Big Mouth: a memoir

by Matt Preston

A rock'n'roll memoir of life, death and growing up with the occasional scandal. For a man who has been firmly in the public eye for the past decade or more, Matt Preston has been very, very quiet about his past and private life. There are reasons for this. Now, in Big Mouth, Matt opens up about his early years for the first time – the good and the bad, the tragic and the ecstatic. Like the man himself, it’s a story that’s joyous, funny and larger than life. It’s also, perhaps unexpectedly, filled with pathos and emotional depth, set to a pulsating 1980s soundtrack. From his fractured childhood and the tragic death of his younger brother, to adoption, heroin, his disastrous time in the British Army and relocating to the other side of the world – where he would eventually find love and success – Matt writes frankly about it all. Naturally, food weaves its way through his story at every turn. His most memorable food experiences, from the exquisite and the excellent to the dreary and the dreadful, form the backdrop of a life well (and not so well) lived. This is a fresh, exciting, gloriously eccentric memoir from one of the food world’s most beloved bon vivants.

Genres: Audiobook, Biography, Nonfiction, Food, Memoir

384 pages, Paperback

Published November 7, 2023

Reviews

[Luke Agostino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came for the meme, stayed for the story, Strangely finding myself enjoying this more than I anticipated.

I’ve given it a 4 because I made his easy fish puttanesca and that shit was bussin

[Natalie J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disgusting Disgustingly Good is the best moment ever shown on TV 🤷‍♀️

[Adilah Almas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Rich B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A memoir from the food writer and presenter best known as the host of MasterChef Australia. Overall, it was a decent enough read, but maybe not quite as engaging as I’d have expected. If it was a meal, this would be a Sunday roast, rather than a 3 star / hat delight. Enjoyable enough but you probably won’t remember much about it.

The first half covers his family life and background, his school days and then his working experiences before starting on the show including a brief stint in the army. You get some OK though fairly undramatic anecdotes about growing up in London in what seems like a fairly well-connected middle-class family. It’s entertaining enough though there are no major dramas or bombshells.

The second half covers his experiences and reflections on Masterchef with a bit on what he’s been doing since. It was a decent enough read, though it’s quite “bitty” for want of a better word. Maybe because he’s so used to writing in shorter bursts for magazines, this sometimes feels like a collection of articles rather than a cohesive overall story - even though it follows a timeline and he’s the consistent “hero” of the story.

He can tend to ramble at times and jumps from topic to topic quite frequently. Some stories start interesting then fizzle out without clear resolutions.

He also mentions that there are some parts of the MasterChef production he’s not allowed to discuss for legal reasons. Though you get some insights into what happens on the show, it never really feels like it goes very deep. In fact, the deeper and much more interesting insights come from the many famous chefs and food stars he’s met during his career.

He comes across as a friendly guy with a genuine love of food and people. However, there’s also a bit of pomposity and pretentiousness which to be fair, he mostly owns up to. It’s a decent read with some tasty morsels in it, but it was just a bit too rambling for me to like it more.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy, quick read. I found his earlier life quite interesting. Once I got to the part about Master Chef, not so much.

[Gabriella Rinaldo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable but very focused on what happened in Masterchef in each season for a large portion of the novel which I didn't enjoy as much.

[Robyn Smyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely adore Matt’s newspaper and magazine writing, sense of humor and delicious-every-time recipes so I was curious to discover what makes him tick. There were so many unexpected parts… sports nut, devoted dad, the story of how he came to make Australia home (so glad he did) and more. I loved it all.
I admire how genuine and honest he is comes across as someone who loves his true self 100% of the time. The detailed descriptions of the evolution of master chef were also a little history lesson and have made me go back and watch some of the noted seasons with fresh eyes.
Thoroughly enjoyed.

[ANN R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful read

Full disclosure- Master Chef Australia helped my partner and I survive Covid and after math. So I was curious to learn more about the Matt from tv.

The book sounds like Matt telling his story; you can hear his voice and style. It's very fun to be able to have a glimpse behind the curtain most famous people must use to preserve some privacy. Thank you, Matt.

Loved the weird stories about uni and the loving stories of his family. Also behind the scenes of MCA.

Also fun to see how Matt continues to have fun, explore life, and connect with people.

[Tamara Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for all the yummy food descriptions, this man really loves food

I loved this memoir. From the get go you can tell that Matt Preston loves food, like really loved food. The way he describes it is pure passion. At first I really did just think it was going to be a running record of food, but the deeper into the book, the deeper Matt reached into his heart. Stories of family, loss and car accidents had me smiling, laughing and crying. I did not expect to love this as much as I did.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, I listened on audio and having Matt read his memoir to me made me love it even more. It’s probably worth 4 and a half stars, but not quite 5! Matt is a Collingwood supporter, so that’s a half star deduction in itself!
As an avid MasterChef fan I found the second half of the book thoroughly fascinating.

[Suzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having tuned in to the radio show and been delightfully surprised, this memoir piqued my interest and was an enjoyable read. I only watched the first season of MasterChef and a few episodes here and there after that, but I still found the descriptions of the food, people, and events quite interesting

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVED reading this memoir of one of my favourite Aussie celebrities. It was fun learning about his childhood and getting a bit of a behind the scenes glimpse of Masterchef Australia. A great read for this festive and hectic time of year.

[Abs · Rating 3 out of 5]

some of the info about his childhood was kinda unnecessary since it never came up again and wasn’t interesting either, it was cool hearing all the masterchef lore and hes had a pretty interesting life

[Liane Flynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read - enjoyed Matt’s honesty, humour, self deprecation and the stories. His description of his relationships with his grandmothers was especially a joy to read. Nice one!

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent entertaining book. Funny, heartwarming and surprising.

[Kerri Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good memoir and especially enjoyed his recollections of Masterchef.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Was a huge Masterchef fan back in the day and now want to go and rewatch all the old episodes. Also reignited my interest in learning more about food and cooking.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seems like a nice guy. Always wondered who he was when he suddenly appeared on MasterChef and multiple other shows. Read it to get some background pretty ordinary read.

[Genevieve · Rating 2 out of 5]

The blurb talks about “emotional roller coasters” and “heroin” and all sorts of bait words, which turned out to be exactly that. Preston’s had an interesting career and is definitely an icon of the Australian culinary scene. The first half of the book presents us with his life background before the Master Chef era. To me, that was the high water mark of the book as the Master Chef anecdotes and details were pretty meh. With the right structure and cadence, this could have been a much better read.

[Nyree Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a most entertaining read. I really enjoyed reading about Matt's younger years, and it was fun revisiting the early days of Masterchef.