Cooking tension
Family Food Fight brings the drama in the kitchen as families cook to compete for $100,000. Restaurant critic Tom Parker Bowles is one of the judges on the second season and he tells DANIELLE MCGRANE why this is a show to watch.
Tom Parker Bowles knows that getting to taste a lot of food in one day is most people’s idea of a dream job, but eating 20 courses, and then having to judge them on the Nine show
Family Food Fight, has its challenges.
So he and his fellow judges chefs Matt Moran and Anna Polyviou have come up with some coping mechanisms.
“You have to take small bites, not just stuff your face with the first thing that comes along, and we drink lots of water in between,” Parker Bowles said.
“On the show we’re eating a lot of food, especially at the beginning when there are more families in it – you could be eating up to 18 courses – so it’s not hard work, it’s not going to war or going down a mine, but it can be a bit taxing.”
Parker Bowles is the son of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, but has forged his own career as a food writer and restaurant critic in Britain and was more than happy to come Down Under to be a judge on the second season of the cooking competition.
It’s hard to think of some- one who’s practically royalty slumming it, but when it comes to his eating habits Parker Bowles insists it’s not about the big names for him.
“What gets me excited and gets me happy is that I love tasting food in top-end restaurants like NOMA, The Fat Duck and Attica, which showcase great chefs at the top of their profession. But if you asked me where I really want to go and eat, I want to go and eat authentic Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, French, Italian,” he said.
He appeared as a guest judge on the first season of the show last year and came back full-time for this season because he loves its premise. The families who are chosen to compete against each other in various cooking challenges come from different backgrounds and ethnicities, which he says makes the food so distinctive and delicious.
“The great thing about this show is it’s modern Australia. You have all these different nationalities, so it’s this great multicultural mix,” he said.
This year there are eight competing families, instead of six, and it’s tough as each family faces elimination each week unless they can cook themselves safe.
“There are more families but less people in the families – this year it’s leaner and meaner,” he said.
“It’s still about family food and about celebrating that, but the challenges are tougher. The game changers they can give to each other add a another level of competition to the show. “
The contestants have been set some epic challenges where they will leave the kitchen to go out on fishing trawlers, or they’ll cater a celebrity dinner party and cook for a cinema full of hungry movie-goers.
But when there’s $100,000 up for grabs, it seems only fair to make things a little interesting.
Parker Bowles says the contestants are up to the challenge.
“They’re fantastic, we’ve got a couple of sisters who have Afghan heritage and I knew nothing about Afghan food to be honest, and they really taught us a lot,” he said.
“They’re really interesting talent, the characters, but they can all cook. We ate really, really well.”
He may come from British aristocracy, but Parker Bowles likes to come Down Under and has an affinity with this country.
“There’s something about Australia. I just find people straightforward and I really like working here,” he said.
Family Food Fight
Monday to Wednesday, 7.30pm on Nine