One Giant Leap

Jeff Green does a mean sardine escabeche and he's not afraid to use it. The English comedian who calls Melbourne home these days has done two series of Celebrity Masterchef in the UK, only to be knocked out by eventual winner Nadia Sawalha – the real-life sister of Saffy from Ab Fab – the second time round with a Palestinian dish. “It was totally out of your comfort zone, lots of pressure and totally exhilarating. And it's made me a much better cook.” Cooking is a relatively recent hobby for Green, who started out making dinner as a way to support his wife when their first child was born seven years ago. “I think it was Alex James (the bass player from Blur) who said, 'When I was in 20 I celebrated with alcohol, when I was 30 I celebrated with drugs, when I was 40 I celebrated with food'. This is pretty true for me. It's the most relaxing thing I do these days.”

Green is in a good place right now. A wife, kids, successful stand-up career, best selling author of three books and owner of an impressive repertoire of South East Asian hot pot recipes, but things could have been so different. Cue mental image of Sliding Doors. There's also the Jeff Green who graduated from college as a chemical engineer, made his parents proud, lived in London and was stuck in a ho-hum relationship. So how did one become the other? Leaping Off The Bell Curve, Green's show in this year Festival, tells the story of how Green embarked on a quest to find his true calling. “I often meet people who say, 'I can't do what you do, I can't change'. I wanted to show people that changing your life is actually really exciting and settling for monotony and unhappiness is pointless.”  “I am trying to reflect something back to the audience. It used to be in the old days when I just did observational comedy, I was reflecting back the audience's awkwardness with various household objects and situations and at the time that's where my skills were as a stand up comic. Now I've got more skills, more confidence, I want to take it to another level. This is what I did, this is where I fucked up, if you can see anything that you think is relevant to your life then even better. And you've had a great night. I want two ticks in the box, not just one.”

“It's not just about relationships and the stuff I'm known for, it's hopefully got more substance, lasts a little bit longer in your mind than, 'Don't women use a lot of toilet paper?'. If I pull it off it's the best show I've done.”

And if one of his children wanted to be a chemical engineer? “I'd be a little disappointed but my job would be to support him. I would say, 'Follow your dream, mate'.”