The Audition Episode

The day of the audition was approaching and I was having an anxiety attack. We only get notified of our episode 24 hours before the broadcast and none of the things I remembered from that day were occupying a positive place in my memory.

I remembered how I was so cold on set that I was shivering. I remember how my timing was actually good, but at the last moment I was under so much pressure that my hands were shaking and that nothing was standing on the plate properly. I remember how much I didn't want to talk to myself in that “Stress Tunnel” because who talks to themselves in front of the whole world?!

I remember that Chef Yossi Shitrit offered me a job the second I opened my mouth and I just thought "Are you saying you gave me a knife?!"

And as you must have seen, I also remember how I was on the verge of tears all day and I just needed that little push to make the tears burst out without stopping. I'm Lior, a member of the Shva family, and this is how we deal with most situations in our lives - not by crying or falling apart, not by sobbing, but yes with tears in our eyes. Sometimes there is a tremor in our voice and we still try to maintain composure - and as we've all seen, without success.

Myself, the family and some friends gathered spontaneously in the living room of my parents' house in Binyamina to watch the episode. As time goes by, watching the auditions ahead of me, my heart rate does not stop rising, but I also begin to doubt whether I am really on tonight. I can't believe that they might have put me at the end.

What got cut in the edit anyway?

You would have heard that I started my career under an amazing Israeli chef, and a mentor to this day, named Amos Sion from "Helena in the Port".

I said that I returned to work after maternity leave to a "part-time" job of 50 hours a week, although this was over 3 consecutive days. However, within 3 weeks there were no longer enough chefs in the kitchen and I had to return to the same 58-hour a week over 4 consecutive days like everyone else - from Wednesday to Saturday. I mean, I would say goodbye to Itai during the early morning feeding on Wednesday, and only see him again on Sunday morning!.

When I said I was alone in England with a baby, I did also mention that I had one "life saver" girlfriend who lived 4 houses away from me, and we spent time at each other's houses day and night. Her name is Noa and I would not have survived this immense loneliness without her.

The crazy amount of messages that arrived at the end of the episode is unimaginable. People I guided on culinary tours in London, parents of friends from elementary school, people I know who never watch TV and certainly not reality shows, guys from the army, friends of my sisters, mothers, fathers…the list goes on.

And every time I read one of these messages, I get emotional again because this is what I’m best at (and probably also know how to cook a little). I'm happy to discover that people sympathise and everything about the broadcast that I was so afraid of until now is dwarfed by the small amount of good I did for people in their hearts.