MasterChef's best moments, from Katy Perry to white chocolate veloute
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Jess and Sashi getting on like a recipe on fire
There are two ingredients that make MasterChef great: friendship and fire. We had both in one very special elimination challenge in season 10, when eventual winner Sashi Cheliah set his recipe on fire.
While this is a natural response to being asked to make 'sherried marron', in this case it was actually an accident which left Sashi in a tight spot: having to make an insanely complex dish with no instructions. Thankfully, guardian angel Jess Liemantara came to the rescue, letting Sashi look at her recipe and saving him from disaster.
'That is disgusting... disgustingly good'
Season two contestant Aaron Harvie's stomach seemed to drop all the way into his shoes when judge Matt Preston tasted his pasta back in 2010. 'Quite frankly, that is disgusting,' Preston said, before throwing the plate to the floor. After what felt like the longest ad break in the history of television, Preston continued: '… disgustingly GOOD!' Ever since, every MasterChef judge has on multiple occasions 'pulled a Preston' and tried a bit of wacky misdirection – but none have ever done it as memorably, or as weirdly, as the OG.
John Hughes' non-plate
Adelaide winemaker John Hughes, who has cerebral palsy, was a fan favourite from the moment he entered the MasterChef kitchen in season three. John brought quiet determination to everything he did, but his standout moment was one in which he made failure feel like triumph. After a pressure test in which he attempted to prepare a selection of desserts, Hughes stepped up to the judges' table empty-handed and announced he would not be serving anything.
'When I cook for my family and friends I produce quality and I put my heart and soul into it,' he said, explaining that if he didn't believe his dish was good enough for family and friends, it wasn't good enough to serve here. Judges, contestants and guest chef Maggie Beer applauded John for his courage in putting himself up for elimination rather than compromise his commitment to quality, and so did viewers at home. MasterChef is a show filled with emotion, but no moment has been as raw in its honesty and, in a strange way, as inspirational as John's non-plate.
Katy Perry makes an appearance
Katy Perry's 2008 hit Hot N Cold has been inseparable from MasterChef since its very beginning, the bouncy ditty accompanying the obligatory intro shots of contestants holding cakes or throwing flour in the air in slow motion. So it was a spectacular thrill when the superstar herself showed up to be a guest judge during season 12.
The appearance was hyped to heaven in advance, so it wasn't a surprise to see Perry. But it was surprising to see just how much fun she was. Maybe she's just a great actor, but the singer showed such enthusiasm for the show and engaged so genuinely one-on-one with the contestants that even sceptics like me were won over. She should come back every year.
Peter Gilmore's snow egg
In season one, we thought the croquembouche was as nightmarish as desserts could get. But the season two finale showed us what sweet young fools we were when Peter Gilmore presented Adam Liaw and Callum Hann with the snow egg: a breathtaking confection made of meringue and fruit and the ghosts of unicorns. After months of gruelling challenges in which they were asked to be expert chefs, Liaw and Hann were suddenly asked to become sorcerers. The results were brilliant, but perhaps the greatest spectacle was the beautiful bond between the finalists, growing from their shared ordeal at the hands of the egg.
