MasterChef Australia judges focusing on "food" – not "drama"
MasterChef Australia judges Matt Preston and George Calombaris have said that the cooking show has a “no d---heads” policy because the team believes in focusing on food rather than stirring drama.
Preston explained that it was so much of a priority that he would always choose “terrible TV talent who could cook” over “show ponies with 100,000 followers” who might help ratings.
“You can get drama by picking d---heads, but over the years we have picked fewer and fewer d---heads,” he said.
“We have to spend seven months (filming) with these people, and that is so much better when we get along.
“For us, the exciting thing is finding people who want to pursue food to change their life, not finding stereotypical TV talent.”
Preston said that in previous years, the show’s fans had been “very vocal and quick to move away” when the focus had moved towards drama.
Calombaris agreed: “We don’t do contrived. We’re like the mafia, the three of us.
“We’re very committed to protecting the brand. We’ve got a lot of responsibility. People look up to us. We’re role models.
“I get what Matt is saying. We want good people. It’s about humanity and care. If they’ve got that, and a love for food, they should be on MasterChef.”
Last week, the judges hosted the series 10 launch of MasterChef in Melbourne.
Guests included The Project’s Carrie Bickmore and Waleed Aly, chefs Shannon Bennett, Darren Purchase and Adriano Zumbo.
Contestants from past series including Justine Schofield, Callum Hann and Hayden Quinn also attended the event.
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