Janine Allis reveals what it was really like working with Gordon Ramsay

She’s been a ‘Shark’ on Shark Tank, an advisor on Celebrity Apprentice and a contestant on Australian Survivor, and now Janine Allis is taking on the role of Gordon Ramsay’s co-host in Channel Nine’s new reality competition series Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars.

The series, which she describes as “a cross between Survivor, Celebrity Apprentice and The Voice”, pits Janine and Gordon against one another as they hunt for Australia’s most exciting and innovative new food and drink ideas to mentor and invest in.

Janine tells Yahoo Lifestyle that while she immediately said ‘yes’ to joining the show, she was “really nervous” about whether she’d have chemistry with her British co-star.

“I was just hoping that we’d have a connection because I've worked with other people in the past and it hasn't quite gelled, but as soon as we met we fell in TV love and it was all good from there,” she shares.

“We found that we had a lot of similarities like we've got the same amount of children - until he had another one, he beat me on that one. We both grew up working on boats in Europe, we’re really close in age, we have the same sort of education status. And I think the key thing is neither of us took ourselves too seriously. Both of us could take it and both of us could give it, and so it made it a lot of fun.”

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The business mogul adds that although she had seen a few episodes of his previous TV work - “I know he yells at people and calls people ‘idiot sandwiches’ and all sorts of stuff” - she was “blown away” by his level of fame.

“We were doing one gig at Melbourne Central with all these security guards and I said, ‘Oh for god's sake. Mate, you're not that important. Is this not overkill? Like seriously, do you need this much security or is it just for me?’,” she recalls.

“And he goes, ‘Yeah yeah I know, it’s overkill’. Anyway, we went up from the basement and oh my god, I was going, ‘We need more security!’. There’s a massive audience out there.

“We'd walk down the street and people would go, ‘Hey idiot sandwich!’ or one of the million other things that they yell at him. One of the things he understands is that he's a great product and he uses it really well.”

Would Janine Allis ever return to Celebrity Apprentice?

After appearing on two seasons of Celebrity Apprentice as Lord Alan Sugar’s advisor, Janine says she’d only return to the reality show on one condition: she’s the boss.

This is something fans of the show requested at the time the show was airing, although the Boost founder admits she probably wasn’t quite ready to take on the role at the time.

“I think that for me to do two seasons of Celebrity Apprentice was a really good grounding for taking another step up, so I wouldn't have done it any differently,” she reflects.

“I think it would've been a lot of pressure just to be the main person in a role when I haven't done it before. I did Shark Tank and stuff but to carry a show - I mean, I'm really pleased with this one because even though it's Gordon and I and we are equals, it's still Gordon Ramsay Food Stars which I'm really happy about. I have no ego about what it's called as long as I'm having fun doing it.”

When asked to compare working alongside Lord Alan Sugar to Gordon Ramsay, who are both intimidating figures in the TV world, Janine reveals she “definitely got along with Gordon better”.

“Alan’s a lovely man, but Gordon is a lot more open and he’s just a bit more ‘I am who I am’, in the sense that he wears his coat really well,” she explains.

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“I find that people who aren't comfortable in their skin tend to try and try too hard, so Gordon's really comfortable in his skin and in that comes a confidence. They both have their positives and negatives, but I must admit if I had a choice, I would work with Gordon every day of the week.”

Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars airs 7:30pm Tuesday & Wednesday on Nine

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