Welcome to the first season of the Herald’s dating podcast: It’s A Date. Join Herald dating columnist Lillie Rohan as she takes notable Kiwis on a fantasy date, finding out about their relationships and love lives along the way.
Jared MacDonald is a man who likes to take risks in the kitchen - you don’t become a champion barbecue pitmaster or a business owner without a bit of risk - but when it comes to dating, he likes to keep things simple.
Call it old-fashioned if you want, but the celebrity chef explains there is nothing he hates more than sitting down with someone who is on their phone the entire time.
“I actually am interested in exploring the real you, more than I am looking at your Instagram reel.” he says.
It strikes a chord as the dating world today seems to be more about how you look rather than who you actually are and perhaps it’s the secret to his 20-year-long marriage.
MacDonald and It’s A Date podcast host Lillie Rohan put away the phones and sat down for an old-school first date dinner in Auckland.
Are you a romantic person?
MacDonald can’t help but laugh a little at the question, “Not at all,” he says.
“I try to buy my wife flowers on the occasion. But look, I’m a workaholic,” he explains, “I’m a sucker for working on birthdays, working Christmas Eve and all of that. And so I am hard to be married to because that’s what I’m into.”
MacDonald is used to meeting a lot of people, through work and through his show, Cooks On Fire. He says if he has learned anything about people and especially people you date, it’s that you want to surround yourself with “high-calibre” people.
“You want to have value, people have to have value to get your attention,” he says, “for the young ladies out there who are looking for the right man, be a person of value to attract the right person. Don’t, don’t, don’t give up. Whatever you have to offer, don’t give it up because it’s of high value.”
“If they’re gonna come and take your time, then don’t give it up without a fight, because that’s the most valuable thing you have.”
(From left) Cooks on Fire judges Jared Macdonald, Nici Wickes and Ganesh Raj. Photo / Supplied
Do you cook romantic meals for your wife?
MacDonald cooks all day so when he comes home the last thing he wants to do is cook a meal for his wife or his family.
“I’ve got a saying,” he says, “the best meal I ever ate was the meal I didn’t have to cook.” What MacDonald means by that is not a meal cooked by his wife but rather a fellow chef. He says he and his wife usually go to a restaurant for a romantic dinner.
But the celebrity chef admits if he had her parents around for dinner - or someone just as special - he would cook for them.
What was it like dating in the 90s?
MacDonald shares quite a few fond memories of the 90s, but there is one particular memory that is laced with a bittersweet feeling.
“I still remember being at uni, getting like my first cellphone and like we used to text because we couldn’t afford to call each other because calls were like two bucks a minute,” he says adding there was one woman he dated who had him talking all night and the bill? Oh, the bill was an eye-watering $360.
Do you remember your first kiss with your wife?
“Yes,” the star laughs saying it involved an M&M and a prank gone wrong.
To hear about the adorable first kiss, listen to the full It’s A Date podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
