TV Pick of the week: Chef on a Mission

Simon Gault prepares to inspect the catch on a deep-sea trawler. Photo / Supplied

The shearers and fishermen Simon Gault feeds on his new series are no-frills kind of guys.

"I'm obviously trying to flash them a bit up, give them something a bit different. Some are not keen to try new things, some are," he says.

Chef on a Mission sees the Masterchef judge leave his five-star restaurant Euro on Auckland's Viaduct and travel everywhere - on a fishing rig, to a sheep station, to a wedding ceremony in Samoa - working his magic. It turns out his new diners are generally pretty satisfied with their lot - good hearty tucker, and lots of it - but Simon aims to add a little more pizzazz to their meals.

He's never without his trusty box of tricks and secret weapons: his special knives, and what he calls "Gault dust", the components of which he prefers to keep secret.

In this week's first episode, he joins a group of deep-sea fishermen on board a boat 150 nautical miles out into the Pacific. He helps the crew haul in hoki, eats with them, quizzes them on their favourite foods and flavours, then dives into the pantry to cook up a storm.

Fishermen perform hard manual labour, work long hours, and get little sleep, he says. They have chefs on board, and are served great food as it is. In fact, Gault adds, he is keen to incorporate some of the recipes he encounters over the course of the series into his menu back in Auckland.

The girls at a Hawke's Bay boarding school he visits in another episode tell Simon they love their dinners in the dining room. But that just makes him all the more determined to show off.

Elsewhere in the series he cooks for high-country sheep shearers, a police patrol station, and helps cater a wedding in Samoa. All he asks is his chance to "give an extra 5 per cent".

Simon says the opportunity to step out of Auckland's Viaduct and into heartland New Zealand has been humbling. "I've met wonderful people in amazing locations many New Zealanders never get the chance to see."

As the series goes to air, Simon is back in Auckland preparing to wow the Rugby World Cup crowds. "I want people to go away and say 'greatest oysters in the world, greatest seafood in the world, greatest dairy in the world', but ultimately it's about them going home having had a brilliant time."

CHEF ON A MISSION
When: Tuesday, 8.30pm
Where: TV One
What: more than a square meal

- TimeOut