Yes, the MasterChef Australia judges generally get along very well, forming strong friendships and a "family" dynamic, both the original trio (Mehigan, Preston, Calombaris) and the subsequent team (Allen, Leong, Zonfrillo), with their off-screen camaraderie reflecting their on-screen harmony, though disagreements happen but are usually minor and quickly resolved, making for a united front on the show.
There are a lot of the same people in production. It's an intense two or three months we spend together, so it's very much a family. It's that kind of energy that you see on the screen exists also off the screen. So we're like friends making a TV show every year."
In honour of Jock, we have compiled the happiest moments he, Andy, and Melissa shared together as both colleagues on MasterChef and inseparable friends.
In May 2019, Bastianich announced his departure from MasterChef Italia in order to dedicate himself to his passion for music. In mid-September of the same year, Bastianich released his first album, titled "Aka Joe".
The MasterChef Australia contestant who famously left the show in 2021 for mental health reasons was Brent Draper, a boilermaker who felt overwhelming anxiety and pressure affecting his sleep and cooking, leading him to step away to prioritize his well-being and family, a decision he later became a mental health advocate for.
The death of 46 year old MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo was simply shocking for his family, friends and many thousands of fans. His wife Lauren couldn't believe it then and now two years later, she still can't believe Jock is gone. In a raw interview Lauren speaks about her devastation, those first days and life now.
Chef Mario Batali and his former partner Joe Bastianich violated state and city human rights laws with a culture of sexual harassment and discrimination at restaurants they owned, the New York attorney general said Friday announcing a settlement.
However, the contestants of MasterChef receive a comfortable payout of $ 600 to $ 650 per week, along with the stay, travel, and meal costs covered.
A contestant from the latest series of MasterChef has been edited out of the programme, after telling its producers she did not want the show to be broadcast after sustained allegations made against presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode.
Leong's departure came after claims she had been axed following a string of publicised off-camera dramas. Leong infamously had a blow up with the program's hair and make-up team along with a substitute freelance hairstylist in 2022. 'Andy has no beef with Leong,' the source told Daily Mail Australia.
Two MasterChef stars who fell in love on the series have welcomed twins in the days before Christmas. Sarah Todd and Declan Cleary, who both competed in the 2025 season of the show, announced the arrival of twin girls in an Instagram post on Christmas Eve.
In 2016, Beth met her husband, finance director Andy Allen, at the Rio Olympics, where she was a reporter. And in the summer of 2018, they tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at the Grade I listed Dorfold Hall in Nantwich.
"What happens is that obviously we cook our food and it was always stored at the right temperature," Sumeet Saigal tells Refinery29 Australia. "So if you have a sauce that needs to be kept warm, they have food warmers behind the scenes where it's kept at the right temperature.
Gordon Ramsay has apologized for different incidents, notably his 2009 public insults toward Australian TV host Tracy Grimshaw (calling her a pig in doctored photos), for which he apologized as an "off-the-cuff" joke gone wrong, and more recently, a tongue-in-cheek apology in 2025 to fans and people he called "donkeys" as part of a mobile game ad for finding inner calm. He's also apologized to his wife, Tana Ramsay, for past alleged infidelities.
Asher Niles was a contestant on Season 9 of MasterChef Junior. He ranked in 4th place.
Is MasterChef really reality or is it actually scripted? “The challenge is real, the clock is real, and the judges really judge our dishes based on what we manage to put out within the time frame given.” From the moment the challenge starts, it is very real.
There's no single "most successful" winner, but top contenders include Andy Allen (a hatted chef & judge), Adam Liaw (TV host, author, columnist), and Julie Goodwin (first winner, cookbook author, TV personality), with Billie McKay being the only two-time winner, but contestants like Reynold Poernomo (KOI Dessert Bar) and Poh Ling Yeow (TV, Jamface cafe) also achieved major success. Success is measured differently (media, restaurants, culinary accolades), making it subjective.
Leong has had depression and anxiety throughout her life and has an autoimmune condition which has caused chronic insomnia and hair loss.
Inside The Biggest Scandals That Rocked MasterChef
He also had the tendency to be cocky (although he had the talent to back it up) and talk a lot, which usually rubbed most of the other cooks the wrong way, leading them to immediately underestimate him and consider him as a weak link, while quickly beginning to dislike him for how he came off.
'MasterChef Junior' Contestant Ben Watkins Dies of Cancer at 14 - IMDb. “MasterChef Junior” contestant Ben Watkins died of cancer on Monday at the Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
A Network Ten spokesperson said the lineup change was due to filming schedules, and because Dessert Masters will air back to back with MasterChef Australia, each show would need “its own unique hosting team”.
We have of course accepted their wishes and edited them out of the show." Another contestant, Sarah Shafi, was also removed from the series after asking for it not to be broadcast, following a report which upheld claims against hosts Gregg Wallace and John Torode.
For both unused ingredients and uneaten meals, the U.S. "MasterChef" donates to Los Angeles charity Meet Each Need with Dignity or to Feeding America. All organic waste that cannot be reused or donated is composted as part of what BBC One calls an "extensive waste management system."