like action and
You're like wait, and I start like laughing because I'm like, okay, action,
and then it's just like no, it's for everyone.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Starts one starts acting and you're like what, Like we're
just having to we're just onside hanging out. Like now
we're over here, we're acting. I was like, what's going on?
You guys are crazy? But that's like, it's amazing. It
really is.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
It's a cool thing to be able to do something
you've never done before and be surrounded by such professionals.
And they gave me the same kind of reciprocal I
was helping them do cooking stuff, they're helping me do
acting and really spend some time with me and really
got me to a really nice place.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
I think you know absolutely, the show kind of gives you.
I well, I'm king to hear your thoughts on this.
Just how realistic is it? Because it doesn't look like
the kind of environment that a lot of people would
like to work in. How close to reality is it
working in a kitchen like that.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
It all depends if you got a jerk chep or not.
I think, like, once again, we're making a television show.
I think that we have somebody who has a lot
of emotional and mental damage. He's coming home to take
over his, you know, his brother's restaurant, who's passed away
(12:14):
through something pretty.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Violent and doesn't know how to deal with anything.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Doesn't know how like just being able to cook well,
like Carmie can, Krmi can cook well? Can he truly lead?
It doesn't seem so he's trying to figure it out.
I think there's a lot of people around him that
believe on him. I think there's a lot of people
that don't give up on him, and I think he
doesn't give up on them. And I think they're all
in this weird, you know, toxic little world. And I
(12:45):
hope there's not a lot of restaurants like that, And
I you know, I didn't work in a lot. I
worked in like pretty intense restaurants, but you know, it's
I never worked in a restaurant where it was a
family owned business like that, you know where, and especially
in the circumstances that the bears place once again. And
(13:07):
it is a television show, and I think some of
the realities are real, and some of the things are
about a character who's been written for television.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
You have a host of restaurants yourself. I know that
you've got a lot going on the cookbook, merchandise lines, acting.
When it comes to the restaurants, of course, it's just
been such a difficult time for hospitality over the last
few years post COVID. How things were you are?
Speaker 3 (13:35):
You know, we're we're putting back the pieces, you know,
we're putting back to pieces. We're trying to give people
a beautiful experience and trying to make people feel welcomed
and feel part of something, and trying to be consistent
with the love and service that we give and the
food quality that we put out into our restaurants. And
(13:56):
I think we're in a really good place, to be honest,
you know, I'm very filled with gratitude of our restaurants
and the amount of people that are going to them
and our staff that are working as hard as they are,
and you know, I'm really I'm really proud of our
restaurants and what we're doing, and you know a lot
(14:17):
of them. Like before the pandemic, I didn't have any restaurants,
you know, and now I got a couple, and and
it's it's an amazing thing. The pandemic birth my restaurants.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
I went.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
I couldn't do anything else. I had to go back
to just feeding people. And it really sparked my love
of food and my love like really like I was
just like, no matter what happens, I guess I can.
I can go to the end of my driveway and
sell a sandwich or sell some barbecue, and I can
like provide for my family. Like that's what it got
(14:50):
to during the pandemic where I had to do my
barbecue pop up and from there I opened parts from
their Maddie's Patties and Cafe rang and you know Prime
Seafood Palace and Rizos House a Palm and like all
these restaurants and it's just like I didn't have those.
I didn't They were birth from me finding my love
(15:12):
of restaurants again. And like you know, I was in
a chef for you know, almost seven years, and then
and then I had to stay home for a while,
and then I had to figure out how to provide
for my family. And food gave me that that that opportunity.
I can go out, I can cook, and I can
provide for my family. And that's what we did.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Look, I'm glad that you managed to find the time
to write another cookbook for us as well. Thank you
so much for the book, a very generous cookbook, and
thank you so much for your time. Really nice to
talk to you.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
Thank you. I love New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
It was many methes and celebrity chef and Neil Feck
from Emmy Award winning show The Bear his new cookbook Soups,
Salads and Sandwiches and tell me what the sandwiches are remarkable.
It is in stores now.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rutken, listen
live to news Talks. It'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Edb Here in New Zealand, we beast know Matty mathieson
as lovable handyman Neil Thack on Emmy Award winning show
The Bear, But Mattie is actually the only cast member
who is a celebrity chef. So for twenty years, Matty
has worked in the culinary world. He owns a bunch
of restaurants, hosts YouTube cooking shows, and is a cookbook author.
