It’s always difficult to know what to expect when visiting the home of a TV star.
But when the doors fly open on the Maestre manor in Sydney, Woman’s Day is delighted to see a giant meat slicer with fresh slices of jamon waiting.
In hindsight, it’s probably the one thing we should have expected from a home visit to The Living Room’s resident chef, Miguel Maestre!
Outside of the kitchen, if there’s one thing the 40-year-old knows all about, it’s commitment.
For 10 years Miguel has been happily married to wife Sascha, 41, and there’s just one word that keeps things ticking for the pair, who share daughter Claudia, nine, and five-year-old son Morgan – honesty.
“I keep him very grounded!” admits Sascha, who says she steers clear of social media and the public eye.
“I see a lot of celebrities have wives with massive social media following, they’re attending parties, my wife… she’s very good at having real friends,” says Miguel.
“She keeps real connections alive,” he adds, explaining that he can barely keep her in the chair at his popular live cooking demonstrations.
“I’ll tell the audience, ‘My wife is here today’ and point over to her and the chair is empty five minutes in! I love her for that. I’m lucky to have my wife who says it how it is and keeps me grounded. I’m not here to be famous – I chop onions for a living!”
For 10 years Miguel has been happily married to wife Sascha, 41, who share daughter Claudia, nine, and five-year-old son Morgan.
(Image: Bauer/Phil Castleton)Proud to be a Dad
Like most families, the Maestres have spent most of 2020 braving home-schooling and lockdown regulations, but they’ve made the most of their time together.
“We’ve actually discovered a lot of national parks in our area and have been enjoying being active,” says Miguel.
So has it made them want to expand their picture-perfect family?
“Let me tell you something, my mother is one of 20 children! I’m very scared, if I go for another, we’ll have twins!” Miguel jokes, before adding, “Being a father, it’s my legacy, and we’re so proud and happy with what we have.”
“I’m lucky to have my wife who says it how it is and keeps me grounded. I’m not here to be famous – I chop onions for a living!,” Miguel admits.
(Image: Bauer/Phil Castleton)Friends forever
When we drop in on Sascha and the “Crazy Bull”, as he’s affectionately known as, the father-of-two is preparing for his ninth year on air with The Living Room, which has enjoyed endless ratings success and four back-to-back TV WEEK Logie Award wins.
But the chef reveals he never expected to land the lucrative job, insisting he was a little less crazy bull and more of an underdog!
“When I went to the first screen test, they were all there, I was quite overwhelmed!” admits Miguel, who was vying for a role alongside radio legend Amanda Keller, The Renovators star Barry Du Bois and The Bondi Vet himself, Dr Chris Brown.
“Here was Amanda, who we listened to on radio every day, Chris, he was the most famous man in the country, and Barry was one of the biggest TV hosts… I felt like the underdog,” he recalls, confessing he was terrified of not making friends with the famous bunch.
Thankfully for him, and the show’s future, the awesome foursome “instantly clicked”, making the series a bona fide hit.
When the doors fly open on the Maestre manor in Sydney, Woman’s Day is delighted to see a giant meat slicer with fresh slices of jamon waiting.
(Credit: Bauer/Phil Castleton)Now, all these years later, Miguel says there’s barely a weekend that goes by where Amanda isn’t phoning up for recipe advice or he hasn’t chatted to his “best mates” Chris and Barry.
And as the show prepares to launch its 2020 season this week, Miguel considers himself to be the luckiest man alive to be working with its cast and crew.
“This show for me, it’s a life – it’s not just a job. These people have become my family. I spend more time with Gringo [Chris] than I do my wife!” he laughs.
“We’re all really good friends… the chemistry, it’s all there every episode.”
WATCH BELOW: The Living Room cast are interviewed on the Logies red carpet.
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