It’s celebrity chef Colin Fassnidge’s day off when Woman’s Day pins him down for a chat, but you wouldn’t know it. It’s a chaotic scene at his home in Sydney as he shouts something about TikTok to a film crew on their way out the door.
“Can I just say how much I love filming in New Zealand, because filming in Aussie is horrible,” Colin admits as he finally sits down. “We’re getting picked up tomorrow at 4am to fly to Brisbane for five days, then we head to Perth for five days and we’ve just got back from Adelaide.”
After some sympathetic noises, he shrugs. “Ah, it’s alright. It pays the bills!
The MKR New Zealand judge is in the middle of filming the 14th season of the Aussie series and the usually composed yet cheeky Irishman seems slightly flustered. This seems as good a time as any to ask about his recent Kiwi health scare, back when he was in the middle of filming in Aotearoa.
“I wasn’t well,” he explains. “Every time I ate, I didn’t feel good. My stomach would churn. After a while, I called my doctor, who is as subtle as a brick. He said, ‘Oh, I reckon it could be bowel cancer.’”
His doctor advised Colin be sent to see a surgeon for tests in a fortnight.
“For two weeks, I sat with my own thoughts and Dr Google doesn’t help you either, does it? So I went in and I was on the trolley, just about to get knocked out, and this medical team is telling me how much they love the show. I said, ‘It’s the wrong time, man. Wrong time!’”
They worked out Colin had picked up a parasite, possibly from back in Australia.
“It was eating everything and just destroying all my bacteria, so they put me on some medication that really knocked me around for a bit.”
Though it wasn’t anything serious, Colin felt relieved, considering it a significant wake-up call.
“The day after that verdict, I was sitting there watching the sun come up on the beach, going, ‘How good is life?’ It was a good kick in the arse, I reckon.”
During this time of reflection, Colin realised how much his life had changed in recent years – his priorities, his lifestyle, the pace of life – and how much he had to be thankful for.
“Manu and I were talking about that,” he says of fellow MKR judge Manu Feildel. “In the old days, we were a bit wilder. Now that we’re 50 – well, Manu’s 51, actually – we drink tea on the plane, whereas before, we used to rock ’n’ roll beers and wine. Now we’re in bed at 10pm every night. On my 50th birthday, I was hugging all my friends, going, ‘You know what? This is what it’s about.’ Whereas on my 40th, I can’t even remember it!
“Then obviously we lost Jock last year. That was another big wake-up call for all of us, for the whole cheffing industry, to look after yourself. We’re not spring chickens any more.”
When MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo passed away at just 46 years old, everyone was shocked. It was later revealed the chef had been secretly battling bowel cancer for two years.
“When my doctor told me it could be cancer, I was just trying to work it out in my own head,” says Colin. “If it is the worst-case scenario, I was thinking, ‘How do I set my kids up? What do I do?’ Because it’s not about me any more. How do I make sure if I’m not around next year that my kids and my wife will be sorted?”
Colin’s daughters, Lily, 14, and Maeve, 13, live with him and wife Jane in Sydney. He says he tries to be present when home with the family, but even that can be challenging these days.
“I’m in a world of pain right now,” he laughs. “Fourteen is actually great. Lily and I get on like a house on fire. She works in a café on the weekends. She does her sports and then she goes to school. She’s a good kid. And then my other one is The Omen. The Devil. I’m going to shave her head and look for three sixes because I tell you, she is next level. She’s a little bit of me, I think.”
Next up for Colin and Manu is a special Kiwi project, which he can’t talk much about, but he does reveal Manu’s dream retirement plan.
“Just recently, Frenchie went on to me for half an hour, this bleeding story that he always tells about moving to Waiheke to open a bed and breakfast,” says Colin, rolling his eyes. “The thing is, he’s grumpy in the morning, so there will be no breakfast. If you open a B&B, you actually have to cook, make the beds and clean the sheets! I just smile and say, ‘Of course, mate!’ I hope it works out for him, though.”
The final two episodes of MKR New Zealand screen 7.30pm Tuesday and Wednesday on TVNZ 2. Alternatively, stream the season today on TVNZ+.