(00:32):
Matty has released his third cookbook. It's called Soups, Salads
and Sandwiches. Matti Mathison joins me. Now, morning, Mattie, good morning,
and how are you really good? Thank you, thank you
for being with us. Hey, you say that you had
trouble coming up with an idea for this third book,
So how did you settle on Soups, salads and Sandwiches.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Well, you know, I was just sitting there and I
was just like eating a salad, and you know, as
I usually do, I eat lots of salads, avid salad eater.
And then I was just like, I wish I was
eating soup and a sandwich, you know. And then I
was just like, wait, we should make a book about
just soup, sooul sandwiches. Nobody really does that, you know,
like it's always like overla, It's just like a super
solad sand like who cares, you know, but it's just
(01:14):
like no, they they deserve their flowers.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
You know, chapter on soup, you really give soup high praise.
One soup sort of even changed your life.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, I think I think soup is uh, soup is
a beautiful thing. It's it's a you know, we're all
made of soup. I think it's like if I could
eat you know, FA every day, I would eat FA
every day.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
You know, it really is. I don't know. I think
I'm just a big baby soup boy. You know.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
What is it though? Is it? Is it just good
for the soul? Can you put everything? Can you have
everything in the soup from the broth to actual you know,
you know noodles, Yeah, like noodles everything. You know, there's so.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Many things you want, you know that just a velvety,
beautiful personate maple soup that's nice. A brothy, spicy beef
noodle soup slurping and eating incredible. You know, you want
a charred broccoli cheese soup awesome. You know, like this beer.
I got a beer cheese soup with like roasted pumpernickle bread.
(02:21):
It's like drinking a fond do you know, It's incredible.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It's so true. I love the section on sandwiches because
I think most of us, you know, we grow up
going to school with these sorry mom, but pretty lousy
sandwiches and your lunch box, you know, and you just
you get over sandwiches when you're young, and then you
just kind of blow the sandwich genre apart in this book.
I don't know where I'm gonna start when it comes
to making sandwiches.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Well, they're like building buildings, you know, like there's real
architecture on building a good sandwich, A soft bun, a toast,
and you know, whole wheat, a rye, the filling, cold meat,
hot meat, sandwich like fried not.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Fried, grilled.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
There's so many things that you can do with sandwiches,
you know. I think that it's just like, you know,
you want to be able to make something that like
when you eat it, it's it's delicious, and it's there's crunch,
there's sweetness, there's sour, there's you know, I don't know.
It's like sandwiches can be incredible, you know.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
And it's a little bit like it sort of turns
into a bit of a treble guide as well, because
you know, you've got sandwiches from New York and Philly
and some of these classics that are North American sandwiches
that we're probably not hugely familiar with.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah, Like, I think that's the thing is like, you know,
I'm from Canada, so it's the same type of thing
like growing up in Canada, you know, part of the
whole commonwealth there, And I think it's just like going
to the state. I spent so much time in the States.
I'm like, these cities have these sandwiches that it's just
like we don't eat like that, we don't like you know,
and it's just like these sandwiches are so iconic and
(03:57):
so powerful and I'm just like just trying to spread
the love.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
The key to a salad. I thought this was really interesting.
I don't think I've ever read anybody talk about this
in a in a cookbook before. And you just go
on about the seasoning of a salad.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Well, yeah, people like, you know, God forbid you put
salt and pepper on it lettuce, Like it's just like
lettuce should have salt and pepper on it, you know,
Like it is like a thing that's like everything should
be seasoned until it tastes good.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Like it's like it's not like one thing determines the other,
Like like a perfectly seasoned salad, like even if it
was just lettuce greens with oil and vinegar and some
like lemon juice and some salt and pepper could be
the greatest thing of all time.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
I love the way to You include Trecia's chuna salad
in this book, and there's these photos of her with
this massive pink sort of tup wear that she's filled.
And I think all families have that one kind of
salad we go to of which we make far too
much of. And I don't know it's going to last
for lunches for a week or something, But this is
this is a real family dish of yours, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Yeah, I guarantee you there's a pink bowl right now
filled with half tuna salad in there that she's munching
on all week.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
For sure, everyone has something they love and hate about cooking.
I really hate it when I have guessed over and
they stand in the kitchen and watch me cook. That
just does my head. And what about you?
Speaker 3 (05:25):
I really don't like doing dishes. I'll cook all day.