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The Advertiser
13 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Chip off the old butcher block: master chef couldn't be prouder of his son
Austen has a fairly recognisable last name if you are a fan of reality television cooking shows, but the young Perry is making a new name for himself. He is the son of Josh "Pezza" Perry, who was the runner-up in the 2024 series of MasterChef and has a number of accolades under his belt for the family's butchery, Perry's Quality Meats. Last month, Austen scored his own award, taking away the gold medal in the WorldSkills Nationals held in Brisbane. The young butcher left school in Year 10 to follow in his dad's footsteps, completing his apprenticeship at the family's butchery. "Finished that in three and a half years, and been here ever since," he said. "I've always wanted to do what Dad's done." The three-day competition saw the young butcher break down and bone out pork and lamb, cut steaks at different thicknesses and weights, trim, slice, show off his display and knife sharpening skills. "Had a crack and got it done," Austen said. "I was a bit nervous to be honest." As the judges began to call out the names and places of his fellow butchers, Austen's hopes he had made a podium finish began to build. "Everyone was watching from back home," he said. "After I'd won, they were all watching it on the live stream, so my phone was going off in my pocket and phone calls and text messages and everything." Pezza said his son gained a ton of experience while he was away for six months on MasterChef. "He virtually ran the shop, between him and his mother [Jen]," Pezza said. "He's got a real good understanding of how we run the shop, but he's got a really good understanding of butchery. "The rewards are in what he's just done, as you can see, he's really capable. "It's not just one thing ... it's sharpening, it's hygiene, tying sausages, breaking beef, breaking pork, plus being able to display them really nicely to catch the people's eye, and that's what we try and do here." The proud dad said the Perry family was "super excited". "We were watching it on live stream, his mum was in Woolworths and I was sitting in the car park and we both got the phones to go and watch it," he said. "He told us that he thought one other guy was probably going to win ... there was one last spot and I thought, 'shit, he might not even get the top three'." But he got the top spot. "I think I nearly shed a tear," Pezza said. Austen's win is another accolade to pop on the Perry butchery award shelf. It follows the family's gold, silver and bronze awards won in an international competition for their twiggy sticks, bacon and ham, respectively. "It's a team win and we're really excited about that," Pezza said. Austen sure takes after his dad, but said he is not thinking about a future Masterchef appearance. "I don't really like the camera that much," he joked. Austen has a fairly recognisable last name if you are a fan of reality television cooking shows, but the young Perry is making a new name for himself. He is the son of Josh "Pezza" Perry, who was the runner-up in the 2024 series of MasterChef and has a number of accolades under his belt for the family's butchery, Perry's Quality Meats. Last month, Austen scored his own award, taking away the gold medal in the WorldSkills Nationals held in Brisbane. The young butcher left school in Year 10 to follow in his dad's footsteps, completing his apprenticeship at the family's butchery. "Finished that in three and a half years, and been here ever since," he said. "I've always wanted to do what Dad's done." The three-day competition saw the young butcher break down and bone out pork and lamb, cut steaks at different thicknesses and weights, trim, slice, show off his display and knife sharpening skills. "Had a crack and got it done," Austen said. "I was a bit nervous to be honest." As the judges began to call out the names and places of his fellow butchers, Austen's hopes he had made a podium finish began to build. "Everyone was watching from back home," he said. "After I'd won, they were all watching it on the live stream, so my phone was going off in my pocket and phone calls and text messages and everything." Pezza said his son gained a ton of experience while he was away for six months on MasterChef. "He virtually ran the shop, between him and his mother [Jen]," Pezza said. "He's got a real good understanding of how we run the shop, but he's got a really good understanding of butchery. "The rewards are in what he's just done, as you can see, he's really capable. "It's not just one thing ... it's sharpening, it's hygiene, tying sausages, breaking beef, breaking pork, plus being able to display them really nicely to catch the people's eye, and that's what we try and do here." The proud dad said the Perry family was "super excited". "We were watching it on live stream, his mum was in Woolworths and I was sitting in the car park and we both got the phones to go and watch it," he said. "He told us that he thought one other guy was probably going to win ... there was one last spot and I thought, 'shit, he might not even get the top three'." But he got the top spot. "I think I nearly shed a tear," Pezza said. Austen's win is another accolade to pop on the Perry butchery award shelf. It follows the family's gold, silver and bronze awards won in an international competition for their twiggy sticks, bacon and ham, respectively. "It's a team win and we're really excited about that," Pezza said. Austen sure takes after his dad, but said he is not