Photography: Phillip Castleton.
Sundays are pancake day in the Hann household.
“It’s one of the first things they learnt to cook,” MasterChef Australia star Callum Hann says of his kids, Elle, six, and Henry, three.
“They get up on their little towers, crack the eggs, whisk them in and have a great time flipping them in the pan.”
They’re also becoming little pros at making pasta, dumplings and bread.
“Anything where you get your hands dirty is always popular with kids,” laughs Callum.
The chef and his wife Crystal, 38, recently welcomed their third child, five-month-old daughter Fleur, who has completed their family.
“Now we’ve had Fleur, this feels perfect,” confesses the reality TV star, who loves the energy of his busy home.
“I wasn’t too sure how the older two would go – I didn’t know whether they would be jealous – but it’s been the opposite. It kind of feels like there are four parents now. They want to help and cuddle Fleur, treating her like she’s their baby.”
The kitchen, of course, is the heart of the young family’s home in the Adelaide Hills.
“It’s right smack-bang in the middle of our house,” tells Callum.
“It’s the business centre. Sometimes you want the kids out, though – when you’re trying to cook dinner and they’re underneath your legs. Me and Crystal are always in the kitchen, so they associate it with spending time with us.”
Back to business
Fresh from finishing runner- up on this year’s season of MasterChef Australia: Back To Win, Callum, 36, is enjoying a return to his routine.
“It’s nice to get stuck into my restaurants here at home because I’ve missed six months of work with my team,” he says.
“The rest of this year is about consolidating and writing all the summer menus going into Christmas. My role is setting the direction for all things food in our two restaurants, Roma and Olive, and in the cooking school Sprout.”
Callum, who married fellow foodie Crystal seven years ago, says the demands of running multiple businesses means he’s often not home at mealtimes.
“Crystal cooks dinner more often than I do,” he shares.
“She’s an incredible cook. I’m sure she gets sick of people saying, ‘You’re so lucky you married a chef!’ while she’s thinking, ‘Yeah, right, I do dinner five times a week!’”
When he is home, Callum relishes cooking for the five of them.
“It’s my love language,” he smiles.
“It’s how I try to take care of my family. They’re the most important thing to me, so I make sure that when I’m home, I’m present and spending time with them. There’s a lot to be said for quality time, not just quantity.”
More on his plate?
While Callum admits he’s already living the dream “getting to do what I love every day”, the dad of three isn’t ruling out another return to MasterChef, which he first appeared on in 2010.
“We’ve got a big group chat going,” he admits of his fellow former contestants.
“There’s always someone popping up with a funny food article or something.”
And Callum – who has appeared in four of the MasterChef series and spin-offs, winning MasterChef Australia All-Stars in 2012 – admits if it arose, he wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to join the judging panel.
The sweetest gig ever
“Sitting around eating food and talking about it sounds like the best job in the world,” he tells Woman’s Day.
“Look, if they ever need a fifth judge, I’ll have a bloody good think about it.”
That’s if Survivor doesn’t come calling first!
“I really love watching it,” enthuses Callum.
“There’s a lot of strategy in Survivor and I’d be good at that.”
