New Masterchef Australia judges finally announced
Channel 10 has finally announced the new judges for Masterchef Australia and it’s incredibly likely you’ve never heard of them.
After rampant speculation that the new judges would be household names such as Maggie Beer, Curtis Stone or Poh Ling Yeow, Channel 10 has cast a trio of relative unknowns.
The network announced that Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Any Allen will replace George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston for Masterchef’s 12th season, which will air next year.
If you’re not sure who the trio of judges are, you’re not alone.
Zonfrillo was named Australia’s Hottest Chef in 2018 and hosted a range of TV shows, including Nomad Chef and Restaurant Revolution.
Leong is an accomplished food and travel writer as well as a radio broadcaster and television presenter.
She was shocked to discover she had gotten the Masterchef gig.
“It came as a huge surprise for me, and is, without a doubt the opportunity of a lifetime,” she said in a statement. “I am really looking forward to getting stuck in.”
Long-time fans of the show might remember Andy Allen who won season four of the cooking show.
The new judges will be joined by celebrity chefs throughout the season, including Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal and Curtis Stone.
Network 10 chief content officer Beverley McGarvey said: “In a nation obsessed with food, we are thrilled to welcome Jock, Melissa and Andy as judges to MasterChef Australia.
“Their combined culinary credentials coupled with their passion and sheer joy for food, and their relentless enthusiasm to explore ingredients, preparation and cooking methods ensures we are in for a real treat.”
The original trio of George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan were booted from the show after there was controversy surrounding Calombaris due to underpaid staff at his restaurants.
There were also rumours that Preston and Mehigan had demanded a 40 per cent increase on their $1 million per season salaries.
However, Preston has denied this.
“We’d agree on the offer with Ten,” he said on ABC radio. “We’d sent a note back to their offer, we’d agreed to the financial terms. We’d agreed to make the next series of MasterChef, and it was the other terms that fell down.”
He has also confirmed that it’ll be a long time before the trio are seen together on television again.
“I think that the next step for us is to drop out of sight for a nice, long time,” he said on ABC radio.