I want my kids to see me as Dad, for God's sake, not a television personality.

What you're experiencing now [on "MasterChef," on "Junior"] is what life's going to be like for the next four, five decades. You're going to go through those bumps. Bringing you back in contention and giving you that kind of confidence, they're huge. But they let it go, there's no fear, they're naughty, they're rude, and they know there's no parents and there's no school teacher so they can have fun, and it shows.

I'm a big lover of fish. Cooking fish is so much more difficult than cooking protein meats, because there are no temperatures in the medium, rare, well done cooking a stunning sea bass or a scallop.

Stop taking things personally. Throughout the time with "Kitchen Nightmares" and "Hotel Hell," when they work, you don't get any praise. When they fail, you get blamed. You're f - ed either way, but it doesn't stop me doing them, I think.

There's a side to reality TV that is part education, as well. I've seen that since doing "MasterChef Junior," in terms of the effect it has on the confidence given these young kids from 8 to 13, a quality life skill. Even if they never pursue cooking as a job or a career, just learning how to cook for yourself sets you up in a good place.

You see new shows coming out with the same format, slightly high end, a little bit more glossy. You think, "S - . It's just the same s - but different day."

I came up from a difficult background.