From MasterChef to down in dump
Many Kiwis will remember Aaron Brunet as the always-smiling hippie-type from Raglan whose incredible palate, creative cooking abilities and competition battle plan involving yoga saw him take out TV cooking show MasterChef in 2013.
Fairfax Media last spoke to Brunet in April 2014, on the release of his book, Cook With Me – a celebration of simple food done well and of the beachy, alternative lifestyle that Brunet, then an IT consultant, was all about.
After that, things went a bit quiet. Unlike other winners, there were no further books, no public appearances, branding deals or TV shows. That’s because Brunet has been at the dump.
Along with a handful of other projects (and don’t worry, he’s still cooking), Brunet can be found at the Waitakere Refuse and Recycling Centre in Auckland a couple of days a week.
He works there, he says, both as a way to reduce the amount of waste that’s going into the world, and to educate others.
‘‘While we’re running a shop here, to me, it’s really a chance to talk to people, to get people thinking about how we live in this world and what our impact is on the environment around us.
‘‘I have been trying to figure out how we can live in a way that does make sense. We can’t go on living the way we are, it doesn’t really work,’’ he says.
Burnt out from the pressure of the MasterChef experience, Brunet left Raglan after his marriage ended, gave up eating not just meat (he was raised as a vegetarian) but pretty much everything not plantbased, as well as sugar, caffeine and alcohol.
Then he began to take a long hard look at the world and the way humans are living in it. ‘‘I asked myself ‘how can I live in this crazy modern world in a way that really makes sense to me?’ I think it’s really easy for us to get overwhelmed and not feel like we can do anything – that the problems are too big . . .
‘‘So going vegan, to me, is a choice that makes a dramatic difference.’’
Armed with his new-found role as ‘‘plant-powered’’ eco-warrior, Brunet is slowly but surely reemerging into the public eye.
Last year he spoke at the New Zealand Vegan Expo in Whangarei, and last month he held a cooking workshop with food and lifestyle coach Kate Broughton.
He clearly still thinks about food in that same intense, nextlevel and highly creative way that prompted MasterChef judge Ray McVinnie to say he’s never seen anyone as good as Brunet on the show.
But the crusty sourdough and clever takes on less popular meat cuts that were his TV show signatures have been exchanged for all things plant-based – good for the body, mind and the environment – and finding ways of making them ‘‘luscious, delicious, tasty and exciting’’.
Further workshops, talks and demonstrations are definitely in the works.
Brunet won’t be led on whether a new cookbook or even a TV show (he’d love to get into Kiwi kitchens and help us discover just what we’re capable of) might finally be in the works, but here’s hoping . . .