I'll cook all day, I will do everything. I'll even
clean up, but like just doing the dishes just I'm like,
I don't want to do everything, you know. So I'm like,
I'm happy to cook. I will cook twenty four hours straight,
like if we're doing Thanksgiving or if we're doing Christmas
like a big thing, I'll cook everything. I'll do everything.
(05:48):
I'll do everything, But I'm like doing the dishes. I
just want to lay on the couch and like go
into a comba. You know.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I kind of thought that was global etiquette when it
came to hospitality and things like. You know, the chief
shouldn't never have to do the dishes. That is the
role for someone else, right.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Yeah, you know Trish that no I think, yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
No, okay, so you doping to do a few dishes.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
No, we we like to split it up, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yeah. I really loved as well. In the intro of
the book, you talk about how it's absolutely fine that
cooking should make you uncomfortable which I think is another
really nice, sort of practical, realistic thing to say, because
I'm often I often launched do something and just go,
I have no idea how this is going to turn out,
and it's actually really nice. You just go, that's totally fine,
that it's normal. We all get like that.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Well, I think every time you cook something, it's still
for the first time, you know, like everything makes a difference,
you know, And I think especially in the home, like
you start cooking something when of your kids runs in
and does something. Then you run away and you burn
the onions or you do something, and then like something's happening,
and like every time you're doing something, But it's just
(06:58):
like cooking is a crab. It is a trade, you know,
it is a skill. So it is like, you know,
any I think good worthwhile shouldn't be easy.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
You know.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
I read that out of all the things you do,
you like to keep the books as close to who
you truly are. So what does this book say about you?
Speaker 3 (07:19):
I love my family and I love making uh, soup, salad, sandwiches,
you know, like I think it's just like I love
making you know, I love making tasty sandwiches. I love
making salads. I love making soups like I love, I
genuinely do. That's what I make most of the time.
I usually definitely make a salad every day, you like,
(07:41):
whenever we're making as a family, like we always try
to have a salad of some sort.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
You know.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
So I think I think this book is you know,
I'm not really at home making elaborate, chefy, you know, dishes.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
I'm not.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
I got three kids at home. I need to make
grilled cheeses like I want to share. I'm making tuna melts.
I'm making like food that everybody eats and make it like,
you know, like I think I don't. I think most
chefs aren't cooking what they're making at theirs. You know,
at a restaurant, you got all your chefs to help
you make it, you know. At home, it's just like
this just makes something tasty and yummy. It makes you
feel good.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
I do love all the photos in the book. Are
they from your home? I believe that you were on
a farm on Ontario and Ontario.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yeah, yeah, that's all like like we shot, you know,
we shot all the stuff, all the lifestyle stuff and
like all that. We were on the farm for about
a week and then and then we shot all the
studio stuff another week.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I love the wood fid bath.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
It's a nice thing, you know. It's a toasty little
it's a toasty little spot.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Yeah, No, that was awesome. I wonder how important it
is to you to have a place like that to go, especially,
I mean these days, you know, you're very very well known.
Is it nice to have a place like that to
come home, to be to feel grounded in?
Speaker 4 (08:55):
It's the best. There's nothing better.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Like it really is lucky, Like we found a beautiful
farm in our hometown where me and my wife are from, and.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, Like, we're.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Very lucky to have found that house and kind of
found our forever home the first time.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
You know, it really is amazing.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I love it. Just reminded me. I love the photo
of you too, when you're young like this you reenacted it.
How old were you guys? Like high school sweethearts or something?
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Yeah, we went to Prome together.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Oh gorgeous. No, I love that photo. You don't know, Hardy,
look like you've aged.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Look.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
I love the beer. It is such a great sh
being hugely popular. Can you tell us a little bit
about how you got involved because you weren't initially in
the cast. Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Uh yeah, Like I think they already cast a bunch
of people, and then I was brought on as like
a consultant and then grew into a producer and executive
producer roles, and then uh yeah, Chris was just like,
Chris is my friend, you know, Like I didn't have
to audition, Like Chris just called me.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
It was just like, we want you to play this role.
I don't think it was going to be a big role.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
And then it turned into maybe, you know, it has
turned into a bigger role, and yeah, like Chris was
just like, can you act? And I was just like,
I don't know. I don't think so, but maybe. And
I was just like and that's honestly, like, I'm just
lucky that my friend called me.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
You know, did you feel uncomfortable? Was that an uncomfortable
and you're working on sick Okay, hang on, what do
I do? How do I do this?
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Dude?
