For years, Manu Feildel and Matt Preston were at the helm of two rival food shows vying for ratings.
But while the two foodies were going head-to-head on television, away from the box they’d been mates for years.
Although we’ve already seen them join forces for the short-lived 2020 cooking game show Plate Of Origin, this week on MKR, we’ll enjoy Matt and Manu’s hilarious dynamic as they come together to judge the second instant restaurant of the 2022 season.
“I’ve known Manu for a really long time,” Matt, 60, tells TV WEEK. “He’s very knowledgeable, very skilled and he’s great fun.”
Matt and Manu come together on MKR this year.
(Image: Seven)But for Matt, the most attractive part of becoming an MKR judge was being able to travel around the country with someone who’s interested in the world of food as he is.
“We went out to different restaurants and cafes, so we were like kids in a candy shop,” he says.
“Not only is the work about eating good food and enjoying it, talking about it and analysing it, but the downtime is exactly the same kind of process: ‘Let’s go here! What about there? What about that?'”
Since joining MasterChef Australia in 2009, Matt has seen the standard of home cooking in Australia improve dramatically. He’s seen it on display in this season of MKR too.
Matt has seen the standard of home cooking in Australia improve dramatically.
(Image: Seven)“Oh my gosh, it’s beyond recognition,” he says of today’s home cooking. “In the past 15 years, it’s been amazing.”
He cites UK superchef Jamie Oliver as a major influence in that regard.
“You go down to your local supermarket and think of what you can buy, from the fish sauce, to the tins of chipotle chillies, to different flours.
“That’s a sign, not just of a growing multicultural interest in food, but in the desire for people to try other things. It’s super-exciting to see.”