thinking about a future Masterchef appearance. "I don't really like the camera that much," he joked. Austen has a fairly recognisable last name if you are a fan of reality television cooking shows, but the young Perry is making a new name for himself. He is the son of Josh "Pezza" Perry, who was the runner-up in the 2024 series of MasterChef and has a number of accolades under his belt for the family's butchery, Perry's Quality Meats. Last month, Austen scored his own award, taking away the gold medal in the WorldSkills Nationals held in Brisbane. The young butcher left school in Year 10 to follow in his dad's footsteps, completing his apprenticeship at the family's butchery. "Finished that in three and a half years, and been here ever since," he said. "I've always wanted to do what Dad's done." The three-day competition saw the young butcher break down and bone out pork and lamb, cut steaks at different thicknesses and weights, trim, slice, show off his display and knife sharpening skills. "Had a crack and got it done," Austen said. "I was a bit nervous to be honest." As the judges began to call out the names and places of his fellow butchers, Austen's hopes he had made a podium finish began to build. "Everyone was watching from back home," he said. "After I'd won, they were all watching it on the live stream, so my phone was going off in my pocket and phone calls and text messages and everything." Pezza said his son gained a ton of experience while he was away for six months on MasterChef. "He virtually ran the shop, between him and his mother [Jen]," Pezza said. "He's got a real good understanding of how we run the shop, but he's got a really good understanding of butchery. "The rewards are in what he's just done, as you can see, he's really capable. "It's not just one thing ... it's sharpening, it's hygiene, tying sausages, breaking beef, breaking pork, plus being able to display them really nicely to catch the people's eye, and that's what we try and do here." The proud dad said the Perry family was "super excited". "We were watching it on live stream, his mum was in Woolworths and I was sitting in the car park and we both got the phones to go and watch it," he said. "He told us that he thought one other guy was probably going to win ... there was one last spot and I thought, 'shit, he might not even get the top three'." But he got the top spot. "I think I nearly shed a tear," Pezza said. Austen's win is another accolade to pop on the Perry butchery award shelf. It follows the family's gold, silver and bronze awards won in an international competition for their twiggy sticks, bacon and ham, respectively. "It's a team win and we're really excited about that," Pezza said. Austen sure takes after his dad, but said he is not thinking about a future Masterchef appearance. "I don't really like the camera that much," he joked. Austen has a fairly recognisable last name if you are a fan of reality television cooking shows, but the young Perry is making a new name for himself. He is the son of Josh "Pezza" Perry, who was the runner-up in the 2024 series of MasterChef and has a number of accolades under his belt for the family's butchery, Perry's Quality Meats. Last month, Austen scored his own award, taking away the gold medal in the WorldSkills Nationals held in Brisbane. The young butcher left school in Year 10 to follow in his dad's footsteps, completing his apprenticeship at the family's butchery. "Finished that in three and a half years, and been here ever since," he said. "I've always wanted to do what Dad's done." The three-day competition saw the young butcher break down and bone out pork and lamb, cut steaks at different thicknesses and weights, trim, slice, show off his display and knife sharpening skills. "Had a crack and got it done," Austen said. "I was a bit nervous to be honest." As the judges began to call out the names and places of his fellow butchers, Austen's hopes he had made a podium finish began to build. "Everyone was watching from back home," he said. "After I'd won, they were all watching it on the live stream, so my phone was going off in my pocket and phone calls and text messages and everything." Pezza said his son gained a ton of experience while he was away for six months on MasterChef. "He virtually ran the shop, between him and his mother [Jen]," Pezza said. "He's got a real good understanding of how we run the shop, but he's got a really good understanding of butchery. "The rewards are in what he's just done, as you can see, he's really capable. "It's not just one thing ... it's sharpening, it's hygiene, tying sausages, breaking beef, breaking pork, plus being able to display them really nicely to catch the people's eye, and that's what we try and do here." The proud dad said the Perry family was "super excited". "We were watching it on live stream, his mum was in Woolworths and I was sitting in the car park and we both got the phones to go and watch it," he said. "He told us that he thought one other guy was probably going to win ... there was one last spot and I thought, 'shit, he might not even get the top three'." But he got the top spot. "I think I nearly shed a tear," Pezza said. Austen's win is another accolade to pop on the Perry butchery award shelf. It follows the family's gold, silver and bronze awards won in an international competition for their twiggy sticks, bacon and ham, respectively. "It's a team win and we're really excited about that," Pezza said. Austen sure takes after his dad, but said he is not thinking about a future Masterchef appearance. "I don't really like the camera that much," he joked.
