"Forgotten pizza cook" Pete Evans' wild new look
<p dir="ltr">Former Seven personality Pete Evans has made an unexpected appearance on social media, though many took a moment longer than usual to realise who it was they were looking at in the clip.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The former chef and <em>My Kitchen Rules</em> judge was a far cry from the polished persona audiences had come to expect from his days at the helm of the hit cooking competition, roaming through an outdoor kitchen in a ‘Food is Medicine’ t-shirt and unexpected mullet cut.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The footage marked a new chapter in Evans’ public fall from grace, and as one account sharing the content wrote, it had “captured a quick raw video of the set up” for a cooking retreat with eight guests and “approx 25 recipes”.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It did provide some insight into Evans’ new ‘career’ path, with the chef having turned his back on the entertainment industry in 2020, after 11 years as a household name hosting <em>My Kitchen Rules</em>. </p>
<p dir="ltr">His controversial opinions on health - and his mounting support in conspiracy theories as well as his non-scientifics views - had initially turned attention his way, but it was his take on the global COVID-19 pandemic that sealed his fate. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Also in 2020, Evans received a $25,000 fine from the TGA for his part in peddling a $15,000 ‘Biocharger’ device with the incorrect claim that it could combat the coronavirus.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Evans was quickly removed from social media - namely Facebook and Instagram - for spreading misinformation during the pandemic, and lost 15 different sponsors in just 38 hours after sharing a meme that contained a neo-Nazi symbol with his remaining followers. It was estimated that the latter act alone could cost Evans millions of dollars.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In the time since, Evans has purchased a $1 million tourist ‘healing’ retreat close to Byron Bay, where he offers the likes of ‘fasting retreats’ - charging $2250 a head for a “5-day juice, water, and froth fast” with Evans.</p>
<p dir="ltr">When news of the venture broke on social media, opinion poured in thick and fast, with most condemning the experience. </p>
<p dir="ltr">However, it wasn’t enough to keep Evans from returning to the internet, with the 50-year-old launching his presence on the alternative platform, Telegram, where he shares the likes of detail on his retreats, his experience with bitcoin, anti-vaccination takes, and right-wing political opinion.</p>
<p dir="ltr">As one user wrote in response - and on behalf of the majority - to the fresh footage of the disgraced chef, “I won’t have what he’s having”. </p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Obviously vaccines are bad. Not ‘licking toads’ though. That’s cool. Forgotten pizza cook Pete Evans continues to have a normal one. <a href="https://twitter.com/krunchymoses?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@krunchymoses</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/petesscience?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@petesscience</a> <a href="https://t.co/a5fDzGIups">pic.twitter.com/a5fDzGIups</a></p>
<p>— Cam (@camliveshere) <a href="https://twitter.com/camliveshere/status/1664565941219508225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p dir="ltr">“This is a hard second-hand cringe,” one said. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“And here I was thinking that scone of his couldn't get any more offensive,” another said. “I was wrong.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">“So funny, and sad at same time hope he is ok,” one wrote, “but I have had 4 vax, travelled [the] world twice in ]the last 12 months, kept a good job and have healthy friends and fam around me. Pete's approach hmmmm”.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And as someone else pointed out., “he seems quite short of breath after placing a few small sticks under the pizza oven. Not a great advert for his lifestyle.”</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Twitter, Facebook</em></p>
