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“I Hated His Guts” — MKR’s Manu Feildel & Colin Fassnidge On Going From Frenemies to BFFs

MKR judges Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge are great mates now, but there was a time when the celebrity chefs actually hated each other.
During Wednesday night's episode, 'Gatecrasher' contestants Amber and Mel introduced their Instant Restaurant 'Salty Secrets' and asked everyone at the table to share their own salty secret.
When it came to Feildel's turn, he shared the story behind his long-rumoured feud with fellow judge Fassnidge.
“Do you want to hear about salty secrets from us?” he asked the table.
“The salty secret is Colin and I started on the wrong foot. Because when I started TV, most chefs in the industry thought I’d sold my soul.”
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“I said he’s sold out," Fassnidge added.
Feildel went on to explain that after he first appeared on MKR, most chefs in the industry believed he was a 'TV celebrity' rather than a chef.
Things between the two chefs became even more awkward when Fassnidge joined the cast in Season 4.
“I got told, ‘Oh we’re going to bring in a new chef — Colin Fassnidge.’ And I went, ‘What?! The guy hates my guts and I hate his guts’,” Feildel explained.
“So day one of MKR, I turn up and they’re like ‘Have you met Manu?’ And I was like, 'Shit'," Fassnidge added.
“We did the season. It was a tough learning curve for me.”
At the end of the season, the two chefs made amends and went on to became great friends.
“So we finished the show, I went into my room, he went into his,” Feildel told the contestants.
“And suddenly I heard [knocks on table], open my room and he went ‘I would like to apologise for being an a***hole.’
“And we’ve been good friends ever since!”
Fassnidge first joined the cast as a guest judge in Season 4, becoming a member of the blind judging panel for the 'Sudden Death Cook-Offs'.
In Season 6 and 7, Fassnidge and Feildel rotated as judges alongside Pete Evans, and then Fassnidge joined the cast as a full time judge alongside his now BFF Feildel in 2022.
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