Mother and son team Lisa and John have form when it comes to cooking together in the kitchen – they’ve been doing it since John was just 12 years old.
“When I was 12, my mum said, ‘You aren’t going to be one of those useless blokes who don’t know how to cook,’” says John, 29, an accountant, who is married.
“So she said I had to come up with something to cook and she would make sure I had the ingredients.”
And, oila! A passion for food was born!
“I’m really proud of John,” says Lisa, 55, a retired mum of three who has been married for 30 years. “He loves his mates, he loves his footy, he loves his job as an accountant and he loves his food.”
“I get a lot of pride out of cooking,” says John, “I think I have a good understanding of flavour combinations and what works well together.”
Lisa says she and John are big MKR fans from way back, describing her son as an “MKR Tragic.”
“John and I had often joked that we should go on MKR. Then, one night after my husband and I had enjoyed another delicious meal of his line-caught fish with baked potato and salad (OK, and three glasses of rose!), I sat down to watch, and an ad came on about applying for the next season,” Lisa explains.
“I rang John and asked him if I should have a go at the application, see what it’s about. He said yes.”
And the rest is history.
The pair, who are both from Western Australia’s picturesque Margaret River region, are looking forward to showcasing the area’s stunning local produce, and introducing fellow contestants to their beautiful part of the world.
“I want to put the ‘party’ back into ‘dinner party’, and give our guests some quality home cooking,” Lisa explains.
“[We’re all about] big meals, punchy flavours,” John adds. “We really do want everyone to feel like ‘my house is your house.’”
Oh, and for the record, these two, who wear their heart on their sleeve, wil have no time for bitchy goings-on – they plan to keep things decidedly family friendly.
“John and I want it to be about the food – we are not interested in bitchiness,” says Lisa.
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