Auckland siblings and musicians Emily Heeney and Nathan Loo are self-confessed “superfans” of MKR New Zealand, having seen every episode of every season of the hit reality cooking show.
Emily, 36, tells, “I’d always think, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’d love to do that, but I would never actually do it.’ Putting myself out there and facing criticism is really daunting for me.”
However, just two years ago, the music teacher’s perspective on life changed when she received a diagnosis of deadly endometrial cancer.
Emily had recently separated from her husband and was a busy single mum to her now-15-year-old daughter Manea when she started getting sick.
She says, “I wasn’t paying attention to it because I was focused on my teaching and music. But after about a year, I thought, ‘I need to go to the doctor. Something’s not right.’”
When Emily received a diagnosis of stage-one cancer, her whole life started to crumble.
“I was in shock, wondering how it was possible – I was so young!” she recalls.
Trying to navigate the illness during lockdown as a single parent was tough.
“While I was going through all the procedures, Manea was the only person who could visit me in hospital. It was a full role reversal, but there was no other option. She had to grow up really fast.”
Even with all the hurdles they faced during her year-long battle, Emily considers herself very lucky.
“I had health insurance, so I was able to get a specialist, who pushed for me to quickly have a hysterectomy. But I really underestimated what a major surgery that would be – dealing with the fact that I’d never be able to have children again was huge for me.”
Emily has been cancer-free for more than a year now and says she lives life in a whole new way.
“I’ve realised that anything can happen tomorrow, so why hold back?” she says. “I would never in a million years think I’d go through something like that, but it happened. These days, I take every opportunity I’m given.”
Hence applying for MKR!
Nathan, 32, supported his big sister and his niece as much as he could during Emily’s cancer battle.
“I tried to be cool, calm and collected because we’re quite a small family here,” he tells. “Our dad lives overseas and we’re close, but there’s only so much you can do from afar. I just tried to be strong for everybody.”
There was no question whether he’d join Emily on MKR – after all, he has previously starred on The Bachelorette NZ and on FBoy Island NZ. However, he insists these experiences didn’t help him at all on the cooking show.
Laughing, he reveals, “It’s a completely different ball game when you’re being judged for something other than your looks.”
Emily adds they put “so much prep, time, heart and soul” into their Restaurant Night. “We gave it everything and because we were going at 100 miles a minute, when it was finally over, Nathan collapsed on the floor!”
The siblings felt disappointed by some of their scores, but their excitement soared when judge Manu Feildel suggested they bottle and sell their sambal sauce – and that’s exactly what they did.
“We’re currently looking at a big box of jars in front of us,” laughs Nathan. “We’ve got our labels on the way and the first product will be our sambal. The public will be able to try it very soon.”
Inspired by their Malaysian heritage, the sauce is labelled “Shiok & Awe”, the same name as their MKR restaurant – “shiok” meaning pleasure or happiness in Malay.
Nathan hopes their next stage will be opening a more permanent eatery that combines their two passions – cooking and music.
“It’s always been a big dream of ours to have our own food place that intertwines with music,” he shares. “I don’t think anywhere in New Zealand offers both food and music in a fully immersive experience for the senses. There’s a real market for it.”
Meanwhile, would they apply for any more reality shows?
Smiling at his sister, Nathan shouts, “Next up – The Apprentice! Then we can really get this sauce business off the ground.”
Feeling stronger than ever after her cancer battle and appearance on MKR, Emily laughs, “Absolutely. Now it feels like, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?!’”
MKR New Zealand screens 7.30pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays on TVNZ 2.
