It’s not long now until all your MasterChef Australia favourites are back to turn up the heat in the kitchen for another shot at the title. While you know and love this year’s 24 contestants, this time around it’s our brand new judging panel you really should take some time to get acquainted with, so dig into the below to find out what makes Andy Allen, Melissa Leong and Jock Zonfrillro tick.
How does it feel to be welcomed onto a cooking show as iconic as MasterChef Australia?
Andy: I entered this competition as a contestant in 2012. I somehow won it and went out into the big, wide world of hospitality. To be asked to return as a judge – and to come full circle back to MasterChef Australia – is really flattering and incredibly special. I’m stoked because it means that I’ve done the hard work to be here. You don’t ask Joe Blow to be a judge on MasterChef Australia.
What are you most looking forward to working on the show?
Melissa: Aside from the thrill of being part of such a legacy, with this season in particular I am looking forward to meeting some of the show’s most beloved cooks from series past. I’m looking forward to seeing what they bring to the show this time around. These contestants have lived and breathed this show for much longer than me, so in a way, I’m looking forward to learning from them as much as I am looking forward to imparting my own knowledge!
What comes to mind when you think of MasterChef Australia?
Andy: It’s the best food show in the world, simple as that. I watch a lot of food shows and nothing compares to it. What the competition can get out of people – it got the best out of me – there’s no other show even close, not just in food. There’s a lot of competition shows out there these days and MasterChef Australia still wins.
What are you excited about bringing to the MasterChef Australia table?
Jock: I’m a firm leader in the kitchen, my guidance is clear and it gives you room to think about my feedback and make decisions yourself. I can be blunt, sometimes abrasive, but that’s what is sometimes needed in the heat of the kitchen during service. I’ve been in kitchens for over 30 years and now own arguably one of Australia’s best restaurants and I can assure you, while I don’t mince my words, nothing makes me happier than beautiful delicious food. MasterChef Australia is a competition and I’ll mentor any of them through difficulties they may face throughout the season and most likely afterwards, but don’t ask for anything other than honesty when it comes to feedback.
Melissa: In a word: diversity. I am proud to be an Australian woman of colour in this position and at this time in the world. With that, comes a difference of perspective. I am so excited to be given the opportunity to contribute to the conversation when it comes to food, but also to stand among other strong women with ideas and opinions that are hard fought and won.
Andy: I think I bring the experience because I’ve been a contestant. As a person I’m pretty light-hearted. I really want to relax the contestants. I’ve been there and I know it’s very stressful and people get wrapped up in the competition. I feel some people take it a little too seriously because for a lot of people out there, this is one of the things they’ve wanted to do since they started cooking. I feel like I was successful in the show because I didn’t take it too seriously. Having said that, I always wanted to do the best that I could, but that was a personal challenge for me. With that in mind I want to get people to cook their best food, and for that you need to be relaxed.
What excites you the most about the Australian food industry at the moment?
Jock: Australia has the most exciting food conversation on the planet right now and the world is watching. We are in a period of connection and rediscovery with Indigenous culture, with a level of respect never seen before. The acknowledgement of this, I think, will carve out this great continent’s voice in food, together with the countless other cultures than now call Australia home.
Melissa: What I love is the growing individualism happening in restaurants, a desire to express what makes someone uniquely special as a chef, rather than following the crowd. I love going to a place and being offered something deeply personal and well thought-out, instead of an iteration of the same lactic tartare or dry and loveless looking nouveau pasta dish I’ve eaten in six other joints around town.
What’s the best cooking advice you’ve received that you want the MasterChef Australia contestants to know?
Jock: Give back more than you take. As a cook you make decisions in your kitchen that impact farmers, communities, your team and your family. You can only be successful if you consider all of these, and the reliance they have on each other in order for you to be good at what you do.
