PANIC AT THE BISTRO
Nat’s What I Reckon’s YouTube cooking videos went viral during the pandemic, encouraging his viewers – aka “champions” – to ditch the store bought pasta sauce and make their own. In the years since, his videos have attracted millions of followers, catapulting him into the public eye.
Now, this potty-mouthed comedian, muso, gamer, and mental health advocate hits Darwin for the Darwin Comedy Festival. Tierney White caught up with him for a chinwag.
IMAGE JULIA GEE
Righto, Nat! First time in Darwin! We’re excited to see you, how ya feeling about visiting the Top End?
Yeah, it's very exciting. I am bracing myself with a battery pocket fan. I went to Japan earlier this year having very little idea of just how hot it can get in summer in Tokyo over there. So, I assume, I'm in for a similar kind of, I don't know, what are we talking like 40 degrees? Maybe high 30s?
Well, low 30s, but it’s been raining lately, so there's been beautiful cooling rain to kind of balance it out. I think I think you'll be ‘right!
Ah, love it. I'm pumped, I'm really pumped. I've been to Darwin once before and it was very lovely, but it was a long time ago, so ... Yeah, I can't wait. I haven't been to form a show there yet, so it’s a big debut moment.
It is! I think your show will go down a treat and will resonate very well with Territorians. Can you tell us about your show, Panic at the Bistro?
Yeah, well, the good thing about not having been to Darwin before is I kind of pick all my bangers from the last four years of touring … I don't know, it's a general conversation about just how weird everything is, and me having a mild panic about it. Yeah … it's just kind of well-organised chaos. I'm not sure, maybe not well organised. It's been a lot of fun touring, should be heaps of fun up there.
Your YouTube home cooking videos went gangbusters during the pandemic, particularly your loathing of store-bought pasta sauce. What inspired you to do them, and did you expect them to go down so well?
No, no, I certainly didn't expect it to go that well! [laughs]
I remember the impending doom of like, we're all gonna have to stay inside, otherwise we're gonna get crook. And then I remember everyone going to the shops and quickly buying heaps of toilet rolls, for some f-cking reason, and then everyone buying all the frozen food, and … I noticed that none of the fresh food had been touched, like, it looks totally abandoned, as if it had kind of started COVID or something.
And then, of course, I saw the jar sauce aisle – you know, we needed a scapegoat to whinge about something during the lockdown. And I just cracked the sh-ts, this stuff's disgusting … I seem to function well if I'm slightly pissed off about the things [laughs]. I made the video and the jets kind of went “kaboom!”, and yes, life got pretty complicated from there [laughs].
And, these days, people have you as a guest on their cooking shows, which is bloody great. [laughs].
I know, I know, it's weird. It's a weird, wild world!
Your videos are so entertaining. Oh, I’ve had the best morning researching this! [laughs].
[Laughs] Sick!
And, you’re a bit of a potty mouth – I recently saw a cooking show on ABC with Alice Zaslavsky where you did very well to bite your tongue. Has it got you into trouble in the past?
Yeah, I suppose so. But I mean, yeah, I suppose I try to be a bit more tactical about it these days. Like, if I'm going on the telly or something – which, like, is a weird sentence to be saying – you get the warning, or you don't. You usually get the warning a good two to three times. I don't know if everyone else gets it? But I get it a lot … I've certainly got a reputation for being a bit of a f-cking potty mouth.
Alice is amazing, though. Her crew, that show, were like, “don't even worry about it”. They were just so lovely about it, “we'll just edit around it” … But I didn't want to make it hard for them, so I just kind of did my best, but I think we had a couple of f-cking slip-ups [laughs].
[Laughs] You did your own live editing, mate!
I kind of did, yeah. I mean, as long as you're being kind, you’re not being a f-cking d-ckhead, I don't think there's anything wrong with swearing, you know, in the right kind of technical moments … not up at the security check at the airport, you know what I mean?
I do! On a bit more of a serious note, you’re an ambassador for Beyond Blue, so I’m wondering why that’s a cause close to your heart?
I mean, I think something that everyone is familiar with is mental health struggles, you know? That's something we all have in common. And I've had my fair share of them and still do.
I think I wanted to do something a bit more interesting with all the attention that's come from these videos and stuff. While people are, like, “thanks for the cooking tips” it felt like, I don't know, I wanted to get involved with a mental health organisation that did some actually amazing stuff and made some real change, and I could kind of wave a little flag on their behalf and be like, “oi, support these champions, 'cause they're really looking after people”.
Good work, my friend. Doing what you do and being in the public eye, you've got a lot more attention than perhaps you expected to have in your life, so I'm wondering how you might manage your own mental health?
Yeah, well, I mean the way I manage it is I talk to a professional, that's a pretty good one. It helps a lot. I have a really wonderful therapist, and I talk to my partner [Jules] a lot. I think it's talking – I'm a big, f-cking chatty Cathy, as they say. I love talking about how I'm feeling and, you know, probably to a fault at some stage, but yeah, that's a big one.
And making sure I don’t put myself in too many situations that make me too anxious. Although, you know, stand-up comedy is pretty much waving a sign saying “go at me” in f-cking spades … [laughs].
[Laughs] True! “I know, I'll get on stage and just speak all by myself and crack a few jokes and hope it goes down all right”. That's right, yeah, that’s what kind of goes through your head for a while before!
You're quite an alternative dude – covered in tatts and piercings – I think it's really lovely that you're using your platform to get that awareness out, and saying, “hey, I do it, seeing a therapist is something that I do!”.
Well, I mean, it can only do good things for ya. Sometimes, ya know, it takes a sec to find the right person to talk to, but it's always worth having a space where you can kind of lay it all out … And I respect how tricky and scary that can be for some people to get that started, but I would always really encourage people to give that sh-t a shot, and if it doesn't work out, take a sec off, but give it another shot. Even if you're doing all right, it's worth doing it at some stage in life. Just get a lens on how it looks like you're doing.
Good advice, my friend. And you mentioned your partner Jules – she’s always there helping – and giggling! – in the background, and obviously a huge support to you. You guys have got this Twitch thing going on I hear
Julesy! … It's been something that we wanted to do for a while, but Julie kind of pushed the boat out and started doing it … I kind of jumped on board and now I'm doing the same ... I've got like a full music studio setup, sort of rock and roll, and we're doing bad covers of Nickelback and that sort of sh-t.
Then I'll go and play a video game, and I'll take people on pretend super yacht tours and see if we could all chip in and afford a $199m yacht together. Just do all sorts of random sh-t, yeah, it’s heaps of fun.
[Laughs]. Love it. Some of my friends and I have a syndicate for a limousine, like a really old Ford Fairlane, that we've only actually sat in to drink beers because it’s not running and it’s unregistered. A mate’s made bright pink zebra print covers for it.
That's awesome. That’s awesome. The Ford Fairlane limos are sick! … I dig it, I think that's hilarious. I don't reckon you should even fix it. Just put the stuff in it and turn it into a bar [laughs].
[Laughs] My friend calls them “joy dollars”. And speaking of joy, first time showing in Darwin – any plans while you’re in town?
I don’t! I've got a mate there, Mr. Wildman. I don't know if you know of Wildman up there? He does the croc tours and stuff? I’ll just see what he’s doin’ and probably scare the sh-t out of myself. I don't know. I will take your lead up there!
WHEN FRI 6 MAR, 7.45 & 9.30PM | SAT 7 MAR, 9PM
AT AANT CENTRE
COST $49 | $44
INFO yourcentre.com.au
