‘‘ has to be balanced. We shouldn’t shy away from hard work and pressure and stress but it

make me a better person . . . I’m not going to hide and pretend it didn’t happen.”

In 2008, Calombaris was named one of Australia’s Top 100 Most Influential people. He’s written six cookbooks and has his own cookware range, but, these days, is more likely to be plating at the restaurant pass than standing at a stove. At home, his wife Natalie cooks.

“She’s the king of that domain — sometimes when she’s not looking, I glug in an extra bit of olive oil. Actually, last night I did chop up a salad because she was bathing the kids, and I did the salad instead of washing my daughter’s hair, which is quite frustrating at times. ”

Did he ever anticipate TV fame? “I didn’t get the opportunity to do MasterChef because I was bad at my craft. I got the opportunity, because I was obviously okay . . . ”

But: “Has my life dramatically changed? Do you see me at a bar having drinks at 11pm on a Saturday?” Aussies love a drink, he says, “and once we have a drink, we like to open our mouths. I just remove myself from opportunities where it could potentially get me in trouble.”

MasterChef Australia is now syndicated from Afghanistan to Vietnam; one of its biggest audiences is India.

“I’m still living in, I think, one of the most racist countries in the world. I’m not proud of that. I’m an Aussie, and I’m not proud of [that racism]. It’s up to us to stop it.

“I think that’s the success of MasterChef Australia. It’s got rid of all the slight tendencies to be racist and accepted everything as either delicious food or not delicious. ‘Your dream is real and we can help you achieve that, or it’s not’. It’s pretty straightforward.”

Last season, for example, the judges were served tulip bulbs — a first-time food experience for them all. “I love the fact that Ben was proud of his Dutch heritage and he wanted to showcase that.”

Chefs, says Calombaris, can become blinkered.

“We do our own thing and that’s all we believe in...

“I’m very lucky that I get to travel the world now . . . travel has given me the opportunity to open my eyes and my mind and my heart and not just [experience] new ingredients, but people. People make great food.”

That egg and lemon and chicken soup? It was a pale yellow cardigan of comfort for the soul.