Ben Bayly: Restaurateur and TV Personality on the return of his show 'A New Zealand Food Story'

Kiwi chef Ben Bayly is returning for another season of his highly anticipated show 'A New Zealand Food Story'. The show is returning for a third season, Bayly touring the country seeking fresh and innovative ideas for the menu of his award-winning restaurant 'Ahi', as well as spotlighting kiwis dedicated to cultivating some of the world's finest ingredients. The show began in 2020, the first season focusing on the opening of Bayly's restaurant before Covid came in and locked everything down. He told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking that it was terrible at the time, as they'd invested $3 million only to get locked down, but they learned a lot of lessons from it. "I think one of the positives of Covid for us, was that New Zealanders couldn't travel." "They were travelling in New Zealand, and I guess, wondering what New Zealand food was." Bayly has yet to meet an unpleasant person while filming his show, telling Hosking that all of the guests were hardworking, salt of the earth people. "You feel kind of guilty because you kind of do a hit and run and grab the content and, but you, you have this deep connection." He said that the people he meets are as crazy as he is, having the same level of passion he has for working in restaurants for producing, hunting, growing, and fishing. New Zealand has an incredible amount of diversity in both its geography and ecosystems, and there are people taking full advantage. "We can grow anything, make anything. We have the climate, the soil, the variety to do anything and we can do it better too." Bayly doesn't only showcase the producers in his show, but in his restaurants as well. "I want the guests to know where the farmer, or where the beef is grown, who the farmer is and what the farmer had for breakfast even," He told Hosking. "That adds a lot of value to the experience we're trying to deliver." Season 3 of 'A New Zealand Food Story' premieres Saturday 24th of February on TVNZ1 and TVNZ+. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.