New MasterChef judge says no meanies allowed

Masterchef New Zealand judge Al Brown was initially unsure about the role.

As the newest MasterChef New Zealand judge, Al Brown is heralding a kinder, gentler version of the show with less conflict and more cooking.

The chef, who started his first restaurant Logan Brown in Wellington in 1996 before opening popular Auckland food joints Depot and Federal Delicatessen, says it was a role he approached with trepidation.

He hasn't been a big fan of competitive cooking shows and the drama that comes with them.

"I didn't like conflict in kitchens and I didn't like tears in kitchens," he says. "Pitting people up against each other - that was the reason more than anything that I didn't want to do it."

But he's changed his mind, despite being slightly nervous about his new role as a judge on MasterChef New Zealand, alongside Michelin star chef Josh Emett and restaurateur Mark Wallbank.

With the show changing networks from TV One to TV3, Brown says he was convinced to sign on when told it would be a more nurturing environment for contestants.

"I think what people love about this show is they're learning to cook and they understand it," he says. "People don't actually cook well when they're intimidated. I think we're all firm at times, but we're all fair."

But isn't conflict the reason people watch cooking shows? Despite the somewhat less aggressive approach, Brown says the show will be more stimulating with more on-screen cooking.

However, "there's still plenty of drama of course, because that's the competitive environment," he says.

"I think what people will enjoy about this show is they're going to be learning so much more and they're going to be proud of what these people are cooking."

Brown's love of food is evident as he waxes lyrical about New Zealand's culinary landscape and how we've grown over the years from our humble "meat and three veg " background.

It's a cooking culture based on informality, sharing and generosity, he says.

"We're more elbows on the table than white tablecloth," he says "We don't like three scallops on a plate, we want a whole plate of scallops."

Having grown up the Wairarapa, Brown became inspired to become a chef while working as a waiter on his OE in the United States - where he "completely fell in love with kitchens".

"Everybody had a knife in their hand, there was fire everywhere, there was yelling and screaming and out if it all came these beautiful plates of food."

The calibre of cooking on the show so far has blown him away. He describes watching the 50 amateur cooks competing - who come from a range of ethnicities and backgrounds - as a "culinary state of the nation".

Despite having witnessed a few disasters already, Brown says he's not setting contestants up to fail, rather to achieve and succeed as they're under enough pressure as it is. He also offers a lot of behind-the-scenes support.

"It's the biggest thing most of these people have done and may do in their lives," he says. "It's a very brave thing to go on TV and cook in front of people and put things up in front of the whole nation."

In fact Brown himself isn't all that comfortable seeing himself on screen, despite his earlier television shows like Hunger for the Wild and his advertising apperances.

He's not a big TV watcher, but will be making an effort to keep up with MasterChef New Zealand.

"I'm intrigued to see how it is," he says. "I find it hard to watch myself on TV, even though I enjoy making it I always feel a bit uncomfortable watching myself."

His main piece of advice for amateur cooks is to never be afraid to cook within your ability. While it's good to try new things, it's also important to keep refining the dishes you know and love.

"I think a lot of people try to reinvent the wheel for the sake of originality and often that won't work. If you've got a great dish that you love to cook, you should keep cooking it."

MasterChef NZ, TV3, Sunday, 7pm.

- nzherald.co.nz