Dishing It Up contestants Matt and Anna on why they’re a hot mess

Foodie best mates Matt and Anna are a recipe for disaster in the kitchen. Which made them perfect for a new reality show aiming to replicate celeb chef recipes in suburban kitchens.

Foodie best friends Matt Bozinovski and Anna Simon, who star in a new reality TV show called Dishing It Up. They are one of six Sydney-based couples who try to replicate celebrity chef dishes in their own home. Picture: Richard Dobson

Foodie best friends Anna Simon and Matt Bozinovski bit off more than they could chew in new SBS reality show Dishing It Up, which is essentially “Gogglebox for food”.

Italian home cook extraordinaire Simon, and “hopeless” Bozinovski paired up to try and replicate a host of dishes by celebrity chefs in her Hunters Hill kitchen.

“I struggle to break an egg,” said Bozinovski, who lives in Surry Hills.

“When Anna and I are side-by-side, it’ll take her one second to cut an onion, and I’m still there 10 minutes later. I love food, but I’m only an expert in ordering it.”

The inseparable pair met at a Christmas dinner several years ago, and say they phone each other at least 15 times a day, as well as going out to eat a few times a week.

Matt Bozinovski and Anna Simon are a pair of couch critics who were scouted to try their hands at recreating chef-level recipes from Simon’s Hunters Hill home. Picture: Richard Dobson

Simon learned to cook “like a nonna” after the birth of her two kids.

“We did argue to the point where we had to cover our microphones,” she laughed.

“Matt hates me shushing him. He would often give me a look and I knew he was in big trouble.”

There’s never a dull moment with these two, as they put their friendship to the test. Simon is a fabulous cook. Bozinovski is not. Picture: Richard Dobson

“Anna had been on TV before, but this was a new experience for me,” Bozinovski said.

Simon: “There was a scene where Matt was trying to teach me how to squeeze an egg so it doesn’t break. Well, of course he didn’t do it properly, and egg was all over my kitchen, and my face.”

Producers discovered the friends thanks to a video they made in lockdown, where Simon was trying to teach Bozinovski how to make Italian meatballs.

“It was a disaster, so that’s why they asked us to audition.”

Simon’s cooking takes after her Southern Italian heritage. She likes to freestyle in the kitchen. Bozinovski is a to-do list man, whose main skill is following a cocktail recipe. Picture: Richard Dobson

One of his personal highlights was hearing Simon dry-retch as she tried to handle the smell of kangaroo stewing.

But she’s quick to point out that he couldn’t even handle a raw chicken. Bozinovski actually walked off set and vomited, while still wearing his microphone.

He came back to the entire set howling in laughter.

“That said, we pulled it off all the time,” he said. “Anna’s very competitive, so we never failed. I knew no matter how much we stuffed up, she would recover us.”

Day-to-day, Bozinovski negotiates procurement contracts for a big firm, and says that’s easier than trying to take over Simon’s kitchen.

“Matt struggled because he’s very much a to-do list person, and I did go rogue on a couple recipes. That’s when he got the s***s with me,” Simon said.

MATT AND ANNA’S TOP RESTAURANT PICKS

Pellegrino 2000 in Surry Hills and LuMi in Pyremont for fine dining.

“Anna and I always end up at one particular establishment called Big Poppas in Darlinghurst,” Bozinovski said. “And it always means that we’ve had a late night, and we’re sitting there and carb loading pasta at 2am.”

“Or Ogalo!” Simon said. “It’s so seedy, it’s so great. Or Mr Crackles.”

Dishing It Up premieres on SBS on Thursday, 29 September.