He is a judge on MasterChef New Zealand, has three restaurants on the go and has now opened a fourth, so you might be excused for thinking Josh Emett doesn't have much time to spend in the kitchen.
''Look I spend all my time in the kitchen, I really do. I think in the last six months, obviously I filmed MasterChef, but other than that, that's my job. I spend a huge amount of time in kitchens,'' Mr Emett said.
He and business partner Fleur Caulton - they also own Queenstown restaurants Rata and the original Madam Woo - opened their second Madam Woo restaurant in Takapuna two months ago.
''It's been seven weeks of full-on kitchen work, doing every job known to mankind and getting stuck in. You can't open a businesses like this, and run a business like this, without being very hands on.''
So he was excited to be opening his fourth Madam Woo restaurant in Dunedin last week, a city chosen because of its character, size and ''its rents are good''. Also the site, in lower Stuart St, was just what they were looking for, he said.
''We think Dunedin is a great town, a gorgeous town. A huge amount of our customer base is from Southland, Central Otago and this whole region.
''It is still one of New Zealand's biggest cities and we believe there is room for us ... for a great restaurant.''
He believed the price point and broad menu of Madam Woo meant it appealed across the board and would work well in Dunedin.
''If it doesn't work in Dunedin, it won't work anywhere.''
His head chef from Auckland, Shane Hancock, was moving back to Dunedin to look after the latest Madam Woo.
''It's a bit of a homecoming for him. [He] wants to come back and settle in Dunedin.''
Mr Emett arrived in the city last Friday to get the kitchen up and running and will work alongside his new team, about 18 chefs and 20 front of house staff, in coming weeks.
''I know the next seven to eight weeks is going to be really hard. The most important thing is all the mistakes stay in the kitchen.''
His aim from here is to bed-in the Dunedin and Takapuna restaurants through to Christmas and then in the new year ''figure out what we'll do next''.
When not opening restaurants, he challenges himself by appearing on MasterChef.
''One thing you can tell with watching it on TV is that Al, Mark and I all had a good time and the contestants had a great time as well ... learnt a lot and gelled well together and made some great television.
''If we eat great food we're happy. If we get bad food, we get a bit grumpy.''
It was his fifth season of being part of the reality show and he wanted to improve as a judge.
''Judging food is a natural thing for me. It is what I do every day, I come into a restaurant, I eat and pick.''
He also liked watching the contestants' journey.
''People who get up to top four or top six leave changed in some way. They go home with different talents and they can certainly cook.''
