When you have the arrogance, the confidence and you can't cook, then you're only going to look stupid.

Videoing, lifting it, prodding it, and five minutes later they might even eat it! That first approach to the naked eye is crucial, so when you see pictures coming through on your social media, it does push you to be a little more creative and raise the bar a little bit higher.

[I spend a] lot [time travelling]. Between the restaurants, filming for TV, producing MasterChef, seeing the kids... it's pretty constant.

The pressure on young chefs today is far greater than ever before in terms of social skills, marketing skills, cooking skills, personality and, more importantly, delivering on the plate. So you need to be strong. Physically fit. So my chefs get weighed every time they come into the kitchen.

I suppose your security is your success and your key to success is your fine palate.

Jack, my 16 year old, was in knots a couple of months back, studying for Latin. I said, "Mate, you've got no interest in Latin. You don't want to go into it after, so drop it." He said, "No, I can't. I'm going to get bullied at school because all my mates are in there." There's a prime example of why no one cooks at school. You're studying Latin, you've got no interest.

If you want to become a great chef, you have to work with great chefs. And that's exactly what I did.