We were supposed to have an interview about Australian dining habits and etiquette, and maybe talk about his new restaurant.
But actually, the celebrity chef Manu Feildel, best known by his first name, has all kinds of quirks in his own eating habits he doesn't mind sharing. Star of My Kitchen Rules, and husband to a Malaysian-Sri Lankan foodie, he says all he really wants most of the time is something easy in his own kitchen. His kitchen really does rule!
An Aussie Christmas
Aussies all love a good barbecue at pretty much any time of the year, and Christmas is no exception. And Manu, a Frenchman who's an honorary Aussie, is also no exception! But he thinks we could do the festive season better. Is there even such a thing as a quintessential Australian Christmas?
"Quintessential? I don't know. Can I be straight? I think it's boring," he says.
"I don't want to insult anyone in any way, but it's like everyone's following each other like sheep. If you knock on number two Smith Street and you knock on number four Smith Street, you'd have the same thing on the table.
And what's with our collective obsession with prawns above all else when there's so much other seafood - and a vast array of adult snacks - to be had?
"The barbie's always on, people are queuing at the fish market just to get prawns for their Christmas, which I find really strange," he says.
Not that Manu is any stranger to the barbecue, but he's more likely to bust out a pig on a spit - something people can help themselves to once it's ready.
"I put the fire on early in the morning, put the spit on, and then pretend to brush it so I look good behind the barbecue," he says.
"But when it's done, it's everyone to help themselves with simple salads, tomato salad, my neighbour does a very good potato salad. Just make it simple. I think sometimes people are just sort of overdoing it, and they spend their whole day in the kitchen."
The restaurant world
Manu has a long career in high-end eateries, and has recently opened a restaurant at the Red Lion Hotel in Sydney's Rozelle. But actually, he and his wife, Malaysian-Sri Lankan Clarissa Weerasena, much prefer to just stay in. What does that tell you about the state of the economy?
"The thing is, the world has changed so much - it's hard to find passionate chefs," he says.
"I mean, there are still passionate chefs. If you look at, let's say 20 restaurants in the same street, I don't think every restaurant will have a passionate chef inside it. I think this is what we see, is the passion of sharing food, and with the restaurants I'm in now, is more than just feeding people.
"You should go out for a night out, and on top of that, you've got food with it."
Keeping it simple
Although the PR company that facilitated this interview wanted very much to push his signature dinner party recipe, "Manu's Fancy Pasta Bake", he says in reality, he tries not to put too much thought into dinner at all.
"I don't think I've got [a go-to recipe]. I just open the fridge and see what's in there," he says, although he admits to having four freezers - two for European food, and two for Asian provisions.
And if people drop over and end up staying for an impromptu dinner, he keeps it simple.
"I've always got a bit of chicken in there, so I would make a quick chicken, mustard sauce roasted potatoes. There's always some vegetables in that drawer as well," he says.
"And just something really simple, to be honest. That's what chefs are like - we cook great food in restaurants, but when we are at home, we're very basic."
Many people will find this comforting, what with the aggressive celebration around fancy food on competitive shows like My Kitchen Rules.
"You know what? In the last couple of years, my wife and I don't even bother going out anymore," he says. Cue collective gasp.
"We're just happy to be at home and invite people. We're really, really normal everyday people eating everyday food."
Asian flavours
It's a fact that the French aren't all that enamoured of Asian food, and especially not chilli. But Manu, lover of food in general, thinks that's nuts.
"French people don't really know enough about Asia, they think that it's all China, and they've got no understanding of the difference between one country and the other, which is very sad, because they're very, very different," he says.
"And I am properly addicted to Asian. I think there's just so much bloody flavour. My wife has taught me how to enjoy chilli, which my mouth enjoys - the next day, not so much!"
More butter, please
That said, the one ingredient he considers vital beyond all others is ... "Butter, butter and butter. I always have at least a block or two in the fridge and two or three in the freezer. I don't ever want to run out of butter. I cook with so much butter in my cooking it's ridiculous, even I surprise myself sometimes."
And his wife has followed suit in her own Asian cooking.
"Even Clarissa, when she does the fried rice, just before she finishes, she puts a couple of knobs of butter in the wok, and it caramelises the rice just before she serves it. It's very delicious, it really makes a lot of difference."
