“I’ve eaten a lot of humble pie!”: Former MasterChef judge Gary Mehigan hits back
Former MasterChef Australia judge Gary Mehigan has hit back at a journalist who accused him of thinking he is “irreplaceable”.
The 52-year-old took to Instagram to let his thoughts be known as he shared a screenshot of the opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald which criticised him and his fellow MasterChef judges George Calombaris and Matt Preston.
The opinion piece went on to describe that the judges possibly grew “too comfortable… to see that they were not the source of the show’s success”.
The journalist finished by writing that the former MasterChef judges should “take note of some other prudent career advice as they move forward. Never knock back a slice of humble pie. It’s a lot more palatable than a shit sandwich".
It was these words that Mehigan took issue with.
“35 years in what is a difficult industry and believe me I've eaten a lot of humble pie... I know the taste well. I've also eaten a few s**t sandwiches... those I'll be quite honest, I didn't like.”
He went onto describe how MasterChef has been a “game changer”.
“MasterChef has been a game changer and how lucky were we to enjoy 11 years of amazingly positive and uplifting television,” he wrote.
“We have been blessed with new friends and colleagues that will remain so for the rest of our lives. A moment in time to be savoured and remembered with a big smile. We are so proud.”
Mehigan also referenced words from his mentor and mentioned new and upcoming projects in the works.
“A mentor of ‘mine’ told me ‘never be afraid of change’. Time to move on, maybe work a little less, dig our fingers into something new and exciting and maybe make a different kind of TV.”
Last week, it was confirmed that Gary, George and Matt would not be returning to MasterChef Australia in 2020 after reports claimed that the trio walked away due to Network Ten not giving them a significant pay boost.
It didn’t help things that George has found guilty of underpaying his restaurant staff by almost $8 million dollars.
The press release made no mention of the issues with George and simply stated the following:
“Despite months of negotiation, Ten has not been able to reach a commercial agreement that was satisfactory to Matt, Gary and George,” Ten CEO Paul Anderson confirmed in a statement.