MasterChef Australia's Steph reveals the truth about rumours the judges eat cold food. Do the judges REALLY eat the food cold? It's the question that perplexes MasterChef Australia fans year after year: by the time the contestants bring up their dishes for the three judges to taste, aren't they cold? The answer is yes.
While former MasterChef: The Professionals star Rosanna Moseley told the Birmingham Mail: "The food stays there for a bit after you've finished so they can get good shots of it. "So it can be cold by the time the judges get to it - especially if you're last to be judged - but they take that into consideration."
MasterChef US and UK
Of course, we're all curious where that veritable smorgasbord of delights ends up after filming is over. As it turns out, the crew gets first dibs, Marketplace reported. All leftovers and unused pantry items are then donated to MEND – a support service charity based in LA.
When contestants' names are called, they walk up to the judges, who “put a fork in, eat a mouthful of the cold gloop”. Former judge George Colombaris shed some light in 2015, saying the judges “go around the room” eating “everything hot” straight out of the pot.
Often, the plates brought up to the judges by contestants are already cold, so the judges might look instead of tasting. "When you're a judge on a competition show, you have to get, real quick, accustomed to eating cold food.
When cooking for guest judges the staring times for each contestant are staggered, in this instance the food is served hot. It isn't. The process of setting up good shots of the food and of the judges eating it usually takes so long that the food is just cold by the end of the tasting.
“When your name was called, you'd walk up and put your dish on the bench,” Ms Zaslavsky said. “The judges put a fork in, eat a mouthful of the cold gloop for the cameras and pretend it's the first time they've tasted it.” Former contestant Alice Zaslavsky says, yes, the food is always cold on MasterChef.
The food writer, 38, said that leftover food is donated to SecondBite. 'Some of the produce is also distributed to cast and crew as well, we donate money to charity and then we can kind of go shopping at work every so often,' she said.
While most of the cooked food is eaten by the judges, and the contestants often have a nibble as well, sometimes there are leftovers and the lucky contenders are encouraged to take it home!
With the judges rumoured to be taking home around $500,000 a year with Ten, the show's rampant popularity and critical acclaim could see bigger fees negotiated for future seasons.
In 2013, "MasterChef" judges and producers were accused of sexual, mental, and physical harassment by former contestants. Many accusations came from a blog post by former contestant Marie Porter, where she describes how friends she met on the show were allegedly sexually and physically harassed by judges and producers.
You'll be pleased to know that nothing in the 'MasterChef' kitchen goes to waste, with the excess food heading straight to some very worthy causes. The program has an arrangement with Second Bite -- an organisation that works towards curbing two growing problems in Australia -- food waste and food insecurity.
Masterchef host Gregg Wallace revealed in an interview with The Sun that the food on the show isn't thrown away and is put to good use. Usually, after the filming process is done, the leftover food is shared between all the crew members, who get to enjoy some amazing meals prepared by the contestants on the show.
Yep, reports on the show have revealed that contestants are actually only paid slightly more than the legal minimum wage. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a mere $630 allowance each week was handed out to the 2013 contestants, which is only slightly more than the minimum $583 a week for an entry level cook.
So it seems that all the MasterChef contestants stay in a hotel together (in separate rooms, of course). What makes setting accommodations easier for a show like MasterChef is that for the most part, contestants are visiting the same location for the duration of filming.
The only catch? "They are not allowed to stop and read a recipe from a cookbook while we are filming. Anything they pull from the cookbooks must be memorized," says the producer. And that's not all: "Masterchef" contestants are, indeed, as clueless about challenges as they appear to be on-screen.
Each MasterChef contestant has their look chosen for them
Naturally enough, these contestants don't have magically coordinating outfits or a closet full of the same shirt. MasterChef's costume department gives them a wardrobe that fits their personality type, then told what to wear for each episode.
It looks like the only way to get paid for going on MasterChef is to win, in which case you'd get $250,000. That's not too shabby, so it might be worth the price of a trip to LA for the chance to win the grand prize. It's possible things are different on MasterChef Legends or other iterations, but that seems unlikely.
Refinery29 Australia reported last year that contestants have previously been put up in a serviced apartment, with two people in an apartment with their own bedrooms. In 2020, news.com.au revealed that contestants usually live in "a multimillion-dollar mansion".
And they don't get to keep the aprons they wear on the show. But they are sent nice new ones in the post later. This is so no one is spotted with a MasterChef apron before the series goes out on TV.
Channel 10 confirmed to Refinery29 Australia last year that the produce doesn't go to waste, with several charities receiving what's left in the pantry and on the cooking benches.
If you are selected to be on the show, you must be available to commit yourself to the competition and taping of this show anywhere between 8-10 weeks from Mid October 2023 to Mid December 2023, depending on how far you advance in the competition. Dates are subject to change at the Producer's sole discretion.
Personality. Krissi is unarguably the most hated contestant in the history of the show despite her resilience and strong cooking abilities.
They just cook. They wash their hands after handling raw meats, but otherwise gloves aren't really needed unless they have a cut or something. I saw Ashley wearing gloves in one of the recent episodes.
MasterChef Bakeware products are microwave, freezer, dishwasher and oven proof.