Colin Fassnidge: Why I became an Aussie
Irish-born celebrity chef Colin Fassnidge has revealed what country he ‘taste-tested’ before he fell in love with the land Down Under.
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Celebrity chef Colin Fassnidge is quick to name the Australians he most admires, and they’re close to home.
“Chefwise I always looked up to [Melbourne restaurateur] Andrew McConnell. He was my chef crush, and then we became friends, and people like Guy Grossi, the Italian contingent who have come in,” he said.
“That’s what I love about Australia, we have all of these different melting pots and mixtures, but we’re all in the same boat together.”
The Irish-born My Kitchen Rules regular is well placed to discuss all things Australiana, having recently clocked up 20 years in his adopted homeland.
But it wasn’t as if he fell in love with the land Down Under just because it was the first place he ever visited.
“I always thought I wanted to live in America, and I went and lived there and I hated it,” he revealed.
“Just because of the dollar, and everything was like ‘give me now’. When I came to Oz, I loved the lifestyle, and the sense of humour, they’ve very similar to the Irish.
“Australia looks after you if you work hard. And the sort of family values here in Australia, that’s what I liked rather than America. So I never wanted to leave.”
The citizenship application process did foist a departure on him. But it was brief.
“I went to London while I was getting my citizenship. I thought I would go back for a year, and I reckon within two weeks of being back in London I was like ‘What have I done?’
“When you go away you realise how lucky a country we are.”
News Corp spoke to the charismatic chef after he cooked Christmas lunch for about 200 people at the Salvation Army’s Street Level Mission in Sydney’s Surry Hills – a yearly contribution he makes with Australian Pork Limited.
“You can give money or whatever but to actually see people and feed them, it wakes you up, makes you realise how lucky you are,” he said.
Fassnidge said he had always found Australia to be an “embracing nation”, but he was wary of an increasing insularity.
“I see the other side, a sort of circling the wagons. I’ve noticed that sort of change a little bit, and in the government as well, with visas and sponsoring chefs … nowadays people like me would never get into the country.”
But as father to two “Aussie accented” kids, it’s safe to assume he’s here to stay – and our sense of humour and approach to life are two other compelling attractions.
“We know how to enjoy ourselves. When I go back to Ireland I don’t tell them what we do anymore, because they don’t want to be told that there is a better life out there.
“We embrace the outdoors more and we embrace life more.”
Originally published as Colin Fassnidge: Why I became an Aussie