Speaker 3 (10:30):
The very first, the very first, Like it's one of
those things where I was very comfortable working with the chefs,
working with the actors, working with all the departments on
making the show, Like that's like a collaborative creative thing
that I'm used to making restaurants and working with teams,
and it's amazing. But then it's like, okay, now it's
like you gotta shoot your scene. I gotta go stand
(10:50):
next to Jeremy Allen White and talk about some friggin
ball breaker arcade game. And I'm just like, ah, man.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
It was crazy.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Like you're the first time and they're like action and
You're like wait, and I start like laughing because I'm like, okay, action,
and then it's just like no, it's for everyone.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Starts one starts acting and you're like what, Like we're
just having to we're just onside hanging out. Like now
we're over here, we're acting. I was like, what's going on?
You guys are crazy? But that's like, it's amazing. It
really is.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
It's a cool thing to be able to do something
you've never done before and be surrounded by such professionals.
And they gave me the same kind of reciprocal I
was helping them do cooking stuff, they're helping me do
acting and really spend some time with me and really
got me to a really nice place.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
I think you know absolutely, the show kind of gives you.
I well, I'm king to hear your thoughts on this.
Just how realistic is it? Because it doesn't look like
the kind of environment that a lot of people would
like to work in. How close to reality is it
working in a kitchen like that.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
It all depends if you got a jerk chep or not.
I think, like, once again, we're making a television show.
I think that we have somebody who has a lot
of emotional and mental damage. He's coming home to take
over his, you know, his brother's restaurant, who's passed away
(12:14):
through something pretty.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Violent and doesn't know how to deal with anything.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Doesn't know how like just being able to cook well,
like Carmie can, Krmi can cook well? Can he truly lead?
It doesn't seem so he's trying to figure it out.
I think there's a lot of people around him that
believe on him. I think there's a lot of people
that don't give up on him, and I think he
doesn't give up on them. And I think they're all
in this weird, you know, toxic little world. And I
(12:45):
hope there's not a lot of restaurants like that, And
I you know, I didn't work in a lot. I
worked in like pretty intense restaurants, but you know, it's
I never worked in a restaurant where it was a
family owned business like that, you know where, and especially
in the circumstances that the bears place once again. And
(13:07):
it is a television show, and I think some of
the realities are real, and some of the things are
about a character who's been written for television.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
You have a host of restaurants yourself. I know that
you've got a lot going on the cookbook, merchandise lines, acting.
When it comes to the restaurants, of course, it's just
been such a difficult time for hospitality over the last
few years post COVID. How things were you are?
Speaker 3 (13:35):
You know, we're we're putting back the pieces, you know,
we're putting back to pieces. We're trying to give people
a beautiful experience and trying to make people feel welcomed
and feel part of something, and trying to be consistent
with the love and service that we give and the
food quality that we put out into our restaurants. And
(13:56):
I think we're in a really good place, to be honest,
you know, I'm very filled with gratitude of our restaurants
and the amount of people that are going to them
and our staff that are working as hard as they are,
and you know, I'm really I'm really proud of our
restaurants and what we're doing, and you know a lot
(14:17):
of them. Like before the pandemic, I didn't have any restaurants,
you know, and now I got a couple, and and
it's it's an amazing thing. The pandemic birth my restaurants.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
I went.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
I couldn't do anything else. I had to go back
to just feeding people. And it really sparked my love
of food and my love like really like I was
just like, no matter what happens, I guess I can.
I can go to the end of my driveway and
sell a sandwich or sell some barbecue, and I can
like provide for my family. Like that's what it got
(14:50):
to during the pandemic where I had to do my
barbecue pop up and from there I opened parts from
their Maddie's Patties and Cafe rang and you know Prime
Seafood Palace and Rizos House a Palm and like all
these restaurants and it's just like I didn't have those.
I didn't They were birth from me finding my love
(15:12):
of restaurants again. And like you know, I was in
a chef for you know, almost seven years, and then
and then I had to stay home for a while,
and then I had to figure out how to provide
for my family. And food gave me that that that opportunity.
I can go out, I can cook, and I can
provide for my family. And that's what we did.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Look, I'm glad that you managed to find the time
to write another cookbook for us as well. Thank you
so much for the book, a very generous cookbook, and
thank you so much for your time. Really nice to
talk to you.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
Thank you. I love New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
It was many methes and celebrity chef and Neil Feck
from Emmy Award winning show The Bear his new cookbook Soups,
Salads and Sandwiches and tell me what the sandwiches are remarkable.
It is in stores now.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rutken, listen
live to news Talks. It'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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