7NEWS
2 days ago
- 7NEWS
MasterChef judge Andy Allen reveals he did Zonfrillo's press after a 4.30am call from Jock's wife
MasterChef judge Andy Allen has revealed the heartbreaking call he received from Lauren Zonfrillo, telling him his best friend had tragically died. At 4.30am on April 30, 2023, Lauren, Jock's wife, delivered the heartwrenching news to Allen and also to inform him that fellow judge Jock had press commitments scheduled for that morning. She wanted to keep his death from the MasterChef team and didn't want 10 to know he had passed yet. As a result, Allen went in Jock's place, knowing that Jock was dead, and carrying on with press for the season launch as if he had no idea. 'I get a call at about 4.30 in the morning from Lauren in hysterics and telling me what had happened, that Jock had passed away. And I was then like…what do you need? And she was like, 'Well…he's got a lot of press to do this morning.' And I had a bit of press to do as well. I was like, okay, I'll go do his press because she didn't want to go to Ten…she needed to get a plan together,' he told A Life of Greatness with Sarah Grynberg. Allen said navigating grief publicly and privately was the 'hardest thing I've ever been through' for many reasons. 'For him to pass away was shocking, (firstly) it was my birthday, (secondly) I was with him the day before, I was the last person to see him, we had lunch and (thirdly) for it to play out in the public eye was crazy, the first 24 hours I never want to relive.' Allen and Jock were inseparable as soon as they entered the MasterChef kitchen as the new judges, alongside Melissa Leong, taking over from George, Gary and Matt Preston. 'He was like the older brother I never had,' he said. 'I learnt so much from him, cooking, food and saw him with his family and his young kids and Loz and thought 'Wow, he's really great at being present with them.' Allen, who won MasterChef in 2012 at the age of 23, said his grieving process was 'such a journey for the first six months' and found himself being there for others. 'I needed to work on myself more. I went to talk therapy and became very aware that grief is okay,' he told Grynberg. 'I miss Jock every day but I've learnt there's so much more to celebrate, there's days I have really bad days, life is short and they (the Zonfrillos) had a life and they were so amazing at that life and I want to celebrate that.' The 46-year-old Scottish chef was found dead in a Melbourne hotel room in April 2023. His cause of death has never been revealed. In an exclusive interview with 7NEWS Spotlight that aired in May, Lauren spoke about discovering Jock's journal and reading his final words. 'Jock had journalled for a period of time,' she told Seven's Liz Hayes. 'It meant a lot to me reading . . . (about) such a normal conversation, but I got his version. 'It was kind of this encouragement to say, you've got this, Lauren, there's been many times where I've (felt like) I haven't got this.' Lauren — who was in Italy at the time of Jock's death — reportedly asked police to conduct a welfare check after failing to contact him. The couple had relocated to Rome with their young children, Alfie and Isla, with Jock travelling back to Australia to film MasterChef. Lauren now lives in Sydney with the younger kids, and Allen said he is still in touch with family but needed to see them more. Before MasterChef changed Allen's life, he was an apprentice electrician in Newcastle. He didn't come from a background of chefs and only ever cooked for family and friends, inspired by Jamie Oliver and his recipes. Allen took the big leap from sparky to the cooking competition after a mate dared him to enter for $500. After his winning season, he took a full time chef role at a small cafe in Bronte where he enhanced his cook skills.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
John Legend brands Kanye West's recent insults to him ‘sad'
John Legend has responded to Kanye West's recent bizarre insults, describing the remarks as 'sad'. The singer hit back at the rapper, 48, after he sparked controversy in a March interview with DJ Akademiks, during which he wore a Ku Klux Klan outfit and launched a rant including the line: 'Look at John Legend's old sissy a**.' Kanye went on: 'I ain't never do nothing wrong to that n****. I changed generations of his life. And he got on that f****** ass hot sweater. They said he smells like mashed potatoes.' While reflecting on their past collaboration during an appearance on Hot 97's Ebro in the Morning radio show, John, 46, tackled Kanye's fixation on his appearance. The crooner said: 'He was very obsessed with me wearing sweaters. He was very obsessed with the sweaters, and he said I smelled like mashed potatoes. 'What kind of potatoes? Cheesy, garlic?' When host Peter Rosenberg asked John if Kanye's remarks 'offended' or made him 'sad,' John replied: 'All of it makes (him) sad. All of it. Not for me, though, because obviously, I smell great.' Peter agreed, confirming John 'smells fantastic'. 'It never affects me personally, but the whole story is sad,' John added. He went on: 'Like, seeing this guy praise Hitler, seeing this guy be this force of hate and vitriol and nastiness. Somebody who has made some of the great art of this century as an artist, as a performer, as a fashion designer. 'All the things that he's done to make the world more beautiful and more interesting and then for him to be this now is sad. It's just sad.' John also insisted he 'never saw this side of (Kanye) that was obsessed with Hitler' and had 'no idea' the rapper felt this way. 'I have friends that I talk about politics with all the time; he was never one of them,' John said. He added: 'He just never talked about it in conversation. What a time, what a time.' Asked to describe the 'old Kanye' with whom he worked on several tracks, John said: 'He was full of so much energy and creativity and optimism.' 'We really believed we were starting a new movement in music. 'Being a part of that was inspiring and thrilling. That's why it's sad now because we did amazing things together as a collective. 'I have no regrets because even though he's gone completely left now, I'm so glad we did what we did together.' The pair collaborated on multiple songs early in their careers, with John's soulful style complementing Kanye's innovative production.
