He’s best known for being a part of some of Australia’s biggest television programs. But for his latest project, ex-Masterchef judge and food critic and columnist Matt Preston is changing pace, winding things back, to front a delightfully slow-paced food series for SBS titled Plating Locally.

It’s the first time the acclaimed foodie, who has popped up on big TV franchises like Masterchef, My Kitchen Rules and even Dancing With The Stars (he competed in 2023, withdrawing due to injury after the third episode), has helmed his own show for SBS Food.

Each episode sees him travelling to a different food region in Australia, where he journeys “in search of extraordinary local produce and the passionate people behind it”.

This time around, Preston’s not in the spotlight, rather it’s the passionate farmers, fishers, foragers, winemakers and artisans “whose work begins long before food reaches the plate”.

“Maybe it’s a good thing I waited so long (to do a show like this),” says Preston, who is speaking to PLAY from his home in Melbourne.

“Ironically, before I started writing about food, I actually won a competition to pitch a documentary at a big international doco conference, funded by one of the Australian film promotion organisations.”

As Preston explains, this feels like a full-circle moment, and precisely the right time for him to return to television — on his terms.

“That is who Matt Preston is — he is not the bloke in the cravat with the pompous air, he is the person who is passionate about telling stories, and sharing them,” he adds.

“(Plating Locally) has allowed me to get back to the roots of what I really love to do.”

It’s delightful to watch Preston meander around regional pockets of Australia or New Zealand, chatting with growers, sampling delicious wines, and cooking with local chefs.

It’s slow TV; a reset for the nervous system if you will.

“Emily Griggs, who is the commissioner down at SBS, and everyone involved with the show, whether it’s crew or producers or myself, we all wanted the show to be kind of this slow, lyrical thing,” Preston explains.

“Matt’s warmth, curiosity and genuine passion for local produce make him the perfect guide to local food across Australia and New Zealand,” Griggs adds, pointing out the show is all about “celebrating the people and places that make our food culture so unique”.

In the first episode, he’s off to WA’s South West, meandering his way around Margaret River, meeting with an abalone farmer in Augusta, a winemaker at Cape Mentelle, and cooking with a local chef known for his use of foraged coastal herbs.

They’re cooking marron, and you can almost smell how tasty it all is through the TV.

“We wanted viewers to feel like you can breathe, and slightly luxuriate when you watch it . . . to go and make yourself a nice cup of tea and sit there and let it wash over you,” Preston explains.

“We wanted to make, well, not quite slow TV, but certainly we were conscious that people tend to rush through our landscape; they don’t spend enough time slowing down and having a moment and appreciating it.”

Preston, who has visited WA around 20 times, says he continues to be amazed at the quality of the area’s local ingredients and the sheer variety of gourmet options on offer.

Having the time to properly explore was a blessing.

“Those moments where you go into a little winery, they’re great,” he says.

“The person pouring the wine is the person making the wine, and you have all these moments — and that is the reason why you travel.

“Those uniquely Pemberton, uniquely Margaret River, uniquely Bunbury or uniquely Esperance moments — that is what it is about.”

Speaking of unique moments, does he have a favourite spot to visit while in the Margaret River region?

“Oh, well, the German bakery in Yallingup (Yallingup Gugelhupf), and you’ve got a couple of really good sourdough bakeries down there,” he says.

“You’re missing a trick if you don’t get some fantastic fresh tomatoes, and a bit of salt, and a loaf from one of those bakeries, and head down to Smiths Beach and sit there eating your fresh bread and cheese, with beautiful butter and salt — it’s hard to beat.”

Preston feels he’s barely scratched the surface with the stunning region, and looks forward to returning to revisit at his leisure.

“You know, that episode almost needs its own companion piece, where we ate and drank along the way,” he says.

“If people go away with two things from the show, I hope it will be ‘Oh my gosh, the people who put this amazing produce on our table, that’s tough!’ And we should appreciate all the incredible work that goes into doing that.

“But also: how lucky are we that we get to do that?”

Preston admits that after all these years writing about food, and filming for television, he is still in awe of the life he has created — one that sees him paid to eat delicious things.

“I continue to just bumble along, continuing with that ridiculous idea of getting paid to eat cake,” he laughs.

“It’s fantastic. It really is the dreamiest job in the world.”

Matt Preston’s Plating Locally premieres Wednesday August 12 at 8.30pm on SBS Food and SBS On Demand.